Seven Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison during show trial in Sichuan

Photos of security agents and plainclothes police taken outside a courthouse in Sichuan province, where a show trial of Falun Gong practitioners was being held. On August 26, 2011, the trial of seven Falun Gong practitioners was held at the Wuhou District Court in Chengdu. At the end of the hearing, they were sent to prison camps for terms ranging from two to seven years for their practice of Falun Gong.

All seven had been employees of a computer store in Sichuan. Prior to the court date, the practitioners were held without charge for two years and tortured in detention. To prevent them from offering a defense against the fabricated evidence that had been brought against the practitioners, their lawyers were not informed of the court date. According to Chinese human rights lawyers and legal experts, the Communist Party and 610 Office routinely force judges to convict Falun Gong practitioners, regardless of evidence or protections in Chinese law.