(Minghui.org) Four women from Huaihua in Hunan Province were illegally arrested and tried for seeking the release of several other Falun Gong practitioners. The four were sentenced to prison in the Hecheng District Court on September 30, 2014. They have been held at Huaihua Detention Center since April 9, 2014.
Ms. Tang Qingying (唐清英), Ms. Xiao Guiying (肖桂英), and Ms. Yin Qiuyang (尹秋阳) were given four years in prison, while Ms. Tang Kaiju (唐开菊) got three years and six months.
All four women appealed their sentences. The Huaihua Intermediate Court will hold a hearing in the near future to hear their appeals.
Meanwhile, their families have filed a formal complaint with Huaihua Procuratorate against those involved in the unlawful sentencing.
The complaint lists the following perpetrators: Deng Jinwen, case officer, Yingfeng Police Station; Yang Pei, prosecutor, Huaihua District Procuratorate; and Shu Yong, chief judge, Hecheng District Court.
The families are accusing Deng Jinwen of framing the four women by fabricating evidence and submitting false materials to the Hecheng District Procuratorate in order to have them tried and sentenced. He charged the four women with “disturbing social order” when, in fact, what they did was attempt to attend a trial of their friends, a legal right available to every citizen.
Yang Pei was accused of ignoring and twisting the facts by drawing inferences based on false evidence given by staff members of the 610 Office (established for the sole purpose of persecuting Falun Gong), in an attempt to use the legal system to persecute innocent people.
The family members stated that Shu Yong ignored the defense entered by the lawyer at the hearing. They reported that the judge fully accepted the fabricated evidence given by the 610 Office and sentenced the four women based on no legal grounds.
They stated in their complaint that the three accused are guilty not only of dereliction of duty, but also violated the basic principles and ethical standards for public servants.
The families filed the formal complaint in hopes that the Huaihua Procuratorate will investigate the unlawful conduct of the accused and impose punishment in accordance with the law.
Related Report:Four Women Tried for Seeking the Release of Other Practitioners