(Minghui.org) It was recently confirmed that a fourth resident of Pengxi County, Sichuan Province had been sentenced to prison in a four-month span by the same court for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. He Xuemei, 72, was sentenced to three years with one year probation by the Pengxi County Court on June 29, 2023.
It had been previously reported that the same court had sentenced three other Pengxi residents since early this year for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Tang Qiongying, around 68, was given 2 years (to be served outside of prison) at the end of February 2023. Ms. Yan Changsu, 77, was given one year with two years probation on May 18, 2023. Ms. Chen Qiuju, 54, was given three years on the same day as Ms. He.
Ms. He and Ms. Yan were arrested together on October 25, 2022, while talking to people about Falun Gong. They were held at the Yongxing Detention Center for 35 days before being released on bail on November 30 that year.
The Pengnanchang Police Station called Ms. Yan on May 12, 2023, ordering her to go there to sign some paperwork. Her son and daughter accompanied her there. They were shown an indictment issued by the Pengxi County Procuratorate. Ms. Yan, who never attended school, didn’t know how to sign her name. Her children signed on her behalf, and the police also forced her to fingerprint the indictment.
Ms. Yan was summoned to the police station again six days later. Her children also went with her. They were met with a person from the procuratorate, who came to deliver the Pengxi County Court’s ruling, saying she had been sentenced to one year with two years probation. Ms. Yan realized that the court simply handed down the sentence without even holding a hearing of her case. Her children signed the verdict, and she fingerprinted it.
Extrajudicial Agencies Order Sichuan Court to Sentence Woman for Her Faith in Falun Gong