72-year-old Man Loses Appeal against Unlawful Three-Year Sentence

(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhang Guisheng’s appeal of a wrongful three-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong was recently rejected.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Zhang, a 73-year-old Benxi City, Liaoning Province resident, was arrested at home on July 13, 2022. He was tried by the Nanfen District Court through a video call on December 8, 2022. His family defender entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. The two prosecutors ignored his family’s request to cross-examine the Falun Gong materials used as prosecution evidence against him.

Mr. Zhang’s family defender questioned the presiding judge, Yang Chunjiu, about how he had undermined law enforcement, as alleged in the indictment. Yang responded that he didn’t know which law’s enforcement was undermined. He admitted that the case itself wasn’t valid, but Falun Gong practitioners have been sentenced on charges of “undermining law enforcement” by courts all across China for all these many years.

The judge sentenced Mr. Zhang to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine on December 12, 2022.

After Mr. Zhang appealed with the Benxi City Intermediate Court, Judge Li Wenjun told his family that the intermediate court would only hear the case when there was new evidence in his favor. Judge Li also forbade his family from visiting him and rejected their request to release him on bail. Li ruled to uphold his original verdict on February 21, 2023.

Prior to Mr. Zhang’s latest sentencing, he was given 12 years by the Pingshan District Court in December 2002. He was deprived of sleep and subjected to excruciating hanging torture at Jinzhou Prison, which almost claimed his life.

Torture reenactment: Excruciating hanging torture

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Yang Chunjiu (杨春玖), presiding judge of Nanfen District Court: [phone], [phone]Yu Fenglan (于凤兰), judge of Nanfen District CourtLi Wenjun (李文君), judge of Benxi City Intermediate Court

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related report:

Once Incarcerated for 12 Years, 72-year-old Man Given Another Three years for Practicing Falun Gong