(Minghui.org) Two Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, residents were sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Xuan Xiaomei and Ms. Zhu Peiqin were arrested on April 26, 2019. A dozen plainclothes officers coerced Ms. Zhu into opening the door, by threatening to hire a locksmith to open her door. The officers searched every room in her home and confiscated her cellphone and other personal belongings. Two officers held her arms behind her back the entire time.
One officer said to Ms. Zhu that they had all kinds of ways to deal with her if she didn’t plead guilty for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Zhu was held at the Suzhou City No. 4 Detention Center for 35 days, then released on bail.
Ms. Xuan, who was arrested at a different place on the same day, remains in custody.
Both Ms. Xuan and Ms. Zhu appeared in Wujiang Court on January 7, 2020. Their four lawyers entered not-guilty pleas for them. They also testified in their own defense.
Another practitioner, Ms. Weng Jianzhen, 71, was arrested by the police after they found Falun Gong related materials in her purse, as she went through security to attend Ms. Xuan and Ms. Zhu’s hearing. Ms. Weng was later body-searched by the police and held in a metal cage in the police station overnight. Her home was also ransacked.
The judge sentenced Ms. Xuan to a two-year prison term and Ms. Zhu to six months on July 22, 2020. Ms. Zhu was taken back into custody at Suzhou Detention Center on the same day to serve time.
Related reports:
Procuratorate Drops Charges Against Falun Gong Practitioner in Jiangsu Province
Police Officer Sexually Harasses Female Practitioner at a Brainwashing Center
Ms. Su Peiqin Accosted and Arrested at Suzhou Train Station
