(Minghui.org) Countless Falun Gong practitioners have been harassed, monitored, and arrested for upholding their faith after the Chinese communist regime launched the persecution of the spiritual discipline in 1999.
In Maoming City, Guangdong Province, the persecution intensified after Zhao Guanghui took office as the secretary of the Maoming Political and Legal Affairs Committee in September 2018. The persecution didn’t abate after Wang Rurui succeeded Zhao’s position in December 2021.
Below is a brief summary of the 13 practitioners who are currently incarcerated for their faith, including six practitioners who have been sentenced to prison and seven who are facing trial or awaiting verdicts.
Sentenced
Woman’s Appeal of Four-year Sentence Denied
Ms. Huang Huifang, 67, was arrested on February 22, 2020, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was released on bail the next day.
The police submitted Ms. Huang’s case to the Maonan District Court in October 2020. The court issued a notice to officially arrest her on October 26, and she was taken back into custody the next day.
Ms. Huang appeared in court in late December 2020 and was sentenced to four years with a 20,000-yuan fine. She appealed with the Maoming City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict on March 12, 2021.
Woman in Her 70s Sentenced to Three Years
Ms. Luo Ji, 73, was arrested on August 10, 2020, for giving out informational materials about Falun Gong at a farmers’ market. She was released the next day and placed under house arrest.
The Maonan District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Luo on October 27 and moved her case to the Maonan District Court on November 11.
Ms. Luo was tried on January 8, 2021, and sentenced to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine on February 5, 2021.
Ms. Luo appealed to the Maoming City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict on April 30, 2021. She was taken to the prison on August 28 and is set to be released on February 5, 2024.
Police Officer Sentenced to Three Years
Mr. Lin Lisheng, 65, used to work as a police officer at the Maoming Train Station. While taking the train on March 11, 2020, he was arrested by his former colleagues after they found a Falun Gong book and several pieces of paper currency printed with information about Falun Gong in his bag.
Mr. Lin was held at the Maoming City No. 1 Detention Center but was released after his family bribed the police. Fearful of the persecution, Mr. Lin stopped practicing Falun Gong. Not long after, he suffered a stroke, and a doctor said they couldn’t treat him.
Upon returning home, Mr. Lin resumed practicing Falun Gong and soon regained his health. After the police found out, they arrested him again on June 27, 2021 and submitted his case to the Maonan District Procuratorate. He appeared in Maonan District Court on December 23, 2022 and was sentenced to three years.
Two Practitioners, Including a Mother of Four and a Woman in Her 70s, Sentenced to Prison
Ms. Pan Dongmei, a 42-year-old mother of four, and Ms. Yang Shulan, then 75, were recorded by a surveillance camera putting up posters with information about Falun Gong on utility poles on May 24, 2021. Both women were arrested when they arrived at Ms. Yang’s place.
On December 28, 2021, the Maonan District Court sentenced Ms. Pan to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine and Ms. Yang to ten months in prison.
83-year-old Woman Sentenced to One Year
Ms. Li Shunhua, 83, was arrested on October 23, 2020, by over ten officers. She was released on the evening of October 26, 2020.
Ms. Li was indicted on October 22, 2021 and appeared in the Maonan District Court on December 27, 2021. The judge put her case on hold on February 15, 2022, and reopened it on May 22 that year.
Ms. Li was tried in the Maonan District Court on the morning of February 28, 2023 and sentenced to one year and fined 3,000 yuan. She was taken to the Maoming City No.1 Detention Center after the trial.
Tried or Facing Prosecution
73-year-old Guangdong Man Suffers Frequent Dizziness While Being Detained for His Faith
Mr. Zhou Huajian, 73, has been detained for three years, after being arrested in March 2020 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong.
Although the local court put Mr. Zhou’s case on hold due to the pandemic, the authorities still refused to release him. According to his lawyer who visited him at the Maoming City No.1 Detention Center on February 23, 2023, Mr. Zhou has been experiencing frequent dizziness in recent months.
Guangdong Man Detained for His Faith—Family Files Complaints Against Key Perpetrators
Mr. Lin Wu, 58, has been detained for two years for his faith in Falun Gong. He was arrested at his apartment building when he returned from grocery shopping on August 14, 2020.
Mr. Lin was interrogated on September 15, 2020. He did not answer any questions, but the authorities fabricated a statement under his name. The Maonan District Procuratorate approved Mr. Lin’s arrest on September 18 and indicted him in early January 2021. His lawyer was not allowed to meet with him until December 1, 2021. The lawyer tried to urge prosecutor Yu Huadan to dismiss his case, but Yu refused to meet with him and said she had handed off the case to the Maonan District Court and was no longer in charge of it.
While Mr. Lin is still awaiting trial by the Maonan District Court, his family filed complaints in August 2022 against the 19 perpetrators responsible for his case. They demanded: 1) the perpetrators be held accountable; 2) the Maonan District Procuratorate withdraw the indictment against Mr. Lin; 3) the Maoming High-tech Development Zone Police Department dismiss Mr. Lin’s case; and 4) the Maonan District Court acquit Mr. Lin.
Mr. Huang Zhufeng, a 51-year-old award-winning electronic automation engineer, had both of his shoulders dislocated and arms disabled after he was tortured in Sanshui Forced Labor Camp in 2003. He was arrested again outside of his apartment on December 12, 2020, when he returned home from work.
A hearing was scheduled on February 23, 2023, at Maonan District Court. During the hearing, Mr. Huang’s lawyer defended him but was interrupted repeatedly. His lawyer questioned if the case will be judged fairly and lawfully, and said that the prosecutor was unable to prove that Mr. Huang violated the law. The lawyer also requested that this statement be recorded.
The hearing was adjourned two hours later.
Guangdong Teacher Faces Prosecution for His Faith
Mr. Yu Tao was arrested at home on August 12, 2021. He was detained for 15 days and was formally arrested on September 10, 2021.
On October 22, 2021, three days after the police submitted Mr. Yu’s case to the Gaozhou City Procuratorate, the prosecutor transferred his case to the Maonan District Procuratorate.
The Maonan District Procuratorate returned Mr. Yu’s case to the police on November 22, 2021, and again on January 1, 2022, citing insufficient evidence. Instead of dropping the case, the police submitted it two more times, on December 17, 2021, and February 15, 2022.
Prosecutor Yu Huadan indicted Mr. Yu on March 16, 2022, and moved his case to the Maonan District Court. Mr. Yu’s family hired two lawyers to represent him, and they visited him at the Gaozhou City Detention Center on April 25.
Case Against Guangdong Woman for Practicing Falun Gong Put on Hold
Ms. Wu Youqing, 56, was arrested when she went out on the evening of September 26, 2022. She was held in criminal detention on September 28 and taken to the Xinyi Detention Center.
The police submitted Ms. Wu’s case to the Gaozhou City Procuratorate on November 18, which then transferred it to the Maonan District Procuratorate on November 22.
In January 2023, Ms. Wu’s family hired another lawyer, who filed complaints on the family’s behalf against the police and the prosecutor for wrongfully handling her case.
On January 30, 2023, presiding judge Tan Wei of the Maonan District Court ruled to put Ms. Wu’s case on hold due to an unforeseen situation. It’s not clear whether Ms. Wu is still detained at the time of writing.
Detained Elderly Woman’s Family Threatened From Hiring Lawyer for Her
Ms. Zhu Fangxia, in her 70s, was arrested on March 6, 2023, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She is currently detained at Maoming No. 1 Detention Center.
Her family was threatened several times by the police, and now they do not dare to hire a lawyer to defend her.
Ms. Zhu has been repeatedly targeted in the past 24 years for upholding her faith. She was previously arrested on August 28, 2013, while talking to another practitioner at a public plaza. The Maonan District Court sentenced her to five years at Guangdong Province Women’s Prison. She was incapacitated from torture when she was released. She recovered by resuming her practice of Falun Gong, only to be arrested again years later.
72-year-old Man Faces Prosecution for His Faith
At 8 p.m. on February 14, 2023, Mr. Li Jun, 72, had just finished dinner when over ten officers descended on his home and raided his residence.
Mr. Li is now facing indictment after the Dianbai District Procuratorate approved his arrest on March 24, 2023. His lawyer visited him at the Dianbai District Detention Center on April 28 and said he was in good spirits despite the persecution.
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