(Minghui.org) Three women in Taian City, Shandong Province, were sentenced to prison in late 2021 for practicing Falun Gong. Two of them have recently been transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Huixia, 59, is a retired teacher. She taught at Taian City No.2 Middle School. She was arrested on November 24, 2020, when she visited fellow practitioner Ms. Xie Qingling. The police were ransacking Ms. Xie’s home at the time.
Ms. Yang was first held in the Xintai City Detention Center and then the Taian City Detention Center. The police submitted her case to the Taishan District Procuratorate. She was tried in the Taishan District Court in September 2021 and sentenced to four years. She appealed with the Taian City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict.
Ms. Xie was tried on July 15, 2021, and later sentenced to seven years with a 20,000-yuan fine. Her appeal was also rejected.
A third practitioner, Ms. Zhou Min, 67, who used to work in a copper wire factory, was arrested on November 25, 2020. A dozen officers broke in her security door. Her Falun Gong books, computer, printer, home-made calendars with information about Falun Gong, and office supplies were confiscated.
Ms. Zhou was tried by the Taishan District Court on July 16, 2021, through a video call in the Taian City Detention Center. The judge repeatedly ordered her to plead guilty, but she maintained that she didn’t violate any law by practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhou was later sentenced to five years and fined an unknown amount. She appealed with the Taian City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the verdict.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Zhou had served three labor camp terms and a prison term, totaling 11 years. She was fired from her job during her first labor camp term in 2000 and her husband divorced her during her third term between 2007 and 2009.
Both Ms. Zhou and Ms. Yang are serving time in the Shandong Province Women’s Prison.
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Liu Xingyu (刘兴钰), secretary, Taishan District Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeLi Xiaoming (李晓明), deputy head, Taishan District Domestic Security Office: +86-18653898107Zhang Rengang (张仁岗), judge, Taishan District Court: +86-538-8625173
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)
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