Two Yunnan Province Residents Sentenced to Prison

(Minghui.org) Two Kunming City, Yunnan Province residents were sentenced to prison on June 22, 2022 for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Tang Yu, 52, was sentenced to three years and eight months, with an 8,000-yuan fine. Ms. Li Haiyan, 64, was given three years and three months, with a 6,000-yuan fine.

Ms. Tang and Ms. Li were arrested on January 18 and March 5, 2022, respectively. While arresting Ms. Li, the police cut off her power supply and broke in when her family opened the door to check the situation. Her Falun Gong books were confiscated.

Because Ms. Li’s daughter took photos of the police and questioned them if they had a search warrant, the police also arrested her with the excuse of “obstructing law enforcement” and confiscated her cellphone.

The Xishan District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Tang and Ms. Li on December 28, 2021, accusing them of distributing informational materials about Falun Gong and “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong.

Both women were tried by the Xishan District Court on June 21, 2022. No prosecution witness appeared in court to accept cross examination, nor did the prosecutor exhibit any prosecution evidence in court. The judge announced the verdicts a day later.

Prior to her latest arrest, Ms. Tang has been targeted several times for her faith. She was sentenced to 1.5 years following an arrest in June 2008. She was savagely beaten after being arrested in September 2011. She was arrested again in November 2015 and sentenced to 3.5 years. While in prison, she was fired from her workplace and denied the right to apply for early retirement at age 50.

The police harassed Ms. Tang on October 11, 2021, when the United Nations Biodiversity Conference was held in Kunming. The police threatened her not to contact any local Falun Gong practitioners. They ordered her to report to the police station every day from October 12 and 14. She refused to comply.

Ms. Li was previously arrested on June 16, 2017 for distributing Falun Gong materials and later sentenced to one year. She was forced to wear heavy shackles, handcuffed behind her back, deprived of sleep and subjected to constant verbal abuse while in custody.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Zhang Jianwen (张舰文), prosecutor of Xishan District ProcuratoratePu Huijun (普会峻), presiding judge of Xishan Distrit CourtLi Hui (李辉), head of Xishan Police Department: [phone], [phone], [phone]Qiu Xueyan (邱学彦), head of Domestic Security Office

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

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