(Minghui.org) A 53-year-old woman in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, stood trial on August 23, 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Both Ms. Gao Zhijun and her lawyer demanded her acquittal and are now awaiting a verdict.
Ms. Gao was arrested at home on September 21, 2022. Two days later, the arresting officers from the Xicheng Police Station took her to the Nanchong City Detention Center, where she remains as of today.
The Shunqing District Court in Nanchong City barred Ms. Gao’s parents from attending the hearing on the grounds that they once provided testimonies in her favor. Only her younger brother was allowed inside the courtroom.
Ms. Gao testified in her own defense and explained how Falun Gong restored her health. She was sickly from the time she was young and had to take extended leave from work as an adult. She later went to Guangdong Province to do odd jobs but unfortunately contracted hepatitis B. She tried both Western and Chinese medicine, as well as folk remedies, but nothing helped. Her father then suggested she give Falun Gong a try. She did and soon recovered from her symptoms. She also became a gentler person.
Prosecutor He Min charged Ms. Gao with using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement, a standard pretext used to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. Her lawyer argued that no enacted law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult. Her practice of Falun Gong didn’t cause any harm to any individual or society at large, much less undermine law enforcement.
The judge ignored Ms. Gao and her lawyer’s request to acquit her and said he’d issue a ruling later on.
This is not the first time that Ms. Gao has been targeted for her faith. She was previously twice jailed for a total of six and a half years.
Ms. Gao was arrested on August 23, 2007, while visiting another practitioner. She was first taken to a brainwashing center before being transferred to the Nanchong City Detention Center on September 30 that year. She was later sentenced to three years and served time in Yangmahe Women’s Prison in Jianyang City.
Lijia Town Police Station officers arrested Ms. Gao at a tea shop on October 23, 2013, after receiving a tip that she talked to a customer about Falun Gong. She was taken to the Nanchong City Detention Center and later sentenced to three and a half years by the same Shunqing District Court that is now prosecuting her.
Ms. Gao was released on April 20, 2017, and had her pension suspended beginning in November 2021. Her local social security office cited her two prison terms as the reason for suspending her pension.
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