(Minghui.org) Ms. Lyu Sumin, 71, who lives in the Mentougou District, Beijing was sentenced to four years and three months and fined 8,000 yuan on December 11, 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Lyu who worked at the Mentougou District Court, is appealing her verdict. Prior to her latest sentencing, she served three forced labor terms totaling 6.5 years at the Beijing Women’s Labor Camp (including 1.5 years from June 26, 2001 to December 25, 2002, 2.5 years from September 10, 2003 to March 9, 2006, and another 2.5 years from March 13, 2007 to September 12, 2009), followed by a three-year prison term at the Beijing Women’s Prison from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014. She was also sent to brainwashing centers twice, given criminal detention once and was sentenced to administrative detention three times. Her home was also raided and ransacked four times.
Latest Arrest and Sentencing
Ms. Lyu’s latest sentence stemmed from her arrest on April 16, 2020, by the Dongxinfang Police Station. She was released on bail the next day. In early April 2021, the same police station sent an officer to her home, asking her family to identify a woman seen in a video placing something on the cars parked on the street and see if it was Ms. Lyu. A few days later, the police ordered her to report to them for interrogation. She did not go and temporarily left home to avoid being persecuted. The police summoned her a few more times but it was unclear whether she complied with their demands.
Two officers from the Dongxinfang Police Station, Zhao Tongqing and Liu (first name unknown), went to Ms. Lyu’s home on April 11, 2023, and notified her that they needed to move forward with her prosecution since she had been on bail for two years. They ordered her to go with them to the Mentougou District Procuratorate. She explained that she broke no law by practicing Falun Gong and refused to comply.
The police measured her blood pressure and noted a systolic reading of more than 200 mmHg (a healthy range is no more than 120). They did not take her away but warned her that she must answer to the procuratorate’s summon later on.
On April 23, officers Zhao and Liu returned with Gao Ge and Liu Fanshi from the procuratorate. They informed Ms. Lyu that her case was submitted to the procuratorate and she was on bail awaiting indictment. Three days later she received a call from the procuratorate saying that she had been indicted and that her case was forwarded to the Mentougou District Court, which in turn forwarded the case to the Shijingshan District Court. It was unclear why the latter court took over her case.
Officers from the Dongxinfang Police Station and the Mentougou District Police Department took Ms. Lyu back into custody on September 4. When she refused to go with them, they carried her to their police cruiser. She is now held in the Shijingshan District Detention Center.
Ms. Lyu stood trial at the Shijingshan District Court on November 20 and was sentenced on December 11. She is now appealing her verdict.
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