(Minghui.org) A Zibo City, Shandong Province, resident is facing prosecution for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Cong Peixi received a call from an officer surnamed Zhang (+86-17805335043) on November 3, 2023, and was told that they had submitted her case to the local procuratorate. She asked Zhang what crime they charged her with. He said that she violated Article 300 of the Criminal Code, which prosecutes those who “engage in heretical religious organizations to disrupt the implementation of law.”
In the persecution of Falun Gong, Article 300 has been widely used to frame the practitioners, even when no Chinese law ever criminalizes Falun Gong.
Ms. Cong also asked Zhang what evidence they had. He replied that he wouldn’t be able to explain it on the phone. He also said that Ms. Cong, still out on bail since her arrest earlier this year, must report to the police station whenever summoned; otherwise they would take her back into custody.
Arrested Earlier This Year and Released on Bail
According to an insider, the police targeted Ms. Cong upon finding her sharing a few Falun Dafa songs and a letter to a judge in Beijing between January and March 2023 in a QQ group. The judge had sentenced Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu Na to eight years. Although she later withdrew from that group, she was noticed by the police already. (QQ is a popular social media platform in China.)
The police arrested Ms. Cong soon afterward, though the exact date was unclear. They later released her on bail.
Four officers searched Ms. Cong’s home on August 30, 2023, and confiscated her two laptops, one desktop, one music player, a cell phone, and three portable hard drives. Although the police promised to return the items, they only mailed back her cell phone and nothing else.
In addition to the prosecution, Ms. Cong has also had her pension suspended since May 2023. She took some legal actions to seek justice and is still awaiting a result at the time of writing.
Copyright © 2023 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
