(Minghui.org) A Qingyang City, Gansu Province, resident appeared in Ning County Court on March 12, 2019, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the communist regime since 1999. Her lawyer entered a “not guilty” plea on her behalf and demanded her acquittal.

Ms. Qiang Weixiu, a former employee of the Agricultural Machinery Bureau, was arrested on July 4, 2018. She has been held in the Ning County Detention Center ever since.

Ms. Qiang's lawyer argued that it is her constitutional right to practice Falun Gong and that she isn't violating any law or causing harm to anyone by possessing Falun Gong literature. Ms. Qiang cited a notice published by the China Administration of Press and Publication, which revoked its ban on the publication of Falun Gong books in 2011.

The judge adjourned the hearing without issuing a verdict.

Ms. Qiang has been repeatedly arrested for practicing Falun Gong and twice sent to forced labor camps during the past two decades. She has been tortured repeatedly to try to force her to renounce her faith.

Related report:

After Seven Years on the Run to Avoid Persecution for Her Faith, Gansu Woman Arrested Again

Ms. Qiang Weixiu Arrested Five Times, Now Homeless

14 Falun Gong Practitioners in Qingyang City, Gansu Province Still Detained for Their Faith