(Minghui.org) A 60-year-old woman in Mian County was arrested ahead of an annual canola flower festival, as authorities feared that she might put up banners and posters bearing Falun Gong messages for festival goers to see.
Ms. Xiao Rong was targeted because police suspected that she had previously hung up similar banners and posters at a local tourist site.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual belief persecuted by the communist regime since 1999. With all the media outlets and internet strictly controlled and censored by the regime, many practitioners post information in public places to expose the persecution.
Ms. Xiao was seized at home on January 12, 2018, and she was placed in a metal cage at the local police station that day. She was transferred to Hantai District Detention Center the following day, and has since remained captive there.
A witness reported seeing Ms. Xiao's hands cuffed behind her back.
Three staff members from the Mian County Procuratorate went to the detention center to talk to her on January 25 and issued an arrest warrant against her two weeks later.
Her family soon received a notice from the court that she was to face trial, but no court date has been set at the time of writing.
Ms. Xiao signed the power of attorney when her lawyer visited her on February 12. She filed a request on March 28 to have her case dropped, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.
This is not the first time that Ms. Xiao has been targeted for her faith in Falun Gong. She was detained for 15 days in 2000 and for 34 days in 2016. The police extorted 10,000 yuan from her before releasing her in 2016.
