(Minghui.org) A 55-year-old Changchun City, Jilin Province, resident has been held incommunicado since her arrest seven months ago for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Yang Yunjie’s family recently confirmed that she was tried in the Changchun City No.4 Detention Center on November 21, 2022, but they don’t know if she has been convicted or not as they and her lawyer have been denied visitation.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
As soon as Ms. Yang stepped out of her home on June 13, 2022, she was arrested by five plainclothes officers waiting outside. Without showing their IDs or a search warrant, the officers broke into her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books. The police also removed the license plate from their car, in order not to reveal their identities.
Ms. Yang later confirmed that the officers were from the Chongqinglu Police Station. During the two days she was held there, the police didn’t inform her family of her whereabouts. Her loved ones only found out about her whereabouts after reporting her disappearance. Ms. Yang was released at around 3 p.m. on June 15.
The police arrested Ms. Yang again on July 4, 2022, and took her to the Changchun City No.4 Detention Center. They accused her of “subverting state power” because she promoted Falun Gong outside of the Jilin University No.1 Hospital. They also threatened to sentence her.
The Kuancheng District Court held a hearing of Ms. Yang’s case on November 21, 2022, but without allowing her family to attend. According to an insider, Ms. Yang refused to plead guilty or cooperate with the judge, who threatened to report her case to higher-ups, likely for a heavier prison sentence.
As Ms. Yang’s family and lawyer have been barred from visiting her, they don’t know how she is doing in the detention center or the current status of her case.
Family’s Persecution
Prior to her latest ordeal, Ms. Yang has served two years of forced labor and been held in a brainwashing center.
In addition to her, four other members of her family have also been targeted for their shared faith in Falun Gong since the onset of the persecution.
Her sister, Ms. Yang Zongying, was arrested at least 12 times and given two labor camp terms. She died of the persecution in April 2014 at the age of 45.
Ms. Yang Zongying’s husband, Mr. Chen Tianjie, was given one year of forced labor in 2000 and sentenced to 11 years in 2002. He was subjected to all kinds of torture while in custody.
Ms. Yang’s older brother, Mr. Yang Zongbo, was also arrested multiple times. He was given one year of forced labor in 2000 and sentenced to one year in 2016.
Ms. Yang’s younger brother, Ms. Yang Zonghai, was once given one year of forced labor and forced to live away from home to hide from the police.
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