(Minghui.org) The month of October 2023 recorded 65 cases of Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison for upholding their faith.
Among the 65 cases, 1 took place in 2022, 4 in the first half of 2023, 2 in July 2023, 11 in August 2023, 10 in September 2023, 10 in October 2023, and another 17 cases with unknown months in 2023, as well as 10 cases with unknown months and years. The delay in reporting was caused by the strict information censorship under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which aims to keep the persecution underground to avoid international scrutiny.
The sentenced practitioners were from 15 provinces, centrally controlled municipalities, and autonomous regions in China. Shandong had the most cases with 12, followed by 11 in Liaoning, and 6 in Fujian and Jilin each. The remaining 11 regions had between 1 and 5 cases.
Of the 29 practitioners whose ages at the time of sentencing were known, 1 was in his 20s, 2 in their 40s, 6 in their 50s, 8 in their 60s, 7 in their 70s, and 3 in their 80s. An 89-year-old practitioner was sentenced to one year and three months and fined 8,000 yuan.
The practitioners’ terms ranged from six months to eight and a half years, with an average term of three years. Two practitioners were given probation. Twenty-five of them were each fined between 2,000 and 30,000 yuan for a total of 249,000 yuan (averaging 9,960 yuan per person).
The practitioners came from all walks of life, including teachers, company directors, and cadres.
The following are snapshots of select sentencing cases. The full list of sentenced practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).
Elderly Targeted
89-Year-Old Shandong Woman Sentenced to One Year and Three Months for Her Faith in Falun Gong
An 89-year-old woman in Qingdao City, Shandong Province was sentenced to one year and three months in prison with an 8,000-yuan fine days after the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 29, 2023).
Ms. Pan Yuelan’s sentencing stemmed from her arrest on October 17, 2021, after a man in his 30s reported her for talking to him that day about the persecution of Falun Gong.
The arresting officers from the Yinzhu Police Station proceeded to raid Ms. Pan’s home, confiscating her Falun Gong books and informational materials. She managed to snatch back a few books from the police.
While Ms. Pan was released hours later, for the next three days, chief Liu had his officers take her to their police station during the day and return her home in the evening.
Ms. Pan received a call from the Huangdao District Court on March 18, 2023 notifying her that prosecutor Sun Chunfang from the Huangdao District Procuratorate had indicted her and forwarded her case to the court.
The court convicted Ms. Pan around October 4, 2023. She refused to pay the court fine or undergo a physical examination required for prison admission. It’s unclear whether she has been taken into custody.
81-Year-Old Woman Sentenced to Over Two Years for Practicing Falun Gong
An 81-year-old woman was sentenced to two years and three months on August 27, 2023, three weeks after she was arrested for talking to people about Falun Gong.
Ms. Miao Xianmin, of Jining City, Shandong Province, was arrested on August 8, 2023, while talking to people at the Caoqiaokou Wholesale Market. She was taken to the Jining Detention Centre the next day and made to appear in the Rencheng District Court on August 26. During the hearing, her daughter noticed that she was unable to walk on her own, suspecting that she might have been tortured by the detention centre guards. The judge sentenced her to Jinan Second Prison with a fine of 4,000 yuan the following day. It’s not clear whether she has been transferred to the prison at the time of writing.
70-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Sentenced to 4 Years on Shaky Evidence
A 70-year-old woman in Fushun City, Liaoning Province was sentenced to four years and fined 16,000 yuan for her faith in Falun Gong.
The sentencing of Ms. Wang Caiyun, a retired worker of the Longfeng Coalmine, stemmed from her arrest on May 17, 2022. She was released after 15 days of administrative detention, only to be arrested again on March 4, 2023. She has since been held at the Fushun City Detention Centre.
The Dongzhou District Court held two hearings of her case at the detention centre, with the first one on July 12 and the second one on September 11.
Prosecutor Yang Kun introduced a mysterious witness in the first hearing without calling him (or her) to stand. The witness had the name of Xu Dawei but no other information (such as sex or age) was available. Xu was said to have witnessed the police interrogation of Ms. Wang, and the raid of her home. Xu’s signatures on five different forms all looked different.
During the second hearing, Yang still insisted that Xu, who was not present, was legitimate despite evidence saying otherwise (Ms. Wang’s husband, who was present during the police raid, never saw anyone named Xu at his home).
Yang also presented a black-white photo of Ms. Wang walking on the street and claimed that she distributed Falun Gong materials there. However no supporting evidence was provided.
Judge Zhang Yang sentenced Ms. Wang not long after the second hearing. Ms. Wang is now appealing her wrongful conviction.
This is not the first time that Ms. Wang has been targeted for her faith during the past 24 years of persecution. She has been arrested multiple times and twice given forced labor totaling five years.
79-Year-Old Woman Out on Bail Taken Back into Custody After Getting 1.5 Years for Her Faith
A 79-year-old woman who had been out on bail was taken back into custody on October 17, 2023, hours after she was sentenced to one and a half years for her faith in Falun Gong.
The sentencing of Ms. Tong Shurong, of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, stemmed from an incident on October 17, 2021, when she went to the Yingchengzi Neighborhood in Ganjingzi District, Dalian City that day to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong. After she spoke to a few middle-schoolers, the students reported her to the police. Officers of the Yingchengzi Police Station harassed her at home several times before giving her six months of house arrest. [In China, the police, the procuratorate, and the court can put people under house arrest.]
In May 2022, officers from the Yingchengzi Police Station went to Ms. Tong’s home and said that she had just been given a second six-month house arrest and that they had submitted her case to the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate.
Prosecutor Liu Shuang gave Ms. Tong a third six-month house arrest on October 17, 2022. Liu and prosecutor Zhang Fuli then indicted Ms. Tong and submitted her case to the Ganjingzi District Court.
Two officers from the Yingchengzi Police Station went to Ms. Tong’s home at around 12:30 p.m. on May 15, 2023, and drove her to the Ganjingzi District Court without informing her of the location. She thought she was at the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate and asked a staffer there to pass her letter to prosecutor Liu.
Ms. Tong realised she had been taken to the courthouse after the staffer said there were no prosecutors in the court. She asked to leave but was ordered to wait for someone from the Yingchengzi Police Station to pick her up (the two officers who drove her there left after dropping her off).
At 6:30 p.m., Ms. Tong was taken to Yisen Hospital for a physical exam by four officers. She had high blood pressure, but the police still drove her to a local detention centre per judge Duan Li’s order to hold her in a detention center to await trial. Ms. Tong was denied admission and the police finally drove her home at 9 p.m. They gave her a copy of her indictment before they left.
Ms. Tong noted that the indictment contained fabricated allegations against her, so she wrote to the procuratorate and the court to refute the allegations and request that her case be dismissed. She also wrote to relevant government agencies asking them to uphold justice for her. She didn’t hear anything back.
Ms. Tong stood trial in the Ganjingzi District Court on August 9, 2023. Prosecutors Liu and Zhang presented fabricated evidence against her, but neither she nor her non-lawyer defender was allowed to refute the allegations. Judge Duan also interrupted the defender many times and threatened to remove him from the courtroom.
Ms. Tong and her defender protested against judge Duan’s violation of legal procedures. The latter announced to adjourn the session and left. Several armed officers then came in and ordered Ms. Tong and her defender to sign some paperwork without allowing them to read what was on it. They refused to comply with the demand.
Judge Duan gave Ms. Tong one-year bail on September 8, 2023.
Two bailiffs (one surnamed Wu) from the Ganjingzi District Court, and three officers from the Yingchengzi Police Station went to Ms. Tong’s home on October 17, 2023. They announced that she had been sentenced to 1.5 years and fined 10,000 yuan. After that, they took her to a hospital for a physical examination. She was found to have high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia (high fats in the blood), but was still taken to the Yaojia Detention Centre right after the health exam.
Ms. Chen Yuanhua, 74, was recently sentenced to four years for practicing Falun Gong
Ms. Chen was arrested by more than ten officers when she was walking on the street on January 8, 2022. At least another ten local practitioners were arrested that day. The police accused Ms. Chen of distributing informational materials about Falun Gong and took her to the Ninghe District Detention Centre.
Because she was tortured, Ms. Chen developed some severe medical conditions and had to lean against the wall when she walked. The police allowed her to sit in a wheelchair during interrogation sessions (when they usually restrain Falun Gong practitioners in metal chairs). One officer promised to release her as soon as she agreed to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. She refused because no laws in China forbid practicing Falun Gong.
Because Ms. Chen held firm to her faith, her family was not allowed to see her even when she was held in the detention centre. She was transferred to the Tianjin Women’s Prison in late May 2023 and it’s not clear whether her loved ones were allowed to visit her there.
Ms. Chen’s husband, who is nearly 80 and incapacitated, relied on her for care. Her detention dealt him a heavy blow and his condition kept deteriorating. The doctor said he could die at any time.
Similar to Ms. Chen and her husband’s ordeal, another practitioner who was arrested on the same day, Ms. Han Shuyun, 70, was secretly sentenced to five years in prison. Her husband was also incapacitated and is having a hard time coping with the mental agony from her imprisonment.
Young Practitioner Sentenced
College Graduate in His 20s Sentenced to 5.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
The family of a Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province resident recently confirmed that he was sentenced to 5.5 years in September 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong,.
Mr. Wang Fuming, in his 20s, is a native of Ganzhou City in the same province. He attended a college in Nanchang and landed a job there two years ago after graduation. On August 3, 2022, he was arrested in his rental place by Xiong Xiaoping and other officers from the Gaoxin District Domestic Security Office. The police suspected him of distributing informational materials about the persecution of Falun Gong. His ID, cellphone, driver’s license and an electric bike were confiscated.
The police first held Mr. Wang in a hotel and then put him on criminal detention at an unknown facility. When his parents, who didn’t practice Falun Gong, inquired about his case status, the police refused to provide any information and instead threatened them, telling them not to expose his persecution to Minghui.org, or he would face a heavier prison sentence.
Fearing retaliation, Mr. Wang’s parents didn’t take any action to seek justice for him. They couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer for him, either. They never received any update about his case over the past year, and only recently found out about his prison sentence. No details about his indictment or court hearing were available.
36-year-old Serving 4.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
A 36-year-old Xingtai City, Hebei Province resident stood trial on February 23, 2023 for practicing Falun Gong and was later sentenced to 4.5 years. Mr. Zhao Can was admitted to prison in mid-July 2023, after his appeal was rejected by the Xingtai City Intermediate Court.
Mr. Zhao’s family went to the Tangshan City Second Prison in early October 2023 to visit him. The guards initially would not let them in, with the excuse that Mr. Zhao refused to renounce Falun Gong, but then relented upon seeing Mr. Zhao’s disabled mother. According to Mr. Zhao’s family, he appeared calm and said he was ordered to work in a garment-making sweatshop every day, without pay.
Mr. Zhao, a native of Li County, Hebei Province, landed a job in Xingtai City after graduating from college. He was arrested on July 15, 2021 and held at the Ningjin County Detention Centre. Ningjin County is under the jurisdiction of Xingtai City.
The police initially told Mr. Zhao’s family that they would release him on July 30, 2021, but when his family went to the detention centre that day to pick him up, the police handed them a notice saying that Mr. Zhao’s 15-day administrative detention had been extended to criminal detention.
Mr. Zhao’s family received a notice from the Ningjin County Court in late September 2022, announcing that he was scheduled to appear in court just days later on October 10. The family and his lawyer went to the court on time, only to be told by the judge that the hearing had been canceled and would be rescheduled within three months.
The family said they were very disappointed by the change. As they hadn’t been allowed to visit Mr. Zhao since his arrest a year before, they were very worried about him.
The court held a hearing of Mr. Zhao’s case on February 23, 2023. By then, he had been detained for one year and seven months.
After the hearing resumed following the lunch break, the judge asked Mr. Zhao whether he pleaded guilty. Mr. Zhao maintained that he was innocent. When he asked the judge which law he’d allegedly violated, the judge lowered his head and remained silent.
Moments later, the judge asked Mr. Zhao, “You have so many flash drives. Would you plead guilty if I sentenced you to four years and six months?”
At the request of Mr. Zhao’s lawyer, the judge exhibited the flash drives in court. The judge appeared to be surprised to see some electronic books on the flash drives. But it’s not clear what the books were.
The judge went on to say that the government has long decided to outlaw Falun Gong. But he stopped short of specifying which law stated so.
The judge announced Mr. Zhao’s verdict around late May 2023.
Family Tragedy
Married Couple in Shandong Province Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith in Falun Gong
A married couple in Qingdao City, Shandong Province were sentenced to prison on October 18, 2023 for their faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Yu Chunli was given a four-year-and-eight-month term, and her husband, Mr. Wang Guohui, received four years and four months. They both filed appeals after the sentencing.
When the couple was arrested on October 27, 2022, they had been forced to live away from their home in Chengyang District, Qingdao City for nearly two years, to avoid being persecuted for their faith in Falun Gong, but the police tracked them down and discovered their rental place in the same city.
A group of officers from the Chengyang District Domestic Security Office and its subordinate Jihongtan Police Station surrounded the couple’s rental place at 8:30 p.m. on October 27, 2022, and tricked their son into opening the door by saying that their home had a water leak. While arresting the couple, the police also confiscated their Falun Gong books, printer, and laptop computer.
The police kept Mr. Wang at the Jihongtan Police Station for over 40 days, and Ms. Yu for over 80 days.
The police repeatedly barred the couple’s lawyer from visiting them, and gave him the run-around between their police station, the quarantine centre, and the Jimo District Procuratorate. More specifically, when the lawyer went to the Jihongtan Police Station on December 14, 2022 to request a meeting with his clients, the police said they did not have the equipment for virtual meetings and directed him to inquire with the quarantine centre the next day.
The lawyer proceeded to file a complaint with the procuratorate, and an official there said he should be allowed virtual meetings with his clients. He went to the quarantine center the next day and was told that the police station must issue a notice to approve the visit first. The lawyer went to the police station and officer Wang Chuankai still insisted on no virtual meetings, citing the lack of equipment. He also said that the lawyer must wait to see his clients until the end of the 14-day quarantine.
The lawyer finally visited the couple after they were transferred to the Pudong Detention Centre in Jimo District on February 7, 2023. Mr. Wang was found to have contracted Hepatitis B and Ms. Yu was in a relatively good state.
The couple stood trial at the Jimo District Court on October 18, 2023. Judge Gao Fei, who has prosecuted many other local Falun Gong practitioners over the years, presided over the trial. He convicted Mr. Wang and Ms. Yu at the end of the hearing.
Mother and Daughter Both Sentenced to 2.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
A mother and daughter in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province were both sentenced to two and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan on September 27, 2023, for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Liu Peng, 61, and her daughter, Ms. Wang Bingcheng, were arrested at their shared home in Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang City, on October 9, 2021, by more than ten officers from the local Tangu Police Station and the Chang’an District Police Department. The police interrogated them at a hotel for a few days, during which time officials from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee showed up multiple times to extract “confessions.”
The mother and daughter were later moved to the Tangu Police Station. The Chang’an District Police Department submitted their case to the Chang’an District Procuratorate, which then forwarded it to the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate. Prosecutor Li Sujuan indicted both mother and daughter.
Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang were later transferred to the Shijiazhuang City Second Detention Center, where they remain as of the time of writing.
Judge Li Lixin of the Qiaoxi District Court initially barred their family defender from representing them in court, but he relented after the family defender filed a complaint against him.
During a court hearing on March 14, 2023, the defense attorneys requested that Judge Li be recused from the case. He adjourned the session immediately and rescheduled the hearing for April 13. Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang’s family defender and two lawyers entered not-guilty pleas for them during the second hearing. The mother and daughter also testified in their own defense. Judge Li convicted them on September 27.
A Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, resident was admitted to the Shenyang City First Prison on August 1, 2023, to serve a four-year term for his faith in Falun Gong.
Mr. Ma Jiang was returning from grocery shopping on July 20, 2022, when he was stopped by the agents of Shenhe District Police Department at the entrance of his apartment unit. The police said they needed to talk to him outside, only to arrest him when he stepped out of the building. His home was also ransacked.
The Shenhe Economic Development Zone Court later sentenced Mr. Ma to four years for “undermining law enforcement with a cult organisation,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong. Details about his indictment and court trial aren’t clear.
Mr. Ma was first taken to the Panjin Prison for a brainwashing session on July 14, 2023, and then transferred to the Shenyang City First Prison on August 1.
Mr. Ma, a former employee of Dawn Aerospace Engine company, took up Falun Gong in 1996 at the recommendation of his father-in-law, Mr. Wu Yu. His wife, Ms. Wu Shuyan, her brother, Mr. Wu Shuming, her daughter Ms. Ma Hongyang and son-in-law Mr. Zhao Wei soon joined in the practice as well.
In the past 24 years of persecution, the extended family were repeatedly targeted for upholding their faith. Ms. Wu died at 47 in 2013, after being tortured in prison, and her father passed away on May 19, 2015, after enduring years of persecution. Mr. Ma was previously given three years in prison in 2015, five months after his brother-in-law Mr. Wu was also sentenced to three years. Mr. Ma’s daughter and son-in-law were both sentenced to one year and four months in 2022.
Sentencing of the Professional
Jiangsu Businessman Given Second Prison Term for His Faith
It was learned in October 2023 that a 69-year-old businessman in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was sentenced to one year and four months for his faith in Falun Gong.
Mr. Hu Yuanqin’s sentencing stemmed from his arrest on January 4, 2023, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The arresting officers from the Jiangning District Police Department and the Dongshan Police Station took him to the Jiangning District Detention Centre. His family learned about his prison sentence in mid-October 2023. Other details of his indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated. It is unclear if he has been transferred to prison.
This is not the first time that Mr. Hu has been targeted for his faith. He was arrested on July 9, 2001, and detained for more than a month. He was arrested again on November 7, 2001 and detained for a month. His third arrest took place on January 3, 2002. He was detained for one month at a local police station and another 10 days at a brainwashing centre inside Jiangning Hotel. He was arrested three more times in 2012, 2013 and 2014, with his last arrest resulting in a three years prison term.
A 49-year-old woman in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province was sentenced to three years and fined 5,000 yuan on August 11, 2023 for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Jin Yijun used to work at a law firm, but could no longer practice law after the Lanzhou City Judicial Bureau refused to renew her law license in 2013 because of her faith in Falun Gong. She was arrested on September 24, 2021 and stood trial on April 7, 2023, before being wrongfully convicted on August 11.
Ms. Jin lives in Gongda Community in Qilihe District, Lanzhou City. On September 10, 2021, Ba Juanjuan, the Gongda Community secretary, noted that four Falun Gong-smearing poster boards in the community were gone. She checked the surveillance videos and saw that Ms. Jin took the elevator at around 5 a.m. on that day. She thus suspected Ms. Jin of removing the poster boards and reported her to the local Xiaoxihu Police Station. Two weeks later, on September 24, Ba accompanied officer Feng Yuchen and arrested Ms. Jin at home.
Feng took Ms. Jin to the Qilihe District Lockup, where she was kept for seven days before being transferred to the Lanzhou City No. 1 Detention Centre on October 2, 2021.
Ms. Jin’s case was submitted to the Qilihe District Procuratorate based on the following three pieces of evidence:
1) the authentication report of the elevator video footage issued by the Gansu University of Political Science and Law Forensic Centre [it’s unclear though what conclusion was drawn, as the video only showed Ms. Jin taking the elevator, not removing the poster boards as Ba had alleged]
2) Ms. Jin’s one-year labor camp term given in 2012;
3) her 15-day detention following an arrest on May 13, 2021
Prosecutor Zhang Jingrong of the Qilihe District Procuratorate forwarded the case to the Chengguan District Procuratorate on December 30, 2021. Prosecutors Zhang Qiongying and Cao Huan indicted Ms. Jin and forwarded her case to the Chengguan District Court on April 22, 2022.
Ms. Jin appeared in the Chengguan District Court on April 7, 2023. Still recovering from torture in custody, she collapsed into a chair as soon as she was brought into the courtroom.
Ms. Jin remained exhausted and weak throughout the one-and-a-half-hour-long session, but still managed to testify in her own defense. She refuted the allegations against her and challenged prosecutor Zhang to specify which law she had allegedly undermined and what harm she had allegedly caused to what persons. Zhang was unable to answer her questions and read the list of the police-supplied evidence three times instead.
Ms. Jin’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her and demanded her acquittal. The court still sentenced her on August 11, and she soon filed an appeal with the Lanzhou City Intermediate Court, which assigned judge Ma Yan to handle the case. She is currently awaiting a ruling at the Lanzhou City No. 1 Detention Centre, where at least twelve other local practitioners are still being held for practicing Falun Gong.
Repeatedly Persecuted
It was learned in October 2023 that Mr. Zhuang Xiankun, a Changchun City, Jilin Province resident was sentenced to six years in prison for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhuang, around 49, and his wife, Ms. Han Yingli, around 48 (who also practices Falun Gong), were arrested at their home at 7:30 a.m. on February 24, 2023. The arresting officers from the Xixin Police Station took the couple to the Jiutai Detention Centre and held them there until March 4 before transferring them to the Weizigou Detention Centre.
While the couple’s family managed to confirm Mr. Zhuang’s prison sentence, they know nothing about the details of his indictment, trial, or sentencing. It’s also unclear whether Ms. Han was also sentenced or where the couple is currently held.
Both Mr. Zhuang and Ms. Han worked for the Changchun City Automobile Factory. They have been repeatedly targeted for their faith throughout the past 24 years of persecution.
Ms. Han went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong around February 2001 and was arrested. She was held at a detention centre affiliated with the Beijing Police Department for several months. A man who claimed to be from the National Security Bureau later went to her workplace to investigate her background. She was then sentenced to five years in the Jilin Province Women’s Prison. She had to give her baby, who was only months old, to her younger brother.
Mr. Zhuang stayed in Beijing between October and December 1999 to raise awareness of the persecution. He was arrested and detained for 15 days.
He was arrested at work in February 2000 by agents from the Jincheng Police Department. He was given one year of forced labor but had his term extended by seven months because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. He served time at the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp and the Fenjin Labor Camp. He was released in September 2001.
On March 5, 2002, Mr. Zhuang participated in the TV interception to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested and sentenced to 11 years in Shiling Prison.
A 58-year-old Weifang City, Shandong Province, resident was taken away from home by police on August 4, 2023 to serve two combined prison terms of 6.5 years for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Xu Guizhen’s family haven’t been allowed to see her since, and are very worried about whether she will be tortured in custody for not renouncing Falun Gong.
Ms. Xu’s ordeal stemmed from an earlier arrest on the evening of December 7, 2021 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Another practitioner, Ms. Wang Shuhua, in her 70s, was also arrested. The police attempted to detain them at the Changyi Detention Center, but had to release them on bail after they were denied admission due to their poor health.
Upon returning home, Ms. Xu was shocked to see her home in a mess after a police raid. All of her Falun Gong related items, including books and informational materials, were confiscated. The police constantly came back to harass her.
The Fangzi District Domestic Security Office submitted the two practitioners’ cases to the Kuiwen District Procuratorate in late February 2022. The Kuiwen District Court sentenced both of them to 3.5 years on June 20, 2022.
Due to their poor health, both women were again denied admission to the Changyi Detention Centre after being convicted. While agents of the Fangzi District Domestic Security Office allowed them to go home, they managed to force the detention center to admit Ms. Wang days later on June 25, before transferring her to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison. Ms. Xu, on the other hand, was placed on house arrest.
Ms. Xu was arrested in the spring of 2023 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials in a residential area. The Fangzi District Domestic Security Office submitted her case to the Fangzi District Procuratorate this time. The Fangzi District Court held a hearing of her case on June 12, 2023 and gave her a 3-year sentence. With her previous 3.5-year term, she now has 6.5 years to serve.
The court initially allowed Ms. Xu to serve time at home due to her poor health, on the condition that she doesn’t leave Weifang for a year. The police nonetheless suddenly showed up at her home on August 4 and took her to the Weifang City Detention Centre.
Her family made several requests to visit her, but were repeatedly rejected. As she had lost most of her teeth due to the persecution over the years and she has difficulty eating, her family is especially worried about her diet. A guard recently called her family and asked them to make cash deposit for her to buy daily necessities, but he still denied their request to visit her.
Jilin Woman Sentenced to Three Years for Practicing Falun Gong
It’s recently been confirmed by Minghui.org that a woman in Changchun City, Jilin Province, has been sentenced to three years for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhang Chunjie, 59, was arrested at home on February 19, 2023, by officers of the Erdao District Domestic Security Office and the Dongzhan Police Station. She was first given 15 days of administrative detention at the Changchun City Lockup and then transferred to the Changchun City No.4 Detention Centre under criminal detention. The Chaoyang District Procuratorate approved her arrest in early April and later indicted her. She was recently sentenced by the Chaoyang District Court, but details about her indictment, trial, and sentencing aren’t clear.
Ms. Zhang has appealed to the Changchun City Intermediate Court and is awaiting the result in the Changchun City No.4 Detention Centre.
This is not the first time that Ms. Zhang was arrested. She was first arrested in July 1999 when on her way to Beijing to appeal. She was arrested again in September 1999 when she refused to promise the police not to go to Beijing to appeal on October 1, the 50th anniversary since the CCP seized power in 1949. She was arrested five more times—twice in 2000, once in 2001 that resulted in a one-year term, once in 2009 that led to a 1.5-year term, and once in 2014.
It was confirmed in October 2023 that Ms. Li Qiaolian, 69, from Baiyin City, Gansu Province, who was arrested on January 14, 2022, was sentenced to three years and nine months by the Baiyin District Court for practicing Falun Gong. She was also fined 8,000 yuan.
Ms. Li is retired from the Yinguang Factory in Baiyin City. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1998.
Around 4 p.m. on January 14, 2022, eight officers from the Baiyin District Police Department broke into Mr. Wang Ligui’s home and arrested Ms. Li, Mr. Wang, Ms. Liao An’an, Mr. Gu Fuman, Mr. Yang Yuenan, Ms. Liu Yulan, Ms. Liu Fengying, Ms. Zhu Ju, and a ninth practitioner whose name is unknown.
The officers searched each practitioner and confiscated the items they carried.
Mr. Wang, Mr. Gu, and Ms. Li were held at the Baiyin City Detention Centre. Ms. Liao was put under house arrest. The cases against these practitioners were later submitted to Baiyin District Procuratorate and then forwarded to the Baiyin District Court.
Ms. Li, Mr. Wang, Mr. Gu, and Ms. Zhao were tried on March 30, 2023, with Ms. Liao joining remotely from her home (as she was unable to walk). The other four appeared in person in the Baiyin District Court. The presiding judge, Gu Qinghua (no relation to Mr. Gu), did not allow the practitioners to testify in their own defense. Instead he tried to pressure them to admit they were guilty during the six-hour hearing. Ms. Liao, Mr. Gu, and Ms. Li all said that they were innocent of any crimes and demanded an acquittal.
On September 5, 2023, Minghui.org confirmed that Ms. Li, Ms. Liao, and Mr. Gu were each sentenced to three years and nine months and fined 8,000 yuan. Mr. Wang was sentenced to three years and five months and fined 6,000 yuan. Ms. Zhao was sentenced to one year in prison and given 18 months of probation. She was also fined 5,000 yuan.
Prior to this latest sentence, Ms. Li was imprisoned twice in Gansu Women’s Prison, also known as Lanzhou Women’s Prison, for a total of 11 years.
Heavy Terms
Shandong Woman Sentenced to 7 Years, Not 4 Years as Previously Reported, Family Confirms
It was confirmed in October 2023 that a 68-year-old woman in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province had actually been sentenced to seven years, not four years as previously reported, for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhang Shuping’s sentencing stemmed from her arrest on November 26, 2020. The police soon released her on bail but secretly installed a location tracking device on her car. She didn’t find out about it until months later. The police harassed her twice on January 15, 2021, and arrested her at a highway exit in March 2021.
It was previously reported that Ms. Zhang was sentenced to four years in late July 2021 and transferred from the Liaocheng City Detention Centre to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison about three months later. As the Dong’e County Court never informed Ms. Zhang’sher family of her trial or sentencing, they didn’t confirm her actual prison sentence until recently. They also verified that she is indeed serving time at the Shandong Province Women’s Prison. They are calling on people who knew about her trial and/or imprisonment to provide more information.
Three Family Members Sentenced to Prison After Group Arrest
Mr. Zhuang Dongjie, his older sister Ms. Zhuang Yurong (a 57-year-old kindergarten teacher), and her husband (name unknown) of Fujian Province were sentenced to prison after a group arrest on June 18, 2022. Mr. Zhuang was given 8.5 years, Ms. Zhuang was given 3.5 years, and her husband was given six months. The details of the three family members’ indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated.
They were arrested on the night of June 18, 2022, while studying Falun Gong teachings at a private home in Huian County, Quanzhou City. A few other practitioners at the home, including Mr. Lin Peisheng and Mr. Zheng Jinqing, were arrested too. Mr. Zhuang’s younger sister, who did not practice Falun Gong, was seized as well. The police later raided the homes of all arrested practitioners and confiscated their personal belongings, such as Falun Gong books, cell phones, computers, and printers.
The group arrest was likely orchestrated by the Fujian Province 610 Office and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, both extra-judicial agencies tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong.
Convicted for Raising Awareness about the Persecution
58-year-old Woman Gets Three Years for Distributing Falun Gong Materials Three Years Ago
After nearly two years on the run to hide from the police, Ms. Zhou Lizhi, 58, of Zibo City, Shandong Province, was arrested and sentenced to three years for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhou’s ordeal stemmed from an earlier arrest with another practitioner Ms. Yao Guihua on March 14, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic was at its height back then, and Ms. Zhou and Ms. Yao, who both live in the Zichuan District, went to nearby Shangjia Town in the Wenchanghu District to distribute informational materials about Falun Gong but were reported to the police by two villagers.
Police from Shangjia Town Police Station arrested them and interrogated them at the police station three times over the next two days. Both of them refused to sign the interrogation records.
Hours after their arrest, officers with the Wenchanghu District Police Department and Shangjia Town Police Station raided their homes. Their Falun Gong books, informational materials, photos of Falun Gong’s founder, printers, and laptops were confiscated.
Due to the pandemic, the local detention centre refused to admit the women, and they were released on bail on March 15, 2020.
Led by their counterparts in the Lingzi Town Police Station in the Zichuan District, Shangjia Town Police Station officers went to both Ms. Zhou and Ms. Yao’s homes on May 10, 2020, and ordered them to sign their case documents to be submitted to the Zichuan District Procuratorate. One of them signed the document, and the other didn’t. (It’s not clear who signed.)
A year later on May 12, 2021, Ms. Zhou and Ms. Yao were arrested by officers from Lingzi Town Police Station and Shangjia Town Police Station, and taken to the hospital for physical exams. Both women were taken to one of the police stations and interrogated and had their fingerprints and photos taken against their will. They were released later in the afternoon.
Ms. Yao was seized again two days later and held in the Zibo City Detention Centre. The Shangjia Town Police Station told her in a virtual meeting in early June 2021 that her arrest had been approved by the Zichuan District Procuratorate. She refused to sign her arrest warrant.
The Zichuan District Court heard Ms. Yao’s case on September 1, 2021, and sentenced her to three years with a 5,000-yuan fine on September 23 that year. Her wrongful conviction was preceded by a prior four-year prison sentence, also for practicing Falun Gong.
To avoid being sentenced, Ms. Zhou lived away from home to hide from the police, only to be arrested on June 8, 2023, by officers from the Banyang Road Police Station. She was sentenced to three years on August 15, 2023, and is now awaiting the result of her appeal.
Two Jilin Women Sentenced to 2 Years for Raising Awareness about the Persecution of Falun Gong
Two residents of Nong’an County, Jilin Province were sentenced to two years each in August 2023 for exposing the persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Yu Fengzhen, 70, and Ms. Yu Yongqin, 61, were arrested on May 7, 2023, while talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong at a fair in nearby Dehui City, which, like Nong’an County, is also under the administration of the capital city of Changchun.
The arresting officers from the Tongtai Township Police Station took the two women to the Dehui City Lockup. They were later transferred to the Dehui City Detention Center. Ms. Yu Yongqin became gravely ill at one point and was released on bail. She was taken back into custody after both women were sentenced in August 2023. Both of them were admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison (located in Changchun) on August 15, 2023.
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