Liaoning Woman Given Third Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 67-year-old woman in Fushun City, Liaoning Province was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan in late February 2022 for practicing Falun Gong. This is the third time that Ms. Zhang Jie has been sentenced for her faith.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zhang was arrested on August 31, 2021, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a local market. The police ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books.

Her arrest dealt a heavy blow to her 89-year-old mother, who has difficulty walking and relied on her for care.

The police held Ms. Zhang at Fushun Detention Center. Her arrest was approved on September 10, 2021. Her lawyer visited her on November 2, 2021.

Ms. Zhang was sentenced by the Wanghua District Court in February 2022. Her family was kept in the dark about the sentencing. She has appealed the verdict.

Ms. Zhang’s family suspected that she is suffering some medical condition in custody, as the 3,000 yuan deposit they made for her between September 2021 and February 2022 has been used up. The guards claimed that they spent the money on her physical examinations.

Ms. Zhang was previously given four years in February 2002 for talking to people about Falun Gong and another three years in October 2012. She developed a heart condition and tuberculosis while serving time. During her second term, she was kept at the Masanjia Hospital and was always wheeled out when her family went to visit her.

In addition to the incarceration, Ms. Zhang also had her pension suspended after returning home from the first term. The authorities claimed that she wasn’t entitled to any pension while serving time. She was ordered to pay back 60,000 yuan she received during the time before the authorities could resume her payments again. She borrowed the money to pay the fund, yet the social security office arbitrarily reduced her pension in the new payments and she was receiving less than 2,000 yuan per month.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Jiang Qunda (姜群大), secretary of Fushun City Political and Legal Affairs Committee: [phone]Zhang Hongbin (张洪斌), officer of Jianshe Police Station: [phone]Kong Hang (孔夯), presiding judge of Wanghua District Court: [phone], [phone]

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