(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhou Yongjie’s family had been kept in the dark of her situation after she was arrested in a police sweep about two and a half years ago. It wasn’t until the end of 2020 that the authorities informed her family that she had been sentenced to four years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhou, a Changchun City, Jilin Province resident in her 50s, suddenly went missing on October 12, 2018. Her family said that they had no idea of when and where she was arrested. Only when they returned home and found a mess left after the police raid and Ms. Zhou’s computer and Falun Gong books were missing, did they realize that she had been arrested.
It took the family days to find out that Ms. Zhou was arrested by officers from the Kuanping Police Station in the Chaoyang District and that she was held at the Changchun City No.4 Detention Center.
The authorities didn’t allow Ms. Zhou’s family to visit her at the detention center but told them to make cash deposits and send in clothes for her from time to time.
It was not until the end of 2020 that the authorities informed her family that she had been sentenced to four years in the Changchun City Women’s Prison (also known as Lanjia Prison). Her family was never informed of her hearing or trial.
Ms. Zhou called her family once from the prison, but the call was cut off by the guards after a few minutes. Still in the dark of her current situation, her family is very worried about her.
In addition to Ms. Zhou, another five practitioners arrested on October 12, 2018 have also been sentenced to prison. Among them, Mr. Shi Xingjia was given 5 years, Mr. Zheng Weidong 4.5 years, Ms. Zhou Xiuzhi 3 years and 2 months, Mr. Du He 2.5 years, and Ms. Cong Nan 2 years.
Related report:
Changchun, Jilin Province: 26 Confirmed Arrested in October Raid of Falun Gong Practitioners
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
Category: Accounts of Persecution
