(Minghui.org) A 72-year-old Daan City, Jilin Province resident is facing trial for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang Fengling had previously been sentenced to two years for her faith. Her husband died not long after she was released from prison.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang Fengling was arrested at home on July 15, 2022, after the police deceived her into opening the door by claiming to be conducting a census. She has since been held incommunicado at the Baicheng City Detention Center. Her family recently learned that she has been indicted and her case has been moved to the Daan City Court.
Ms. Zhang took up Falun Gong in May 1997, and many of her ailments disappeared shortly after. Since the onset of the persecution two years later, she has been targeted multiple times for not renouncing her faith.
Ms. Zhang was arrested on November 8, 2000 while visiting her sister. She was held at the Baicheng City Detention Center for 103 days and given two years of forced labor.
Ms. Zhang was first held at the Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp, where she was forced to grow vegetables without pay. On the evening when she was transferred to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp on November 10, 2001, seven inmates ordered her to write a statement renouncing Falun Gong. They beat her after she refused to comply. She developed a severe heart condition and was released on medical parole on December 10, 2001.
The local authorities frequently harassed Ms. Zhang and her family after she was released. Her husband was terrified and lost almost all of his teeth due to the mental pressure.
Ms. Zhang and her daughter Ms. Wang Hongyan, also a Falun Gong practitioner, were arrested at home on October 9, 2017. Ms. Zhang was sentenced to two years in prison with two years of probation, and Ms. Wang to four years by the Taonan City Court in May 2018.
Ms. Zhang’s husband was dealt a heavy blow by his wife and daughter’s imprisonments and passed away not long after she was released in the fall of 2018. Ms. Zhang has since been living on her own. The one-year incarceration also took a toll on her health and she was once in critical condition. During the past few years, she has fainted from time to time. Her family is now very worried about her.
Yu Xiaoyang (于笑阳), secretary of Daan City Political and Legal Affairs Committee: +86-436-5209996, +86-436-5222692Jia Yanlai (贾燕来), officer of Daan City 610 Office: +86-436-5056558, +86-13321465151Tao Panlong (陶盼龙), head of Jinhua Police Station: +86-436-5243988, +86-15843630222, +86-18043608188Liu Yanzhuo (柳岩茁), head of Huiyang Police Station: +86-436-5236008, +86-13894655118, +86-18043608366
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)
72-year-old Woman Living on Her Own Arrested for Practicing Falun Gong