Four Women Practitioners Arrested in Court for Appealing

On the afternoon of April 30th, 2010, Falun Gong practitioners Song Wenxiu, Wu Bilin, Huang Jing, and Sun Jingping went to court to appeal for the release of Song's daughter, Li Shihong, and explain the facts about Falun Gong to judges Wu Shanrong and Ye Li, who were involved in her arrest and trial.

When the four women arrived at the courthouse, the guards wouldn't let them in, and instead notified judge Wu that four practitioners had come to meet with her in support of Li and Falun Gong. Upon hearing this, the judge had the women wait for a long time before letting them in. The judge then reported them to the Jiangan District National Security Team after allowing them to come in. The National Security Team dispatched two plainclothes officers to confirm identification, and then officers from the Ranghouhu Police Station arrested the four practitioners and sent them to the Jiangan District Brainwashing Centre.

At around noon on March 31st, 2009, Yu Jiming and other officers from the Jiangan District Police Station in Danshuichi arrested Song Wenxiu near her home. They covered her mouth and dragged her into the police car. They also took her keys and ransacked her apartment, confiscating personal property totalling 1200 yuan¹ without any legal documentation.

When Ms. Song's daughter, also a Falun Gong practitioner, arrived home that afternoon, officers Yu Jiming, Yuan Qinghong, and Wan Baozhu (female) arrested and detained her.

After going through three reviews prior to December 2009, Li's case was determined to lack sufficient evidence, and the police were asked to reconsider the matter. On April 7th, 2010, the Jiangan District Court held a session regarding her case, with judge Ye Li presiding over the hearing. Ms. Li's lawyer presented evidence of multiple police violations of the law related to freedom of belief. However, according to Li's family, the officials forged evidence against her. The family's previous appeals for their daughter were not answered.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/5/8/223109.html