Hunan Woman Appealing Two-Year Prison Term for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) A Ningyuan County, Hunan Province resident is appealing a two-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zheng Runfeng was recorded by surveillance cameras while putting up informational posters about Falun Gong in January 2021. On the afternoon of January 19, three officers of the Wenmiao Police Station broke into her family-owned store and arrested her. Her Falun Gong books, informational materials, cellphone and purse were confiscated.

At the police station, officers Jiang Gang of the Domestic Security Office and Jiang Liang, the deputy chief of Wenmiao Police Station, held her down on the floor and handcuffed her behind her back. She was handcuffed the entire night.

Ms. Zheng was taken to the Yongzhou City Detention Center on the next day. She was interrogated three more times within a week.

After one and half months of detention, she was found to have severe anemia and was released on bail in March.

Also in March, the police submitted her case to the Ningyuan County Procuratorate, which then transferred it to the Xintian County Procuratorate. The latter later returned the case to the police, citing insufficient evidence.

The police forced Ms. Zheng to go through two comprehensive health checkups, on April 29 and May 12, respectively. They also collected her fingerprints and blood sample during the May examination, as well as taking her photo and recording her voice.

The police made two attempts on May 12 to detain Ms. Zheng at the Yongzhou City Detention Center, but the guards insisted that they could not admit her.

Ms. Zheng was taken back to the hospital on the evening of May 12 and forced to stay there to receive treatment. Yet her anemia persisted and the detention center still refused to take her.

Ms. Zhang was released on May 18. During the six days she was hospitalized, the authorities arranged ten officers to take turns monitoring her. Their living expenses and food cost added up to more than 10,000 yuan.

Ms. Zheng was tried by the Xintian Court in July 2021. Her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for her.

The judge sentenced her to two years with a 1,000-yuan fine on September 1. She has filed an appeal with the Yongzhou City Intermediate Court.

Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Zheng was arrested on March 14, 2012 and had her home ransacked. The police forced her to sit on a “tiger bench” while interrogating her. She was later sentenced to four years.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Le Jianjun (乐剑军), presiding judge of Xintian County Court: [phone]Yang Jibiao (杨骥彪), judge of Xintian County CourtLe Suying (乐素英), judge of Xintian County CourtYe Mei (叶梅), clerk of Xintian County Court: [phone]Jiang Gang (蒋岗), officer of Ningyuan County Domestic Security Office: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)