Older Woman Sentenced to Prison for Her Faith, Husband Dies Four Months After Her Arrest

(Minghui.org) A 68-year-old resident of Changchun City, Jilin Province was admitted to prison on November 3, 2022 to serve a 2.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Lyu Lizhen was arrested on November 11, 2021. Her Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, informational materials, computer, and printer were confiscated. Several other practitioners who had frequent contact with her were also arrested and released shortly after.

Ms. Lyu was taken to the Changchun City No. 4 Detention Center on November 17. The Chaoyang District Procuratorate returned her case to the Xi’an Plaza Police Station, citing insufficient evidence. The prosecutor indicted her after the police submitted her case for the second time.

The Chaoyang District Court sentenced Ms. Lyu to 2.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine in June 2022. She was taken to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on November 3. 

Ms. Lyu used to work at the Architectural Design Institute under the Changchun Educational Bureau. Shortly after she took up Falun Gong in 1999, the persecution began. Fearing being persecuted, she stopped practicing. In 2011, she decided to resume practicing Falun Gong. In a few months, her chronic heart condition, neck problem, and frozen shoulder disappeared. 

Prior to Ms. Lyu’s arrest, she and her husband were the main caregivers of their 12-year-old granddaughter who has a brain condition that renders her incapacitated. The child does not know how to chew food or relieve herself. Sometimes she would suffer an episode at night and couldn’t fall asleep afterward. As both of her parents have full-time jobs, Ms. Lyu and her husband have spent much time caring for the girl. 

Ms. Lyu’s arrest dealt a heavy blow to her 70-year-old husband, who struggled to care for their granddaughter on his own. The once-healthy man suddenly passed away around February 2022, leaving the family in tremendous agony. 

According to information collected by Minghui.org, in Changchun City alone, at least 110 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and 224 were harassed in 2021. Sixty-two practitioners were reported to have been sentenced or tried. Another six practitioners died as a result of the persecution.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Guo Liqing (郭立庆), president of Chaoyang District Procuratorate: [phone]Qin Xin (秦鑫), officer, Xi’an Plaze Police Station: [phone]Qu Jie (曲杰), director of Lyuyuan District Police Department: [phone], [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)