Hebei Woman Sentenced to 3.5 Years for Her Faith, Whereabouts Unknown

(Minghui.org) More than four months after a Tangshan City, Hebei Province resident was sentenced to a 3.5-year prison term for her faith in Falun Gong, her family is still being kept in the dark about where she is being detained.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Arrest

A group of officers broke into Ms. Wang Aidi’s home at around 5:30 a.m. on July 3, 2019, and grabbed hold of Ms. Wang and her husband. The officers searched their home and confiscated Ms. Wang’s Falun Gong books, materials, some office supplies, several bank deposit cards, and 25,000 yuan in cash.

The couple was brought to the Baiguantun Town Police Station for interrogation. While Ms. Wang’s husband was released at around 7: 30 p.m., she was transferred to the Fengrun Lockup at around 11:00 p.m.

Harassment of Family Members

The police lied to Ms. Wang’s family, saying that they would release her after 12 days of detention at the lockup, only to take her to the Tangshan No. 1 Detention Center days after her arrest.

Ms. Wang’s husband was summoned to the Baiguantun Town Police Station on July 14. As soon as he arrived, three officers handcuffed him and took him to the Yanshanlu Police Station for interrogation.

One officer in his 40s threatened him, “You have to tell us everything you know. If you hide anything from us, we will take you to the detention center and destroy your family.” After eight hours of interrogation, Ms. Wang’s husband was released at around 7:00 p.m.

In addition to Ms. Wang’s husband, her son, uncles, other relatives, and neighbors were also interrogated and threatened by the police.

Arrest Approved

Three officers returned to Ms. Wang’s home on August 10, 2019 and took photos of her router.

Her arrest was approved by the Fengrun District Procuratorate on August 16, and her case was transferred to the Zunhua Procuratorate, one of the major procuratorates assigned to handle Falun Gong cases in the Tangshan region to speed up the prosecution process.

Court Hearing and Sentencing

After over a year of detention, Ms. Wang appeared twice at Zunhua Court, on August 11 and September 21, 2020. Her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf. Her lawyer argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong, and that the prosecutor failed to provide any evidence of how Ms. Wang has harmed anyone in society. The lawyer said that it’s the country’s shame to have a Falun Gong practitioner standing trial for her faith.

Ms. Wang’s family watched her hearing in a separate room in the court. Her husband briefly met with her in person in the hallway.

The judge sentenced Ms. Wang to 3.5 years with a 3,000 yuan fine on November 19, 2020. The authorities still have not informed her family of where she is being imprisoned.