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Prosecutor Renews Indictment Against an 83-year-old Bedridden Woman for Practicing Her Faith

March 30, 2022 |   By a Minghui correspondent in Yunnan Province, China

(Minghui.org) Three days after a court in Kunming City, Yunnan Province put on hold the case against local resident Ms. Gao Qiongxian, the prosecutor renewed the indictment in an attempt to still press charges against her.

In China, when a case is put on hold, it means that the court temporarily pauses the trial and may reopen the case later on and make a ruling.

Ms. Gao, 83, is being targeted for upholding her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline also known as Falun Dafa that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Another Kunming practitioner, Ms. Wang Jin, in her late 50s, who was arrested and indicted with Ms. Gao, has been held at the Kunming City Detention Center ever since. Her current case status isn’t clear.

Ms. Gao and Ms. Wang were arrested around October 27, 2020, by the Anning City Domestic Security Office. While Ms. Wang has been detained since, Ms. Gao was released on 1,000-yuan bail due to her poor health.

Ms. Wang’s mother, Ms. Xie Jiayang, 89, was terrified by her arrest. She suffered a stroke and fell in the restroom one evening. Although she survived after resuscitation, she became incapacitated afterward. She passed away months later on April 5, 2021.

In the same month, Ms. Wang and Ms. Gao were indicted by the Xishan District Procuratorate.

When they later appeared in Xishan District Court, both testified in their own defense. They maintained that they didn’t do anything wrong or violate any law in practicing Falun Gong and living by its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. Ms. Wang’s lawyer Li Yan and Ms. Gao’s lawyer Li Haiming (appointed by the court) entered a not guilty plea for them.

Ms. Gao fell at home in August 2021 and broke her legs. When the court scheduled the second hearing around December 2021, the court ordered her to install a camera at home to attend the hearing virtually but was rejected by her family.

The judge ruled to put on hold Ms. Gao’s case on December 17. But prosecutor Zhang Li renewed the indictment on December 20, still trying to press charges against Ms. Gao. Meanwhile, the police and prosecutor have harassed her at home several times.

Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Gao has been given three years of forced labor after she was arrested in July 2004 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was arrested again on August 29, 2017, with four other practitioners. All five were later sentenced by the Jinning County Court. Ms. Gao was given two years with three years of probation.

Related reports:

Two Yunnan Women, Including One in Her 80s, Arrested for Their Faith

Police Arrest 81-year-old Woman by Mistake and Hold Her in Custody for Two Days