Less Than a Year After Released from Prison, Hunan Woman Arrested and Sentenced Again

(Minghui.org) A resident of Huaihua City, Hunan Province, was sentenced twice within three years for refusing to renounce her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Yang Linying, 55, was arrested in 2017 and released in October 2018 after serving one year in prison. Less than a year after her release, she was arrested again in May 2019 and sentenced to one year and seven months shortly after.

Below are the details of her arrests and sentences:

One Year Imprisonment in 2017

Ms. Yang was arrested by officers from the Hutian Police Station on the morning of October 9, 2017. While in police custody, she was body searched and had her bag taken away. The police found her house keys and ransacked her home. Her Falun Gong books and related materials, as well as other personal items were confiscated.

In the afternoon, Ms. Yang was transferred to Huaihua Detention Center. Her arrest was approved on November 15.

On April 20, 2018, Ms. Yang was indicted and she was put on trial on May 30. The Hecheng District Court sentenced her to one year in prison on July 10, with 3,000 yuan fine.

After Ms. Yang was released on October 8, 2018, the detention center gave her the release notice and the verdict from Hecheng District Court. It was at that moment when Ms. Yang learned that she had been sentenced.

Arrested Again After Regaining Freedom for Less Than a Year

Ms. Yang was arrested again on May 23, 2019, with another practitioner, Ms. He Xiuyun, when they were distributing Falun Gong materials on the street. Both practitioners were detained at Guangchang Police Station. Their Falun Gong materials and other personal belongings were confiscated. 

When the practitioners’ family members went to the police station to ask for their release, they were instructed to look for the Domestic Security Office, which then told them that the practitioners would be released a week later.

By the end of the week, the police told the practitioners’ families that their detention has been extended to 15 days and instructed them to take the practitioners home on June 8. 

When the families returned on June 8, however, they were told that the practitioners had already been transferred to Huaihua Detention Center, after the authorities changed their administrative detention to criminal detention on June 4.

Ms. He was released on July 5, 2019, 42 days after she was arrested. Ms. Yang’s arrest was approved on July 6, and she remained jailed at Huaihua Detention Center.

On September 3, 2019, the Hecheng Police Department submitted Ms. Yang’s case to the Hecheng District Procuratorate with the charge of “undermining law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the authorities to frame Falun Gong practitioners. 

After the prosecutor returned the case to the police on October 18, citing insufficient evidence, the police re-submitted it on November 18. The Hecheng District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Yang on January 2, 2020 and moved her case to the Hecheng District Court.

While the court was reviewing the case, the Hecheng District Procuratorate withdrew their indictment and transferred the case to the Zhijiang County Procuratorate on August 8, which then indicted Ms. Yang on August 24.

Ms. Yang stood trial at Zhijiang County Court on November 17, and was sentenced to one year and seven months. She was also fined 5,000 yuan.

On December 23, 2020, Ms. Yang was released from the Huaihua City Detention Center after serving her term.

Parties involved in persecution:Long Zhihai (龙志海), police officer of Hecheng District Domestic Security Bureau: [phone]Yang Pei (杨佩), personnel at Hecheng District Procuratorate: [phone]Yang Liqiang (杨利强), prosecutor of Zhijiang County Procuratorate: [phone]

(More contact information of participants in the persecution is available in the original Chinese article.)