64-Year-Old Retired Teacher Sentenced to Two Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 64-year-old retired teacher in Changchun City, Jilin Province was recently sentenced to two years for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Nie Yan’s sentencing stemmed from her arrest on May 31, 2023, while she was talking to people about Falun Gong at the local Nanhu Park. The arresting officers from the Weixing Road Police Station, including Li Jinquan, seized her purse, which contained her car key, home key, and banknotes printed with Falun Gong messages (as a way to raise awareness of the persecution). They impounded her car as well.

That afternoon, three other officers, only one of them in uniform, raided Ms. Nie’s home. It’s unclear whether she was present during the raid. Her family reported that the police did not show their IDs or any search warrant. They confiscated Ms. Nie’s laptop, computer, and cell phones.

Ms. Nie was taken to the Weixing Road Police Station, where she was handcuffed for extended periods of time. On June 7, the police transferred her to the Changchun City Lockup. The next morning, four officers from the police station suddenly picked her up from the lockup and took her to its supervising agency, the Chaoyang District Police Department, for interrogation. At around 9 p.m. that day, the police issued her a criminal detention notice. She was then taken to the Changchun City Detention Center, where she remains.

The police submitted her case to the Chaoyang District Procuratorate on July 28. Prosecutor Gao Di ignored Ms. Nie’s family’s request to not issue a formal arrest warrant against her. He even directed officer Li to threaten Ms. Nie’ family, “Do you also practice Falun Gong? If so, you need to be interrogated too!”

Gao indicted Ms. Nie and submitted her case to the Chaoyang District Court on August 8. Judge Qu Dong sentenced her to two years recently. The details of her trial and sentencing remain to be investigated.

Past Persecution

Ms. Nie moved to Changchun City after she retired from the Lihua Elementary School in Yanji City, Jilin Province. She used to suffer from many diseases, including insomnia, palpitations, anemia, weak legs, and complications from child birth. After she took up Falun Gong, she gradually regained her health. More importantly, she followed Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and became a more conscientious and patient teacher. She no longer yelled at her students or accepted gifts from parents (it is still the norm today for parents to give gifts to teachers in order for their children to receive preferential treatment at school). One student said, “Ms. Nie is the gentlest teacher I’ve ever had.”

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Ms. Nie was twice arrested for upholding her faith prior to her latest sentencing. On September 21, 2004, her school worked with the Yanji City Police Department and got her detained for 15 days. Around late March 2011, the Yanji City 610 Office and Political and Legal Affairs Committees, both extra-judiciary agencies tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong, seized her at work together with the local police. They held her at a brainwashing facility for more than ten days, during which time they attempted to make her renounce Falun Gong.