Wuhan City: Court Secretly Sentences Two Falun Gong Practitioners to Three Years in Prison

(Minghui.org) On April 4, 2014, the Qiaokou District Court in Wuhan held a secret trial for two Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Wang Xiaoshun and Ms. Xu Yanping, and unlawfully sentenced them to three years in prison for upholding their faith. Ms. Xu managed to file an appeal, but the court rejected the appeal submitted for Mr. Wang, falsely claiming that his lawyer had missed the deadline.

Most Recent Arrest

Mr. Wang, Ms. Xu and other two Falun Gong practitioners were arrested by officers from the Qiaokou District Police Department on the afternoon of October 11, 2013 while they were out distributing information about the persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Wang was held at the Ertouwan Lockup Center and then taken to the Qiaokou Detention Center. Ms. Xu was taken to No. 1 Lockup Center in Wuhan first, and has been detained at the No. 1 Detention Center in Wuhan since then.

Ms. Xu, from Xiantau City, Hubei Province, lived in Wuhan alone. Her family is not aware that she has been detained and unlawfully sentenced.

Mr. Wang Arrested Repeatedly

Mr. Wang, 65, had been plagued with illness in the past, but was restored to health as a result of practicing Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained repeatedly over the past 15 years for refusing to renounce Falun Gong and for telling people about the practice and the persecution. One of his detentions took place in early 2003.

Ms. Xu Arrested and Harassed

Ms. Xu had been arrested multiple times as well. On the evening of August 28, 2012, half a dozen officers from the Tangjiadun Police Station and Tangjiadun Community Office broke in Ms. Xu's home, pretending to be there to check her identification. They forced her to open the door to every room. Because some Falun Gong books and a photo of the founder of Falun Gong were found in her home, Ms. Xu and her guest, Ms. Sun Xiuqin, were taken to the Tangjiadun Police Station. The police forcibly took their photos, and forced them to sign and fingerprint police forms before releasing them that night.

Three days later, eight people from the Tangjiadun Police Station and Tangjiadun Community Office followed Ms. Xu and broke into her home at around 11 p.m. They took her keys and opened all the rooms. They turned on her computer and looked for Falun Gong-related content. They confiscated over twenty Falun Gong books. Ms. Xu was forced to move in order to avoid further abuse.

Parties Involved in the Persecution:Li Jun (李军), president of the Qiaokou District Court: [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Office)Song Hongyan (宋红燕), presiding judge of Criminal Tribunal with the Qiaokou District Court: [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Office)Tan Yi (谈毅), judge with the Qiaokou District Court: [phone] (Office)