(Minghui.org) The Xihu District Court in Benxi, Liaoning Province sentenced nine Falun Gong practitioners on April 4, 2013. The practitioners appealed, and in the month following, a secret session was held by the Benxi Intermediate Court. The practitioners were then transferred to the Shenyang Women's Prison on May 28, 2013.

The practitioners' families were not informed of the second session, and only discovered that the practitioners had been transferred when they came to visit and bring them clothing. All practitioners were sentenced a minimum of three years, and some as many as 7-1/2 years. They are all innocent, law abiding citizens, regarded in their families as good mothers, wives, and daughters.

Officers from the Benxi Domestic Security Division and the Xihu District Police Department arrested nine Falun Gong practitioners on August 30, 2012, including Zhang Li, Zhang Huishuang, Li Junying, Song Wenzhi, Ren Guizhi, Gao Peiqin, and Quan Shuhua.

Ms. Zhang Huishuang has been persecuted for many years by the CCP because she persisted in practicing Falun Gong. She has been arrested and tortured. The guards at the local detention center have force-fed her, tortured her by stretching her arms and legs, and injected her with unknown drugs. As a result, she can no longer take care of herself. She has been detained in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp twice.

The Xihu District Court set a session for the nine practitioners at 9:00 a.m. on December 19, 2012. Two members of each family were allowed to be present in the courtroom. General audience was not allowed. The entrance was blocked at all times with four to five police officers. There were plainclothes police in the audience, and additional officers stood along each aisle.

Court began at 9:00 a.m. and lasted until 8:00 p.m. Eleven hours with no adjournment. Five attorneys pleaded not-guilty for the nine practitioners. They pointed out that the case was a frame-up which had been carefully planned. They also explained that Falun Gong is not against the law, and that the defendants are good, law-abiding people. Their righteous defense seemed to shock many who were present in the courtroom.

The major witness in this case was Zhang Chuang (alias Zhang Shuang). The police department did not present his identification card or any other legal documents. Zhang Chuang is actually a secret agent for the police. He posed as a Falun Gong practitioner and gained their trust. He then helped the police to fabricate so-called “evidence” by requesting Falun Gong materials from the practitioners.

People in charge of the case: Zhang Yulan, presiding judge: +86-18641468895 (Cell) Liu Congbo, judge: +86-18641467707 (Cell) Li Zuo, juror: +86-18641468335 (Cell) Zhang Jie from Domestic Security Division: +86-15041403033 (Cell) Jiang Yingtao, president of court: +86-18641467000 (Cell)