(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhou Xiuhui, a Falun Gong practitioner from Heilongjiang Province, was again sentenced to prison for her belief, after already serving seven years, from 2008 to 2015.
Ms. Zhou was arrested by Cao Hang, Li Zhikun, and two other officers from Dongjing Town Police Station on January 17, 2017, while she was distributing Chinese New Year paintings in Dongjing Town, Ning'an City. Superintendent Liu Kefeng handled her case.
The Ning'an City Police Bureau issued Ms. Zhou’s formal order of criminal detainment the following day. On March 16, Xia Yajun, captain of the Domestic Security Division in the Ning'an City Police Bureau, transferred her case to the Ning'an City Procuratorate. Zhang Bin was the prosecutor who handled her case. Her family hired two attorneys to defend her.
Ms. Zhou was tried and sentenced in the Ning'an City Court on the morning of August 10, 2017.
She did not feel well during the proceedings and was accompanied by medical personnel throughout the trial.
The prosecutor didn't have enough evidence initially and added more at noontime when the court adjourned for lunch. Ms. Zhou's attorneys challenged each item presented as evidence and argued that they were all inadmissible.
The attorneys said that practicing Falun Gong doesn't constitute a crime as defined by Criminal Law. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees its citizens the right of belief, which means that believing in and practicing Falun Gong is not illegal. The attorneys argued that according to the facts, the evidence, and the law, Ms. Zhou was innocent.
After Ms. Zhou presented her own statement, the prosecutor asked her if she would continue to practice Falun Gong. She replied that she would, because it was her lifelong belief and she would never give it up. She asserted that she was not guilty.
Ms. Zhou's relatives who attended the hearing not only learned the facts about Falun Gong, but also learned that practicing Falun Gong was legal. They expressed their respect for Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness and perseverance.
The attorneys’ defense of Ms. Zhou’s innocence and her statement in her own defense were very impressive. Nevertheless, the Ning'an Court ignored the Constitution and the law of the land and sentenced Ms. Zhou to ten months in prison.
Related Articles about Ms. Zhou's Previous Suffering:
Woman Recounts Release from Prison on the Brink of Death49 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested Before Chinese New Year in Harbin
