(Minghui.org) Ms. Guo Dongxiang was tried in the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing on April 19, 2018. She was sentenced to a year and a half in prison and fined 3,000 yuan on August 29, 2018. She appealed to the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate Court, which upheld the original verdict on October 23, 2018.

Ms. Guo, 56, is from the Huixinnanli neighborhood in the Chaoyang District. She was arrested and her home ransacked by officers from the Xiaoguan Police Station on November 3, 2017, for distributing informational materials to raise awareness about Falun Gong. She was held in the Chaoyang Detention Center and lost her job as a result. Her case was turned over to the Procuratorate in January 2018 and then to the court in February.

Ms. Guo testified that she did not break the law and demanded that the procurator withdraw the charges against her. Her lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf. The court sentenced her to prison in August 2018. She then appealed to the Beijing City No. 3 Intermediate Court.

Wang Yi, an intermediate court judge, notified Ms. Guo's daughter, Ms. Li Runnan, who represented her in September 2018 that there would be no hearing. Ms. Li requested a re-trial because the verdict handed down after the first trial was based on unclear facts and insufficient evidence.

Wang called Ms. Li again on October 19, 2018, and told her that her mother's sentence would be announced on October 23 without a hearing.

Ms. Guo's appeal was dismissed and the original judgment was upheld. Ms. Guo will continue to appeal.