Ms. Cai Yuechan and Ms. Cai Yuchang Sentenced

Practitioners Ms. Cai Yuechan and Ms. Cai Yuchang were reported to the police by Li Weibo, head of security at the Jinzhou Township Committee, on December 4th, 2010, when they were seen handing out DVDs of Shen Yun Performing Arts¹. They were arrested by officers from Ouding Police Department in Shantou City and were detained at the Shantou Tuopu Detention Centre.

Officials from the Shantou 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and the Domestic Security Division planned to hold secret trials for Ms. Cai Yuechan and Ms. Cai Yuchang on May 23rd, and did not inform their family members. Lawyer Yang Chujuan from Longhu District Legal Assistance Centre was assigned to act as their defence, but both practitioners refused to have the lawyer defend them.

The trial date was postponed until June 3rd. During that time, the practitioners entrusted their family members to hire lawyers for them. When the trial was held in Longhu Court in Shantou, their lawyers attended. The prosecutor, Xu Meiliang from Longhu District Procuratorate, and officials from the Domestic Security Division were also present.

Xu claimed that the defendants had broken many laws, but could not produce any evidence or justify any of the charges. The practitioners' lawyer submitted a not-guilty plea. He pointed out the major flaws in the prosecutor's statements.

However, officials from Longhu District Court sentenced both practitioners to 18 months in prison on July 7th. They have appealed to the Shandong Intermediate Court.

Head of Shantou 610 Office Huang Xianzhan, head of the Comprehensive Management Office in Shantou Huang Xiaoyang, head of the Shantou Domestic Security Division Lin Weimin, and staff from the Police Department, the Procuratorate and the Judicial Department in Longhu District, Shantou collaborated in persecuting the two practitioners.

Note

1. Shen Yun Performing Arts is a New York based company showing traditional Chinese culture through classical dance and music. Some dance pieces in the show depict the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and how they show their compassion under extreme conditions.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/7/21/244209.html