Wrongfully Sentenced to Three Years, Woman Dies of Brain Hemorrhage

(Minghui.org)

Name: Ma ShufangChinese Name: 马淑芳Gender: FemaleAge: 69City: BeianProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: Household Affairs Department ManagerDate of Death: June 10, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 12, 2020Most Recent Place of Detention: Tongbei County Forest Bureau Detention Center

Days after an appeals court upheld Ms. Ma Shufang’s three-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong, the Beian City, Heilongjiang Province, resident suffered a brain hemorrhage and died. She was 69.

Over the past two years, Ms. Ma had endured repeated harassment and tremendous mental distress for holding fast to her faith in Falun Gong, which has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Ma, a former household affairs department manager under Tongbei County Forest Bureau Police Department, was arrested on August 12, 2020. Her Falun Gong books, printer, and copy paper were confiscated.

After being interrogated at the Tongbei Forest Bureau Police Department, she was taken to the Tongbei County Forest Bureau Detention Center. She developed high blood pressure and was then released on bail.

The police continued to harass her at home. They submitted her case to the Yabuli Forestry Bureau Procuratorate, which indicted her in August 2021 and moved her case to the Yabuli Court. The judge sentenced her to three years in a virtual trial in December 2021.

Ms. Ma appealed to the Heilongjiang Province Intermediate Court, which held a virtual hearing in early June 2022. The appeals court judge was very arrogant and didn’t allow her to talk. She suffered a brain hemorrhage on June 4 and died six days later.

Prior to her latest ordeal that led to her death, she had been arrested a few more times in the earlier years of the persecution and held in a brainwashing center and detention center. She was also fired from her job.