(Minghui.org) At 10 a.m. on October 19, 2012, Hongkou Court in Shanghai conducted a trial for Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Yuan Hongying. This elderly lady who looks after her granddaughter at home was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

At 9 a.m., several police cars and plainclothes officers were already stationed outside the court entrance. Several plainclothes officers took pictures of everyone in the area. Some used cell phone cameras, some used regular cameras; others stayed in the police cars while some stood guard outside.

When Ms. Yuan's family tried to enter the court, the guards stopped them, announcing: “We were told by our management that only three family members are allowed to go inside.” Her family asked, “Isn't this a public trial? Why do you limit the number of people?” The guards also asked them to present a court summons. After they entered the court, they were told to sit in the back rather than up front. Nine unknown individuals came in and sat in the front rows. One family member asked, “This is a trial for our family member. Why let them sit in front? Who are they?” A guard replied, “This is a public trial. They registered to attend first.” “If it's a public trial, then why you didn't allow our whole family to come in? You allowed only three of us to come in.” A guard then bullied them, “Do you want to listen (to the trial)? If you don't want to listen then get out!”

During the trial, the prosecutor read fabricated “evidence.” He failed to present any actual evidence to the court, nor did he bring in any eyewitnesses to support his case. The prosecutor stated that Ms. Yuan “Undermined law enforcement.” Her attorney defended her, “Ms. Yuan Hongying is an elderly lady whose level of literacy is low, as she is only capable of writing her own name. She endured many hardships in her life and suffered from numerous illnesses. Thanks to her Falun Gong practice, she regained a healthy body. Claiming that she 'Undermines law enforcement' is wrong. She doesn't even have the ability to do that, nor the intention to do so. Moreover, her actions didn't create any harm to others. What is she guilty of?” The attorney further asked, “If Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is evil, then what is righteous?” The attorney also defended Falun Gong from the legal perspective. The judge interrupted the attorney's speech several times.

The trial was merely a formality. The judge quickly announced a sentence for Ms. Yuan of three years and six months in prison.

Ms. Yuan Hongying, 59, is from Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province. She was raised in a village in Shandong Province. Her family was very poor and she never went to school. Her family often ran out of food, so she went out with others to beg for two years. Later, she was appointed as head of the women's organization in her village. She took on all the difficult work and didn't ask for anything in return. However, this left her with many illnesses. She got married during the Cultural Revolution period (1966-1976). Her husband's family was rated as “kulak”, who were wealthy enough to own a farm and hire labor, thus she and her husband were frequently taken out and denounced in public. To avoid the endless denouncements, her family escaped to a remote village in Qiqihar, which was very cold with temperatures of -40 degrees F. They stayed in an old house with many holes in it. She gave birth to their son in that house but she developed more illnesses due to the harsh living conditions.

When her son grew up and her family's situation started to improve, her health worsened. She developed asthma, coronary heart disease, rheumatism, gall bladder inflammation, and uterine fibroid tumors. Her legs were heavily swollen. She started taking medicine, yet in such poor health, she became more and more irritable. She argued with her husband and in-laws, which was seen by their neighbors.

One day in 1997 through an unusual set of circumstances, Ms. Yuan started practicing Falun Gong. She started with understanding only a few Chinese characters, but as she kept studying, she was able to read the whole book Zhuan Falun. She cultivates her heart by following the teachings in the book and lives by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She changed into a different person, is kind to her in-laws and husband, and considerate of others. Her diseases disappeared, and she now feels that her body is light and smiles at everyone. Her neighbors were puzzled, “Why are you so happy? Smiling all day?” Seeing her changed attitude towards her in-laws, her relatives asked her son, “What practice does your mother do? How come she's changed into a different person? She's become so nice!”

In 2003, Ms. Yuan was sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. Her husband was afraid that his mother (who was 83 at that time) would be too worried for her, so didn't tell her the truth. However, his mother kept talking about her daughter-in-law and wondered if she was in trouble. Her husband had osteonecrosis (death of bone tissue) in his leg at that time. He went through an operation, but also had to take care of his mother. Without Ms. Yuan's help, it was very hard for him to shoulder these burdens.

Ms. Yuan had been arrested three times and placed in a forced labor camp once. At the Qiqihar Forced Labor Camp, she was forced to paint furniture. The paint was so toxic that some people fainted while painting. She was also forced to do farm labor, such as picking corn. She had to make disposable chopsticks, wood gourds, and toothpicks, working 14-15 hours daily. Guards threatened inmates with extended forced labor camp terms if they didn't finish their work. Staff also tortured practitioners who refused to give up their belief. The guards forced practitioners' families to read statements that slandered Falun Dafa, otherwise, they refused them visitation rights.

A few years ago, Ms. Yuan went to Shanghai to look after her granddaughter in order to help out her daughter-in-law. She was arrested on May 9, 2012 by Guangzhong Road Police Station officers at the intersection of Zhongshan Road North and West Baoxing Road. The police then illegally ransacked her home and threatened her family. Her family went to the police station to request to visit her, but their repeated requests were always rejected. They hired an attorney to represent her, but even the attorney's request to meet his client was turned down. The police officials made excuses, claiming it was because they were unable to confirm her relationship to her child, or the police didn't ask her family to hire an attorney for Ms. Yuan.