(Minghui.org) Mr. Yue Nailiang, 63, from Jilin City, Jilin Province, was sentenced to seven years in prison in late July 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Yue Nailiang was admitted to Siping Prison, where his younger brother, Mr. Yue Naiming, 60, served part of his 3.5-year term following his arrest in 2018, also for practicing Falun Gong. The younger brother was an alcoholic but quit drinking after taking up Falun Gong. Practicing Falun Gong kept him sober, but he was repeatedly persecuted for upholding his faith.
In addition to the brothers, Mr. Yue Nailiang’s wife, Ms. Jiao Xiuping, was also persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. She was given two years of forced labor following her arrest in 2001.
Mr. Yue was arrested at his mother’s home on February 14, 2022. The arresting officers from the Huashan Road Police Station told him that they had targeted him because he put up couplets and decorations with Falun Gong messages at his mother’s home.
The police repeatedly slapped Mr. Yue in the face in front of his then 83-year-old mother. The elderly woman relied on him for care, because her younger son was still jailed for practicing Falun Gong. With both sons detained, she often wept.
The police kept Mr. Yue at an unknown place for 15 days before taking him to the Kouqian Detention Center. He was later moved to the Jilin City Detention Center, where he was held for 18 months before he was transferred to prison in early August 2023.
Mr. Yue took up Falun Gong in January 1999, and his wife Ms. Jiao joined him six months later. The couple was repeatedly persecuted for upholding their faith during the past 24 years.
Both Arrested in 2000 for Appealing in Beijing
The couple went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in early 2000 and were arrested outside the State Council’s Appeals Office. They were taken back to Jilin City and held in different facilities.
After an unknown amount of time at the Jilin City Lockup, Mr. Yue was transferred to a brainwashing center, where he was held for more than one month and forced to pay 1,000 yuan before he was released.
Ms. Jiao was held at an unknown location for 15 days before she was moved to a street committee office where she was held for about one week. She was then taken to the same brainwashing center where her husband was held. After more than one month of detention and paying 1,800 yuan (1,000 yuan to the brainwashing center and 800 yuan to the street committee), she was released.
Wife Given More Than Two Years of Forced Labor Following Arrest in 2001
Ms. Jiao went to Beijing alone in December 2001 to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested on Tiananmen Square and taken to a police station, where she was held in a metal cage. After she was taken back to Jilin, she was held at the Jilin City Detention Center for 45 days before being transferred to the Heizuizi Labor Camp in Changchun (the capital city of Jilin Province) to serve a two-year forced labor term.
While Ms. Jiao was held at the detention center, officer Du Xingze tied her to a metal bench and slapped her face. He also grabbed her hair and slammed her head against a metal table.
Ms. Jiao said she was also brutally tortured at the labor camp because she refused to renounce Falun Gong. Guards Liu Lianying and Lang (first name unknown) shocked her body's sensitive parts using two electric batons simultaneously. They also did not allow her to sleep.
When Ms. Jiao was not being tortured, she was forced to do hard labor without pay, getting up at 4 a.m. and working non-stop until 10 p.m. She was then forced to stand until past midnight.
The authorities extended Ms. Jiao’s term by 185 days because she refused to renounce Falun Gong at the end of her two-year term.
When Ms. Jiao was finally released on May 29, 2003, her employer, a garden service company, fired her.
Husband Arrested When Police Fail to Find Wife
Just a few months after Ms. Jiao was released, more than 24 officers broke into her home on September 16, 2003, intending to arrest her again. She was not there so the police seized Mr. Yue instead. His mother and sister-in-law went to seek his release the next day and only then did the police free him.
Mr. Yue’s 2003 arrest was preceded by an earlier one in March 2002. He was held at a brainwashing center for more than 50 days following that arrest.
Jilin Man Given 3.5 Years for Upholding Faith That Helped Him Quit Drinking
Mr. Yue Naiming Tortured in Custody, Harassed After Release
Mr. Yue Naiming Missing, Police Take DNA Samples from His Home
Former Alcoholic Arrested a Fourth Time for Practicing Falun Gong That Keeps Him Sober