(Minghui.org) Two residents of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province were tried one after another on April 11, 2024, for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. One of them was sentenced to six years one month later.
The Linghai City Court [Linghai is under the administration of Jinzhou] heard 73-year-old Ms. Wang Zhixia’s case from 10 to 10:30 a.m. There was no defense lawyer or family member present. As soon as the hearing was over, Ms. Zhang Xiuqin, 61, was brought in to face the same judge, Huang Yanchun (+86-18941603418, +86-416-8152003) and the same prosecutor, Li Feng (+86-13314160001, +86-416-8107161), from the Linghai City Procuratorate. Ms. Zhang’s lawyer and family defender refuted the charges against her, and she also testified in her own defense. Her hearing was concluded at noon.
Judge Huang sentenced Ms. Zhang to six years with 12,000 yuan on May 10, 2024. The case status of Ms. Wang remains to be investigated. Ms. Zhang is in the process of filing an appeal.
Ms. Zhang and Ms. Wang’s cases were unrelated, but they were both arrested within days of each other for practicing Falun Gong. The Qingduizi Town Police Station raided Ms. Wang’s home on January 12, 2024, and took her to the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center. She developed diabetes and high blood pressure during detention. Her systolic blood pressure shot up to 260 mmHg at one point (when a normal range is 120 or lower). The guards gave her hypertension medications but her blood pressure remained at around 200. Her bedridden husband was left to fend for himself with her in detention.
Ms. Zhang was arrested on January 17, 2024, by the Guta District Domestic Security Division. Her home was also raided. Officer Zhu submitted her case to the Linghai City Procuratorate. It is unclear where she was taken or whether she has been transferred to prison following her wrongful conviction.
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