(Minghui.org) Four practitioners from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province were tried at various times in 2016, and three were sentenced. One had her case returned to the Procuratorate, and remains in detention.

Ms. Dong Xinhua, Ms. Kong Cuihua, and Ms. Li Xiqing were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one and a half years to three years. Ms. Dong was taken to the Hebei Women's Prison. Ms. Kong appealed to the Shijiazhuang City Intermediate Court. Ms. Li served the length of her term and returned home.

Ms. Ren Yanzhen had her case returned to the county Procuratorate.

Details

Ms. Dong, in her forties, from Dongnan Village, Jingxing County, was arrested in August 2015 for posting information about Falun Gong on Qzone (a social media app in China). Her home was ransacked.

She was held in Shijiazhuang City No. 2 Detention Center, before being tried in April 2016, by the Jingxing County Court.

Ms. Dong was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2017, and is being held at the Hebei Women's Prison.

Ms. Kong Cuihua and Ms. Li Xiqing, from Fengshan Town in the Shijiazhuang mining area, were reported to the authorities for talking to people about Falun Gong on January 18, 2016. They were arrested and detained at the Shijiazhuang City No. 2 Detention Center.

Ms. Ren Yanzhen was arrested at her home by officers from the Jingxing County Domestic Security Division and the Tianchang Police Station on February 2, 2016. Her place was ransacked.

Ms. Kong, Ms. Li, and Ms. Ren were tried by the Jingxing County Court on December 8, 2016. All three practitioners hired defense lawyers. Before the trial, the court claimed that Ms. Li's attorney had pleaded “guilty” on her behalf, which was done without consulting Ms. Li's family.

At the trial, the attorneys defending Ms. Kong and Ms. Ren submitted pleas of “not guilty.” The prosecutors from the Procuratorate, and court judges listened without any objections.

Ms. Kong was given a two-year-and-four-month prison term on June 30, 2017. She appealed to the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court.

Ms. Li was given a one-and-a-half-year prison term, and has since returned home.

Ms. Ren is very weak, and is being prevented from doing the Falun Gong exercises. She is experiencing dizziness and numbness in her hands and feet.

Parties involved in the persecution:Liu Fenglin (刘风林), secretary of the Jingxing County Political and Legal Affairs Committee: +86-0311-2031316, +86-13933852088Head of the 610 Office: +86-13832336488Jingxing County County: +86-031182022906Qiao Zhihai (乔志海), court president: +86-13784023666