(Minghui.org) The Miyun District Court sentenced Ms. Guo Xiuyun, a Falun Gong practitioner from Beijing, to five years in prison on December 28, 2017, without notifying her family or lawyer.

Ms. Guo was taken into police custody around when the Chinese government was holding its National People's Congress meetings in March 2017, which is considered a politically sensitive period. Her home was searched. Police confiscated a computer, a printer and other personal items. After Ms. Guo was taken to the Miyun Detention Center, her health deteriorated drastically. She passed out during the first court hearing, but the authorities refused to release her on medical parole.

Prior to her latest arrest, Ms. Guo has been arrested three times between 2003 and 2008 for her beliefs. She was sent to forced labor camps twice, including the Shanxi Province Forced Labor Camp. Each time, she refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong.

When she was released in May 2009, she was harassed by the local police, the 610 Office, and various government agencies. Ms. Guo was told, “We will get you a job if you agree to write a guarantee statement giving up the practice. If not, we will arrest you again.”

Ms. Guo's family is also implicated in the persecution. When her son went to apply for a building permit, he was turned away and told that it was because his mother practices Falun Gong.

Ms. Guo and her family have been living in constant fear as a result of the persecution.

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