(Minghui.org) Five Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, are facing prosecution for their faith, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.
Mr. Ding Guochen, a math teacher, and his wife Ms. Yan Qinghua were arrested on July 11, 2019. Ms. Yan was released the next day, but Mr. Ding remained in custody in the Jinzhou District Detention Center. He held a hunger strike for one month and was force-fed. He lost his hearing and had a cerebral hemorrhage as a result of the abuses.
Mr. Ding was released on bail on October 19, 2019. He resumed doing the Falun Gong exercises and has regained some of his mobility but is still having a problem with his hearing.
Both Mr. Ding and Ms. Yan were indicted by the Jinzhou District Procuratorate in early May 2020. The police and staff from the Jinzhou District Court have been harassing them since.
The other three practitioners—Ms. Li Shufen, Ms. Zhou Yanbo, and Ms. Sun Guifang—were arrested in a police sweep on September 17, 2019.
Ms. Li was released the next day. Because of her health, the detention center refused to accept her. She didn't get any better after she returned home and remains incapacitated at the time of writing.
The police kept harassing her, putting her under tremendous stress, and she’s been unable to recover. The Jinzhou District Procuratorate is in the process of indicting her.
Shortly after Ms. Zhou was admitted to Dalian City Detention Center, she was in serious condition with a heart problem, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and a liver condition, among other health issues. She was put under house arrest and released on October 12.
On April 3 and again on 7, 2020, Ms. Zhou was summoned by the Jinzhou District Court to pick up her indictment. When she refused to comply, the police harassed her at home. She has been forced to live away from home to avoid harassment ever since.
Ms. Sun has been held in Dalian City Detention Center and was also indicted. The court has informed her lawyer that they will schedule her hearing after the coronavirus pandemic.
Several other practitioners arrested on September 17, 2019, remain in detention. The status of their cases remains to be investigated. They are Ms. Gu Xuezhen, 72; Ms. Xu Liming and her husband; Mr. Zhang Xiaodong; Ms. Zhang Huanying; Ms. Yang Xiaosong; Ms. Wu; and Ms. Song.
