(Minghui.org) Three Baoding City, Hebei Province residents were sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Liu Shumin, Ms. Qu Suying, and Mr. Liu Zhenlin were tried by Shunping County Court on November 20, 2019. Ms. Liu was sentenced to eight years, Ms. Qu to four years, and Mr. Liu to three years in early December 2019. Ms. Liu has appealed the verdict.
Ms. Liu, 55 and a fertilizer and pesticide vendor, was arrested on July 11, 2019. More than 20 police officers ransacked her home for two hours. Her cellphone, computer, thousands of yuan in cash, as well as other valuables worth more than 20,000 yuan, were taken away.
Her husband, who has become bedridden since April 2019, was sent to a senior center after her arrest, as he is unable to care for himself.
Ms. Liu has been held at Baoding Detention Center since her arrest. The court officials didn’t allow any local lawyer to represent her and denied her family visits.
Ms. Liu took up Falun Gong before the communist regime launched the persecution in 1999. She credits the practice for giving her good health and improving her character.
She was given one year of forced labor in 2008 for practicing Falun Gong. The labor camp guards once forced her to stand for three days without sleep. Her feet became severely swollen afterwards. The authorities extended her term by 21 days because she refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Qu, nearly 60, was arrested and had her home ransacked on April 23, 2019. She has also been held at Baoding City Detention Center since.
Her two daughters went to the local police station several times to demand her release, but were turned away. Zhang Hui, an officer of the Domestic Security Division, threatened to force the college that her younger daughter was attending to expel her and block her from finding a job after she graduates, if she continued to seek justice for Ms. Qu.
Ms. Qu took up Falun Gong in 2004 and her kidney problem soon disappeared. Her husband suffered mental issues for years and passed away in 2008. Ms. Qu did odd jobs to support her daughters to go to school and often helped locals despite her own difficulties. Many of her neighbors condemned the communist regime after she was arrested.
It remains to be investigated when Mr. Liu was arrested.
Related report in Chinese:保定市法轮功学员刘淑敏被非法判刑八年
