Guangdong Woman Given Third Prison Sentence for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) It has been recently confirmed by Minghui.org that a 61-year-old woman in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, has been sentenced to four years last year for practicing Falun Gong. This is the third time that Ms. Liu Yueli has been sentenced for her faith since the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

Ms. Liu was arrested at home in mid-July 2020, after the police deceived her into opening the door by claiming that she had a burst water pipe. Upon entering her home, the police revealed that they had monitored her for a long time before deciding to arrest her. They confiscated her computer and printer and took her to the Pingshan Police Station to interrogate her. She was taken to the Panyu District Detention Center the next day. The Haizhu District Court sentenced her to four years in 2022. It’s not clear where she is currently incarcerated.

Previous Two Prison Sentences

Ms. Liu, a native of Huarong County, Hunan Province, used to suffer many ailments, including gallstones, insomnia, and stomach problems. Just as she was about to schedule surgery to remove the gallstones in early 1999, a friend recommended Falun Gong to her.

The friend used to have a sallow complexion due to diabetes but was now full of energy after only one month of practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Liu was inspired and decided to take up the practice as well. After just one exercise session, her pain disappeared and her appetite returned. After three days, she returned to work. As she continued to practice, all of her diseases were gone before she knew it.

After the persecution started months later, Ms. Liu persisted in practicing Falun Gong and also used her spare time to raise awareness about the persecution. She was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials on February 1, 2007, and arrested. The Conghua City Court sentenced her to 3.5 years on December 7, 2007. 

During her one-year detention at Conghua City Detention Center, she was forced to take cold showers in the winter, eat raw rice, sleep on cold, damp concrete floors, and do intensive unpaid labor. Her hair turned gray and her menstrual period stopped when she was only 45. The abuse continued after she was transferred to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison. 

While taking the subway on July 26, 2015, Ms. Liu talked to the boy sitting next to her about Falun Gong and was reported by him. The police arrested her and gave her ten days of administrative detention. Ten days later, she was transferred to the Guangzhou City No.1 Detention Center. There, she was also forced to do heavy labor without pay, while wearing shackles. The guards constantly deprived her of sleep. She suffered malnutrition due to the poor food provided. Three of her teeth came out and she also had extensive hair loss. 

The Tianhe District Court sentenced Ms. Liu to two years at the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison on October 21, 2016. She appealed with the Guangzhou City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict. 

Ms. Liu was arrested again on July 9, 2019, while walking on the street. She was held at the police station until 3 a.m.