(Minghui.org) A 55-year-old Changchun City, Jilin Province resident was taken to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on August 11, 2023 to serve a 1.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.

As soon as Ms. Yang Yunjie stepped out of her home on June 13, 2022, she was arrested by five plainclothes police officers waiting outside. The police had also removed the license plate from their car, in order not to reveal their identities. Without showing their IDs or a search warrant, they broke into her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books. 

Ms. Yang later confirmed that the officers were from the Chongqinglu Police Station. During the two days she was held there, the police didn’t inform her family of her whereabouts. Her loved ones only found out about her whereabouts after reporting her disappearance. Ms. Yang was released at around 3 p.m. on June 15.

The police arrested Ms. Yang again on July 4, 2022, and took her to the Changchun City No. 4 Detention Center. They accused her of “subverting state power” because she promoted Falun Gong outside the Jilin University No. 1 Hospital. They also threatened to sentence her.

The Kuancheng District Court held a hearing of Ms. Yang’s case on November 21, 2022, without allowing her family to attend. According to an insider who was present during the hearing, Ms. Yang refused to plead guilty. 

Ms. Yang’s family was informed in January 2023 that she had been sentenced to 1.5 years and transferred to the Weizigou Supervision Center, where she was awaiting the result of her appeal. She was transferred to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on August 11, 2023 after her appeal was denied. 

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Jilin Woman Tried for Her Faith, Still Detained Incommunicado