(Minghui.org) An 81-year-old Chongqing woman was sentenced to one year with a 3,000 yuan fine during a retrial on August 25, 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Ms. Liu Guibi’s husband, who had been bedridden for years, was devastated by her sentencing and died four days later.
Ms. Liu, who had been out on bail, was taken back into custody on December 5 after losing her appeal on November 7. She is now serving time at the Chongqing Women’s Prison.
Initial Sentence of 6 Months Nullified By Trial Court
This latest persecution of Ms. Liu stemmed from her arrest on February 16, 2023, when she was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong in Beipei District, Chongqing. The arresting officers from the Jingguan Town Police Station also raided her home and confiscated a few Falun Gong books. They released her on bail around midnight that day.
The Beipei District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Liu on April 18, and forwarded her case to the Jiangbei District Procuratorate on April 26. The latter procuratorate then submitted her case to the Jiangbei District Court on May 19.
She stood trial at the Jiangbei District Court on July 4. The five people presiding over the hearing left before Ms. Liu finished her defense statement. She thought the court was in recess but no one returned. Then the court-appointed driver who brought her to the court came and said that the hearing ended. He drove her home.
The court later delivered a guilty verdict to Ms. Liu’s home. She was sentenced to six months in prison. Not long after, the court notified her that the trial was declared a mistrial and they planned to schedule a new trial. The six-month sentence was thus nullified.
Ms. Liu was put on house arrest on August 3 while awaiting a retrial.
Sentenced to One Year in Retrial
A retrial of Ms. Liu was held on August 25, 2023, and she was sentenced to one year with 3,000 yuan at the end of the hearing. She appealed with Chongqing Intermediate Court on August 28 and was rejected on November 7. The police took her back into custody on December 5 and she is now serving time at the Chongqing Women’s Prison.
Past Persecution
This is not the first time that Ms. Liu has been targeted for her faith. For nearly two years since the spring of 2000, she was held at various local brainwashing centers. The goal was to force her to renounce Falun Gong. She was once held at the Beipei District Lockup for seven days and the Beipei District Detention Center for one month.
Officers from the Shuitu Town Police Station arrested Ms. Liu on May 9, 2008, and kept her in custody for an unknown amount of time.
Officers from the Fuxing Town Police Station arrested her on June 5, 2016, and raided her home two days later. They released her on the day of her arrest, but took her back into custody when they discovered Falun Gong books and informational materials during the home raid. They forced her to press her fingerprints on a document and give a blood sample, before releasing her after 9 p.m. on June 7, 2016.
Ms. Liu and two other local practitioners were arrested by officers from the Jingguan Town Police Station on August 11, 2016. They were taken to the Beipei District Detention Center. After nearly two months, she was transferred to a brainwashing center, where she was held until October 28, 2016.
Officers from the Fuxing Town Police Station arrested Ms. Liu on October 24, 2018. They later took her to the Beipei District Detention Center. She was found to have three illnesses during the required physical examination and the detention center refused to admit her. The police released her but ordered her to report to the Beipei District Court on November 7 to attend a hearing. She lived away from home to avoid the police.
On March 12, 2021, several officers from the Fuxing Town Police Station broke into Ms. Liu’s home saying they were there to deliver a court summons because the Beipei District Court told them her case had not been closed. They took her to the Beipei District Detention Center the next day. It is unclear what happened to her next, but it seems her latest persecution was deemed a new case, unrelated to her previous persecution.
Related reports:
Chongqing Court Voids Its Prison Sentence Against 81-Year-Old Ms. Liu Guibi, Schedules Retrial
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