Falun Gong Practitioner Falsely Charged and Sentenced

(Minghui.org) A Shandong Province court gave Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Yanzhi a four-year sentence on December 8, 2016 without due process.

Ms. Wang’s husband was killed in a hit-and-run car accident 20 years before when they were both in the car. She never received any compensation to pay for her own medical bills and accumulated a large amount of debt. She had two young children. Falun Gong healed her and gave her a healthy body. For over 20 years, she has worked odd jobs to pay back her debts, raise her children, and support her mother-in-law.

Wrongfully Detained

Ms. Wang was detained on July 27, 2015 for being suspected of leaving some CDs with Falun Gong information on cars parked outside Dezhou City Special Economics Development District Detention Center. She was spotted sitting in front of the detention center with two other people when the disks were found, although she was there to accompany two friends to see their detained father.

Scores of policemen from the National Security Bureau ransacked Ms. Wang’s house that evening. For three hours they searched every corner of her house, including the roof, looking for Falun Gong materials. Traumatized, Ms. Wang’s 85-year-old mother-in-law was later hospitalized. Ms. Wang’s three-year-old granddaughter cried all night and developed a fever that lingered for several days. Her daughter-in-law, who was four months pregnant, hid inside a closet out of fear and her baby was born prematurely.

The prosecuting team had no evidence at all to prove that Ms. Wang left the disks on cars. Those who saw her sitting in front of the detention center even admitted that Ms. Wang had a very small wallet, which could not have held the disks. She was sent to a detention center after the policemen found some Falun Gong materials in her house and released on bail 38 days later.

Four Year Sentence Without Due Process

Ms. Wang was arrested again on June 28, 2016 because someone reported her to the local police station that she was distributing Falun Gong materials.

The Dezhou City Special Economics District Court conducted a one-hour trial on November 22, 2016. The prosecutors and the court used the Falun Gong materials found during the ransacking of Ms. Wang’s house in July 2015 as “evidence” to charge Ms. Wang, even though she had already been detained for those.

Prior to this trial, Ms. Wang had been deprived of the right to hire a defense attorney. During the trial, the court appointed a lawyer to plead guilty for Ms. Wang. She refused to appear in court to protest the infringement of her rights and demanded a fair trial. Court officials had detention center guards drag her to court and carry her to the defense stand.

Ms. Wang had been on a hunger strike for more than three weeks prior to her court appearance, and was too weak to stand and could not defend herself. The judge sentenced her despite her physical condition. She suffered from convulsions, shortness of breath, and high blood pressure three days after the trial. Taken to an emergency room, she was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, bilateral lung inflammation, bilateral pleurisy, and cardiac neurosis.

When the guards dragged and carried Ms. Wang to court, they severely injured her chest during the two-hour ordeal. The court blamed the detention center for her fragile physical condition, but disallowed the detention center’s pronouncement to allow Ms. Wang’s family to apply for bail on medical grounds.

Ms. Wang finally met with her attorney on January 19, 2017, when he went to the courthouse to read up on her case and pay the processing fee. She has submitted her appeal to Dezhou City Intermediate Court.

Personnel and agencies involved in Ms. Wang’s case:

Shandong Province Dezhou City Intermediate Court:address: 912 Dexingzhong Blvd, Decheng District, Dezhou City, ShandongProvince, 253051phone: [phone]Shang Hongli (尚洪立), court president, Liu Jianhuam (刘建华), assistant president,Li Jinsheng (李进生), court judge: [phone] (cell)

Dezhou Cit Economic Development District CourtAddress: 4^th Floor, Dongling Building, Jinghua Blvd Management Committee, Dezhou City Economic Development District, Shandong Province, zip code: 253012Phone: [phone]Zhang Shufeng (张树峰), presidentLu Jinfeng (卢金峰), Chief criminal court judgeCao Dongmei (曹冬梅) and Wang Jingjing (王靖靖), prosecutors: [phone] (office)