Three Heilongjiang Residents’ Appeals Against Wrongful Terms Rejected
(Minghui.org) Three Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province residents recently had their appeals against their wrongful sentencing for practicing Falun Gong rejected by the higher court.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The Jiamusi City Intermediate Court informed Ms. Li Suxian, Ms. Xu Yanping and Ms. Zuo Ying in late July 2021 of the decision to uphold their original verdicts.
Ms. Li, who has been released on bail due to her health, was taken back into custody at the Huanan Detention Center on August 6. Ms. Xu and Ms. Zuo, who had been detained at the Jiamusi City Detention Center since their arrests, were transferred to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on August 11.
Ms. Li Suxian
Ms. Li, a 71-year-old retiree from a store, Ms. Xu, a 60-year-old retired plastic factory worker, and Ms. Zuo, 56, were arrested on July 1, 2020 after being reported for putting up information about Falun Gong in a village. The police ransacked their homes and confiscated their Falun Gong books and computers.
The police threatened Ms. Xu’s husband: “She was arrested on July 1, the Chinese Communist Party’s birthday. It’s also an important day for the Communist Party to pass the security law in Hong Kong. Now we’ve put her in criminal detention, and we are planning to give her a prison term, three years at least.”
After interrogating the practitioners at the local police station, the police took them to the Jiamusi City Detention Center. Ms. Li was denied admission due to her high blood pressure and was released on bail on July 2. The police put her under house arrest on August 7.
The practitioners were tried by the Xiangyang District Court on March 18, 2021. Judge Song Tao sentenced Ms. Li to two years and three months, Ms. Xu to one year and ten months, and Ms. Zuo to one year and eight months. They were also fined 5,000 yuan each.
The authorities attempted to detain Ms. Li after the trial, but she was denied admission again by the Jiamusi Detention Center due to her condition.