Sichuan Woman Detained for Three Months and Counting for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) A Chengdu City, Sichuan Province resident has been detained for nearly three months since her arrest on August 9, 2022 for practicing Falun Gong. Her family hasn’t received any official detention notice or other documents about her case.

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

A group of officers broke into Ms. Luo Chuan’s home on August 9 and arrested her and her daughter. Her Falun Gong books, computer, tablet and other personal belongings were confiscated. The two women were then brought to the Jiulidi Police Station for interrogation. 

While her daughter was released later in the afternoon, Ms. Luo was kept at the police station for two days and beaten by the police. On August 11, she was taken to the Xindu Detention Center. Because she refused to wear a protective suit at the entrance, three guards beat her and injured her leg and elbow.

Ms. Luo was later transferred to the Shuangliu District Detention Center. The police took her to a local psychiatric hospital on October 12 for an evaluation of her mental health. Knowing that many healthy Falun Gong practitioners have been labeled as mentally deranged and subjected to involuntary drug administration at the psychiatric hospital, Ms. Luo strongly resisted the evaluation, but the doctor forcibly finished the procedure. 

Ms. Luo’s family also faced constant harassment in the past three months. The police had tried to pressure her daughter into signing her mental health evaluation result and dismissing the lawyer she had hired for Ms. Luo. 

Prior to her latest ordeal, Ms. Luo was previously arrested on October 2, 2019 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police ransacked her mother’s home, where she was staying, and confiscated her Falun Gong books, laptop, media player and informational materials. She was held at the Chengdu City Detention Center.

The Jinniu District Court held a video hearing of Ms. Luo’s case on June 29, 2020. The judge frequently interrupted her lawyer and her own defense. She appealed with the Chengdu City Intermediate Court after being sentenced to one year. The higher court ruled to uphold her original verdict on August 21 without having a hearing.