(Minghui.org) After living in fear for two decades through the persecution of Falun Gong, an 85-year-old woman passed away on August 24, 2022, with her 82-year-old husband still serving a five-year term for his faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Wang Yue was a retired teacher in Sanhe City, Hebei Province. Her husband, Mr. Ma Weishan, was arrested on April 22, 2014 for sending text messages about Falun Gong. He was sentenced to a five-year term by the Sanhe City Court on November 5, 2015. The Langfang City Intermediate Court rejected his appeal on May 13, 2016.

Mr. Ma was later released on parole, only to be arrested again on September 28, 2018, after he was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a farmers’ market. Despite his high blood pressure, the local detention center accepted him and transferred him to the Jidong Prison days later to serve out his five-year term.

Mr. Ma’s incarceration dealt Ms. Wang a heavy blow. She often cried and her health quickly declined, especially her diabetes. Suffering persistent high fever, she was hospitalized in July 2022, yet the doctor couldn’t bring her temperature down after a month. In her final days, she often mumbled, “Why hasn’t Weishan come back home yet?” 

Mr. Ma Weishan and Ms. Wang Yue submitting their criminal complaint on May 25, 2015 against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999

Past Persecution of Mr. Ma

Mr. Ma used to work as a village officer and also a manager at a private company. He has been repeatedly targeted for his faith since the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

Mr. Ma was first arrested in November 1999 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was given two years of forced labor. At the Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp, he was only given steamed buns and clear soup with very little unwashed vegetables, yet he had to do over ten hours of hard labor every day. The guards once handcuffed him to a water pipe outdoors and subjected him to freezing temperatures.

Mr. Ma was arrested again in March 2003. He held a hunger strike for seven days and was then released. Seven days later, the authorities took him back into custody at a brainwashing center. The mental distress took a toll on his health. He fell ill soon after and remained very weak for a few years. 

Mr. Ma was arrested yet another time, on February 25, 2006. He was sentenced to three years at Jidong Prison and released in 2009.

Related report:

78-Year-Old Man Sent Back to Prison Three Years After Being Sentenced for Sending Text Messages About Falun Gong