(Minghui.org) The Dalian Intermediate Court in Liaoning Province rejected a woman's motion to reconsider her seven-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong on September 3, 2018, almost one year after her initial filing.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body discipline persecuted by the communist regime since 1999. Liaoning Province has been one of the top provinces with the most severe persecution in the past two decades.
Ms. Wen Ying, 55, is a resident of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. She was arrested for the fifth time for her faith while visiting her daughter in Dalian on June 28, 2016. Another one hundred Falun Gong practitioners across Liaoning Province were also arrested on the same day.
She was tried by the Kaifa District Court in Dalian on February 22, 2017 and sentenced to seven years with a 10,000 yuan fine one month later on March 29.
Her appeal to the Dalian Intermediate Court was rejected on August 16, 2017 by judge Yin Chuanmao, who issued his ruling without holding a hearing with the defense lawyer as required.
Determined to seek justice for her, Ms. Wen's lawyer filed a motion in October and requested the intermediate court to reconsider her case. The court didn't assign a judge to the case until almost a year later. Judge Chen Jie quickly moved to reject the motion in September 2018.
One month after her motion was filed, Ms. Wen was transferred from Dalian City Detention Center to Liaoning Women's Prison to serve time on November 21, 2017.
She was subjected to various forms of torture for refusing to give up her faith, including sleep deprivation, long hours of brainwashing, and denial of family visits.
The prison also forced her to do hard labor for more than 10 hours each day and cut back her rationed food. She only received dozens of yuan each month as compensation (less than 10 USD), which was barely enough to cover the cost of her daily necessities.
The prison forced more than 10 people to live in a room of only 150 square feet and didn't provide them with hot water for showers. In the summer when it was 100 °F outside, many people developed heat rash when the prison refused to turn on air conditioning or fans.
Prior to Ms. Wen's latest imprisonment, she had served two terms at a forced labor camp for her faith in Falun Gong.
Previous reports:
Liaoning: Husband Denied Visits with Imprisoned Wife
Liaoning Woman Files Motion to Reconsider Case after Appeals Court Upholds Guilty Verdict
Woman Appeals Prison Sentence, Key Information Missing from Her Case File
Ms. Wen Ying Facing Prosecution for Her Belief
Liaoning Province: 101 Arrested in One Day
Practitioners Persecuted in Liaoning Women's Prison and Its “Correction Division”
