(Minghui.org) A Bin County, Heilongjiang Province resident has been denied family visits for nearly three years after she was arrested for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang Yuling, 65, was followed by police from the nearby Siping City, Jilin Province on September 12, 2019, when she traveled to Ningyuan Town, Heilongjiang Province to visit her mother and sister. The police arrested her on the next day when she went out to buy some tofu. The police also ransacked her mother’s home and took picture of the elderly, incapacitated woman in her 90s. When she pleaded for the police not to arrest Ms. Zhang, they shouted at her and threatened her not to expose Ms. Zhang’s arrest.
When Ms. Zhang’s family visited her at the Siping City Detention Center in Jilin Province in October 2019, she said she still didn’t know why she was arrested by the Jilin police. The only thing she could think of was that she forwarded several articles about traditional Chinese culture to others on her WeChat account.
Her lawyer went to the Shanmen Police Station that’s responsible for her arrest and requested to have her case transferred to the Bin County. The officer on duty responded that they couldn’t make the decision, as her arrest was ordered by the Siping City Domestic Security Office.
Ms. Zhang was tried in 2020, and only one family member was allowed to attend her hearing. The judge later secretly sentenced her without informing her family. It’s still not known how long her prison sentence is.
After asking around, her family learned that she was transferred to Changchun Women’s Prison. When they went to visit her in July 2021, the guards denied their request and refused to accept the clothes they brought her.
It has been nearly three years since Ms. Zhang’s arrest. Her family hasn’t been allowed to visit her once. Her grandson, who is almost 6 now, misses her very much. Her family said they are very worried about her health, and they are asking the international community to pay attention to her case and help rescue her.