(Minghui.org) A 71-year-old woman in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province is facing trial for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhou Jiuju was arrested at home at 6:30 a.m. on September 20, 2024, by a group of officers led by captain Shen Jianhua of the Dongchangfu District Domestic Security Division and deputy chief Wang Tong of the Gulou Police Station. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and an unknown amount of cash. They targeted her because she mailed them, the procuratorates, and the courts letters, and urged them to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
The police took Ms. Zhao to a local detention center, where she was deposed eight times, three times by officers from the Gulou Police Station, two times by officers from the Dongchangfu District Police Department, and three times by staffers from the Dongchangfu District Procuratorate.
The procuratorate later indicted her and her case now rests with the Dongchangfu District Court.
Besides Ms. Zhou, more than ten other local practitioners were arrested that same morning. Their homes were raided and 67,000 yuan in cash was confiscated. Three of them were detained for seven days and the rest were released on the same day. Two of the released practitioners each paid 20,000 yuan in “guarantee funds” which the police claimed would be returned in one month if they did not “cause trouble” again.
Past Persecution
Ms. Zhao took up Falun Gong in April 1996, when she was suffering from myocarditis, otitis media, allergic rhinitis, allergic bronchitis, asthma, neurasthenia and other diseases. No medical treatment helped, but all her symptoms disappeared less than one month after she began practicing Falun Gong. She became more energetic and conscientious at work. For several years straight she was awarded “employee of the year” in the local textile industry. She also presented during a province-level statistics conference for the textile industry.
After the persecution began in July 1999, Ms. Zhou took a train to Beijing in late December that year to appeal for Falun Gong. She was intercepted in Langfang City, Hebei Province and taken back to Liaocheng. She was held at the Yundong Police Station, where she was forced to stand outside with her winter coat off, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. She was beaten and cursed if she moved. She was later moved to a lockup and held there for more than one month. Her home was raided and she was extorted more than 1,000 yuan before she was released.
After her release, Ms. Zhao was forced to quit her job. She landed a job in August 2001, but was soon arrested and extorted 3,000 yuan. Her husband was terrified and watched her closely to stop her from going outside. She was forced to stop practicing Falun Gong. Her husband later developed uremia and needed dialysis, which cost 2,200 yuan per month. Their combined monthly income was only 1,150 yuan at the time.
Ms. Zhou collected trash and sold it to earn money. She also went to local restaurants to get their leftover food. Before long, she fell ill due to the hard life. She started having blood in her urine in January 2005 and was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and bladder cancer. She had surgery to remove her bladder and uterus.
Ms. Zhao resumed practicing Falun Gong in April 2005 and her health improved. She was arrested again at 8 p.m. on November 29, 2007. She was not allowed to sleep that night. Her home was raided the next morning and she was sent to a brainwashing center. She developed high fever, but was still detained for an unknown amount of time.
The police broke into Ms. Zhao’s home at 8 p.m. on March 9, 2013 and arrested her again. They also confiscated the 2,200 yuan she saved to pay her husband’s medical expenses. Two hours later, the police raided her home once again, and confiscated her printer, laptop and books worth more than 10,000 yuan. The police did not issue a list of confiscated items.
Ms. Zhao was not given any food or drink from 8 p.m. until noon the next day. She managed to escape and went into hiding.
Ms. Zhao was arrested one more time on September 16, 2022 during a police sweep. She was released hours later.
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