(Minghui.org) An 87-year-old woman in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, lost her appeal against a three-year-and-nine-month prison sentence on October 24, 2023. On November 7, the police made a failed attempt to take Ms. Liao An’an for a physical examination in preparation for prison admission, as she remained bedridden since she had a medical emergency on the day of her arrest in January 2022.
This is not the first time that Ms. Liao has been sentenced for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was sentenced to five years following her arrest on August 18, 2008 and given another five years following her arrest on September 19, 2014. Due to health reasons, she was allowed to serve the last three years of her second prison term outside of prison.
The Baiyin District Court, however, added the last three years from Ms. Liao’s second prison term to her latest one, ordering her to serve a total of six years and nine months. The Baiyin City Intermediate Court refused to overturn the trial court’s ruling as she requested.
A Quick Recap of Ms. Liao’s Latest Arrest and Sentencing
Ms. Liao’s latest sentencing stemmed from her arrest at around 4 p.m. on January 14, 2022. She had a medical emergency during police interrogation that night and was rushed to the Baiyin City First People’s Hospital. The police left as soon as her son arrived at the hospital.
After more than two hours of resuscitation, Ms. Liao’s condition finally stabilized. The ER doctors recommended inpatient care, but her son couldn’t afford to cover her medical expenses and ended up taking her home [in China, patients are usually required to pre-pay their medical expenses before receiving care]. Ms. Liao’s pension and medical insurance have been canceled for nearly nine years (since her arrest in 2014 for her faith), and her family struggled just to make a living, much less pay medical bills.
In late April 2022, two people from the Baiyin City Procuratorate came to Ms. Liao’s home to depose her.
Two staffers from the Baiyin District Court showed up at Ms. Liao’s home on March 30, 2023 and set up a computer for her to attend a virtual hearing right away. They did the remote hearing because Ms. Liao had never recovered from her medical emergency and was still bedridden.
Another two court workers delivered her verdict to her home on September 5, 2023. Her son, who lives with her, was infuriated when he heard that the court ordered his mother to re-serve the last three years of her second prison term, on top of the new prison sentence of three years and nine months.
The clerks said the court at one point ordered Ms. Liao to report to prison back in 2016 but she never did. Her son argued that no one ever notified them, and that his mother already served those three years outside of prison under close surveillance by the street committee as dictated by the court.
Ms. Liao refused to sign her verdict, and the clerks retaliated by not allowing her to to read the entirety of the verdict. They just quickly showed her the part that stated her prison term.
Appeal Rejected
A woman bailiff from the Baiyin City Intermediate Court came to Ms. Liao’s home on October 24, 2023 and asked her son to sign the ruling in her appeals case.
The ruling stated that the intermediate court has rejected Ms. Liao’s appeal and concurred with the trial court that she must serve a combined six years and nine months in prison.
Ms. Liao’s son argued that his mother should never have been thrice sentenced for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief, much less re-serve a portion of her second prison term that she had already served outside of prison per court instructions. The bailiff insisted that the appeals court’s decision was final.
Ms. Liao’s son refused to sign the appeals ruling or let the bailiff see his bedridden mother. The bailiff then left with the unsigned ruling.
Police’s Futile Attempt to Take Ms. Liao for a Physical Examination
The Baiyin District Domestic Security Office called Ms. Liao’s son on November 7, 2023 saying they were coming to his home to take his mother for a physical examination. About eight people showed up close to 9 a.m. that day. They ordered Ms. Liao’s son to cooperate with them to get her to the hospital. Her son said it was their business to get her to the hospital or admitted to prison. He stressed that his mother would not go to the hospital with them.
Her son also said: “My mother was traumatized after having a medical emergency last year [on the day of her arrest on January 14, 2022]. She is also still suffering from cardiovascular diseases and has been bedridden. Yet you are still trying to throw her into prison.”
The police ignored him and entered Ms. Liao’s bedroom. They kept calling her name but she kept her eyes closed and remained silent. They then called in a doctor, but she refused to talk to the doctor or cooperate with him as he attempted to examine her.
The police then stepped out and talked among themselves in the living room. They left at around 11 a.m.
Related reports:
Former Gansu Police Director Persecuted for His Faith
Three Senior Citizens Stand Up to Police Pressure to Renounce Falun Gong
Four Baiyin Falun Gong Practitioners Still Detained a Month after Illegal Arrests
Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in Baiyin City, Gansu Province
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