(Minghui.org) A married couple in Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province, were recently sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Han Ximin, a 61-year-old former employee of the Lingyuan Steel Company, was sentenced to 1.5 years with a 3,000-yuan fine. Ms. Du Qingxiu, a 60-year-old former teacher at the Lingyuan City No. 2 Middle School, was given 3.5 years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Both of them have appealed the verdicts.
The couple was arrested on May 12, 2023, at home and held at the Chaoyang City Detention Center since. The Shuangta District Court held two hearings of their case on August 28 and October 30, 2023, before announcing their verdicts on November 7.
Prior to their latest persecution, the couple had been targeted several times for upholding their faith. Mr. Han was given three forced labor terms, in 2000, 2001, and 2007. Ms. Du was given forced labor terms in 2000 and 2007 and a six-year prison term in 2012.
While Ms. Du was held in Liaoning Province Women’s Prison, she was tortured for not renouncing Falun Gong, including being beaten, shocked with electric batons, deprived of sleep, barred from drinking water, and denied restroom use. The inmates also stripped off her clothes and beat her. The most appalling torture was to insert a broomstick into her vagina.
Because of the persecution, both Ms. Du and her husband lost their jobs and were destitute. Mr. Han even begged for leftover food from restaurants.
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