(Minghui.org) A 59-year-old resident of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province was sentenced to four years on December 12, 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The prison sentence of Ms. Yang Xiuhua, a former steel worker, stemmed from her arrest on April 26, 2024, when six other local Falun Gong practitioners were also seized by the same group of officers from the Hongan Police Station in Fularji District.
The police used a drill to open Mr. Feng Zimin’s door and arrested him and his three guests, including Ms. Zhang Jie, Ms. Feng Hui, and Ms. Sun Haizhu. As the officers were leaving Mr. Feng’s home, they ran into Ms. Yang, Ms. Sun Yufang, and Ms. Gao Yongzhi, who arrived to join the practitioners’ gathering unaware of what had happened. The three latecomers were arrested too.
All seven practitioners’ homes were raided. Both Ms. Yang and Ms. Sun Yufang had their laptops, Falun Gong books and music players confiscated. The police did not find any Falun Gong-related materials at Ms. Sun Haizhu’s home.
Except Ms. Yang, the other practitioners were released on one-year bail after one week’s detention, with Ms. Sun Yufang, 81, forced to pay a 10,000-yuan bail bond and the rest 5,000 yuan each.
Ms. Yang was held at an unknown location for 30 days before being released on a one-year bail. Not long after her bail period expired in late May 2024, she was arrested again and taken to the Qiqihar City Detention Center. Her family learned in mid-September 2024 that her case had been assigned to the local Longjiang County Procuratorate. She was indicted at an unknown date and sentenced by the Longjiang County Court on December 12.
Prior to her latest wrongful conviction, Ms. Yang was previously sentenced to three years following an arrest on May 1, 2015. She was released on May 1, 2018.
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