(Minghui.org) Two Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province residents were sentenced to prison by the Xiangyang District Court in late January 2021 for their faith in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Below are the details of their cases.
Ms. Liu Chunjing, 60, was arrested on July 3, 2019 for distributing informational cards about Falun Gong. A local resident who was influenced by the communist regime’s demonizing propaganda against Falun Gong wouldn’t let her go upon seeing the materials that she was distributing and then reported her to the police.
Ms. Liu was interrogated in the basement of Huanan County Police Department and transferred to the Jiamusi City Detention Center in the evening.
The police confiscated the nearly 100 Falun Gong informational cards in her bag and included those as prosecution evidence against her.
The Huanan County Procuratorate approved Ms. Liu’s arrest on July 17, 2019 and transferred her case to the Xiangyang District Procuratorate on October 14, 2019. She was indicted in April 2020 and tried by the Xiangyang District Court on December 8, 2020. She was sentenced to 4 years in mid-January 2021 and has appealed the verdict.
Ms. Liu took up Falun Gong in 1998 when she was 32. She credits the practice for curing her many ailments and enabling her to be more energetic. She also changed from an introverted person to be more outgoing, open-minded and considerate.
After the persecution started, her husband opposed her continued practice of Falun Gong and divorced her. Not long after, he suffered a stroke and became incapacitated. Then he demanded to remarry her so that she could take care of him. Ms. Liu didn’t agree initially, but later changed her mind after studying Falun Gong’s teachings. She managed a small street stand to sell socks while taking care of her husband. Gradually, he recovered and the family enjoyed a simple but happy life.
On August 10, 2005, however, Ms. Liu was arrested and later given two years at the Xigemu Forced labor Camp. After being forced to sit on a small stool without moving for long hours every day for an extended period of time, she had back pain for months. She had trouble standing up or sitting. She was unable to lift her legs, carry heavy items or use force.
Only one year after she returned home, she was arrested again on August 5, 2008 for distributing Falun Gong flyers. She was sentenced to four years by the Huanan County Court on December 26, 2009 and taken to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.
Her repeated incarceration terrified her husband. He fell ill again and passed away soon afterwards.
Mr. Liu Guangyou, a 70-year-old doctor, was arrested on August 21, 2019 for mailing letters to the government officials and urging them not to participate in the persecution. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books. He was detained in the Huanan County Detention Center.
Mr. Liu was also indicted by the Xiangyang District Procuratorate and tried by the Xiangyang District Court on December 8, 2020. The same lawyer who represented Ms. Liu also represented him and entered a not guilty plea for him in a separate hearing. He was recently sentenced to five years.
Prior to his latest sentencing, Mr. Liu and his daughter, Ms. Liu Yue, were both arrested around July 2005. Their detention left their 1.3 acres of cabbage farm deserted and caused over 50,000 yuan in financial losses to them. Meanwhile, the police extorted an additional 20,000 yuan from them.
Mr. Liu was arrested again and given one year of forced labor on December 30, 2008. The Suihua Forced Labor refused to admit him upon finding that he had Hepatitis B.
Four years later, in February 2012, Mr. Liu was arrested once more and sentenced to three years by the Huanan County Court. When he returned home, his more than 40,000 yuan of Chinese herbs were already rotten and his home had fallen into disrepair.
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