Four Practitioners Secretly Sentenced by Yushu City Court in Jilin Province

Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Yang Yazhi, Ms. Xu Lihua, Ms. Sun Shuxia and Ms. Guo Fengxue were subjected to a pre-trial by Yushu City Court on August 23rd after being detained in the Yushu Detention Centre for more than 100 days. The whole trial was conducted under the control of the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). Afterwards, the practitioners were detained for another two months. Their families were forbidden to visit them and knew nothing about their cases until late October, at which time the practitioners were secretly sentenced.

Ms. Yang, Ms. Xu and Ms. Sun were each sentenced to three years in prison. Ms. Guo was given a term of three and a half years. The four practitioners were detained in the Yushu Detention Centre for 175 days. Their families were not allowed to visit them until October 28th. After this visit, Ms. Yang, Ms. Xu and Ms. Sun were secretly transferred to the Heizuizi Prison in Changchun City. Ms. Guo was secretly sent to the Shilingzi Prison in Siping City. The whole process was controlled by the 610 Office, and the practitioners’ families were not informed.

Ms. Yang, Ms. Xu and Ms. Sun from Yushu City are elderly practitioners. They were arrested by officials from Xiushui Township Police Station when they distributed Falun Gong materials in Zhijiang Village, Xiushui Township in the evening on May 3rd. They were first detained for half a night at the police station and then transferred to the Domestic Security Division on the following day. After an interrogation, they were sent to and tortured in Yushu Detention Centre. Ms. Guo, who drove the other three, was also arrested and detained. Her minivan was taken by the police.

The practitioners’ families continuously requested to visit them after they were taken into custody. However, the authorities denied their requests and didn’t inform them of anything until before the trial.

An anonymous person, who was present at the Yushu City Court trial held on August 23rd, said that the four practitioners looked very weak because of the brutal torture they suffered in the detention centre. They were brought in with handcuffs and fetters. The guards didn’t allow any physical contact or talking between the practitioners and their families. The judge read some so-called evidence that was fabricated in advance. The entire process was just to go through the motions, and the trial ended in only one hour.

Those who have learned of this trial have criticised the evil deeds of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). An ordinary criminal offender who witnessed the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in prison said, “The CCP’s torturing of practitioners is really terrifying and blood-curdling. The elderly women just distributed some flyers. They didn’t commit any crime, nor did they do any bad deeds. What legislation can the CCP use to sentence them? How evil and ridiculous the CCP is!”

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/11/8/248863.html