(Minghui.org) A 51-year-old Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province resident was recently sentenced to six years and fined 20,000 yuan for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhao Qingping, a former pharmaceutical company production director, took up Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline, in 1997. She once stopped practicing after the Chinese communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, but resumed it in 2003.
Ms. Zhao was arrested at home at around 8 p.m. on July 19, 2022, together with her mother-in-law, who was followed by the police for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong.
The police raided Ms. Zhao’s home and confiscated over 50 Falun Gong books, three framed photos of Falun Gong’s founder, two computers, two printers, two media players, four cellphones, over 30 flash drives with information about Falun Gong, 3,000 yuan in cash with information about Falun Gong printed on the bills (as a way to overcome the strict censorship in China), as well as the 370,000 yuan that she had just withdrawn from the bank for her child to buy a house.
The police first ignored the family when they went to the police station to demand the return of the money, but given the family’s persistent effort, the police returned the 370,000 yuan in late 2022.
Ms. Zhao’s mother-in-law was released the day after her arrest while Ms. Zhao was put under criminal detention and taken to the Harbin City No. 2 Detention Center. Her family hired a lawyer to represent her and the lawyer visited her in late August.
Ms. Zhao stood trial at the Acheng District Court on March 13, 2023. Her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her. He argued that no law has ever criminalized Falun Gong in China and that she didn’t violate any law by having Falun Gong books at home.
The judge announced the six-year sentence against Ms. Zhao around mid-April. She is now appealing the verdict.
Related report:
Woman and Her Mother-in-law Arrested for Their Faith, 370K Yuan Confiscated during Home Raid
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