(Minghui.org) A 68-year-old woman in Gaoyang County, Hebei Province was tried by the Gaoyang County Court on February 15, 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been targeted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Hu Deyu was arrested on July 27, 2022 while attending a community fair. After 15 days of administrative detention at the Li County Lockup, she remained in custody on criminal detention. 

To detain her at the Baoding City Detention Center, officer Liu Li took Ms. Hu to the hospital for a physical checkup on August 11. Her blood pressure was so high that it exceeded the meter’s detection limit. Although her blood pressure dropped a bit after the police forced her to take a pill, it was still at a dangerously high level. Ordered by the police, the doctor entered a false reading of her blood pressure.

When the police took Ms. Hu to the detention center in the afternoon, she was still rejected admission as the police didn’t finish all the required documents. The police took Ms. Hu to another hospital for physical examination, but didn’t ask the doctor to measure her blood pressure. This time, Ms. Hu was found to have a severe heart condition and the doctor didn’t follow the police’s order to fabricate the result. 

Exhausted, Ms. Hu struggled to walk, yet officer Liu yelled at her, “Walk faster!” A nurse nearby couldn’t stand it and said to the police, “She has a heart disease. You should assist her to prevent her from falling.” 

Despite Ms. Hu’s condition, the police still forced the detention center to accept her in the evening. She was detained there for four months and then released on bail. 

Prior to Ms. Hu’s hearing on February 15, 2023, many of her relatives came to the court to show their support. The court threatened to cancel the hearing if they didn’t leave. Her relatives gave up entering the court, but stood across the street. Then the police came and prevented people from parking nearby. 

As her family refused to leave, the hearing was postponed from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ms. Hu asked the judge why he was afraid of her family’s support.

During the hearing, the judge asked Ms. Hu whether she still practiced Falun Gong. As she began to describe how Falun Gong improved her health and character, the judge stopped her and adjourned the hearing. The prosecutor recommended a one-year prison sentence for her. The judge said he would announce a verdict in two weeks.