(Minghui.org) When a judge in Zhoukou City, Henan Province, sentenced a local Falun Gong practitioner to 2.5 years, he cited the “China Anti-cult Website” and the government’s persecution policy as the legal basis for the conviction.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Xia Dongmei was arrested on August 1, 2022, and has been held at the Zhoukou City Detention Center since. The police submitted her case to the Chuanhui District Procuratorate, which has been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the region. She stood trial at the Chuanhui District Court on February 1, 2023, and was sentenced to 2.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine on February 23.
The prosecutor accused Ms. Xia of using her computer and cellphone to promote Falun Gong and posting a 50-minute long video online. Ms. Xia’s lawyer argued that Falun Gong has never been on the cult list compiled by the Chinese authorities and that no law criminalizes it in China. As such, there was no legal basis for the charge against her, namely, “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization.” Yet judge Guo Zhouyong still sentenced her, citing the “China Anti-cult Website” as a reference.
According to World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, the directors and key members of China Anti-Cult Association, the organization behind the “China Anti-cult Website,” are members of the Chinese Communist Party and have been actively participating in the persecution. The website has also been used to spread hate propaganda to smear Falun Gong and justify the persecution.
Judge Guo had admitted that the sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners was based on the above-mentioned website and the government policy, not any enacted law.
When the lawyer contacted officers Jin and Li Wenfa about Ms. Xia’s case, they questioned him on who revealed their phone numbers online, as they kept receiving calls from overseas Falun Gong practitioners who urged them not to participate in the persecution. They threatened to include the call recordings in Ms. Xia’s case as prosecution evidence against her.
Perpetrators’ information:
Guo Zhouyong (郭周勇), presiding judge, Chuanhui District CourtLiu Hongbing (刘红兵), judge, Chuanhui District CourtLu Zhongliang (卢中良), prosecutor, Chuanhui District Procuratorate
(More perpetrators’ information is available in the original Chinese article.)
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