52-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Denied Family Visits While Serving Third Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong
(Minghui.org) A 52-year-old resident of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province has been denied family visits since she was admitted to prison in November 2023 to serve a third jail term for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The prison authorities said they didn’t allow Ms. Li Fangfang’s family to see her because she refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Li Fangfang
Three Prison Terms Totaling 16 Years
Ms. Li, a graduate of Shenyang University, was the general manager of McDonald’s in Northeast China. She took up Falun Gong in 2004 after witnessing how her mother, Ms. Yang Shuqing, regained health through the practice. Both of them were sentenced to three years in 2009 for their faith and brutally tortured in prison.
Ms. Yang died while Ms. Li was serving her second prison term (7.5 years) and her husband, who had health issues, had to check into a nursing home after her passing.
Ms. Li completed her second term on May 13, 2021, only to be arrested again on August 3, 2022 for talking to people about Falun Gong. The Economic Development Zone Court sentenced her to 5.5 years with a 10,000-yuan fine in late January 2023. Her appeal was rejected by the Shenyang City Intermediate Court.
Family’s Uphill Battle to Visit Her in Prison
Ms. Li’s family found out on November 28, 2023 that she was no longer held at the Shenyang City First Detention Center and that her commissary account there had been closed. A guard surnamed Wu from the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison called them on December 5, 2023 to say that Ms. Li had been admitted to Division 12 of the prison in November 2023.
Ms. Li’s family asked to visit her, and Wu said she had been put on strict management and denied family visits for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. He also declined to reveal her commissary account number using the excuse that he needed to do some investigation first.
Shortly after the call, Ms. Li’s family filed a request with the Liaoning Province Justice Bureau, the Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau and the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison. They demanded that the three agencies fulfill their legal obligation to allow them to visit Ms. Li and have her commissary account number so that they could wire money to her.
The Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau responded on December 20, 2023 and said, “According to our prisoner management policy, inmates put on strict management are denied visits and other forms of communication with their families. Li Fangfang is currently on strict management and thus denied family visits. She would be allowed family visits once she is removed from strict management. From what we know, the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison has already gotten in touch with you and explained her situation. If you still have questions, you may call +86-24-31236169 for help.”
On January 4, 2024, Ms. Li’s family filed a complaint with the Liaoning Province Procuratorate against the prison for denying her family visits on the grounds that she had been put on strict management for refusing to renounce her faith. By law, every prisoner is allowed family visits.
The family hasn't received any response from the procuratorate at the time of writing.
Related Reports:
Liaoning Woman to Be Released After Serving 7.5 Years for Her Faith
Ms. Li Fangfang and Mr. Tong Haibo from Shenyang Arrested While Trying to Help a Fellow Practitioner
The Police Arrests Ms. Li Fangfang for Trying to Have Practitioners Released from Detention
Practitioners' Friends and Relatives Arrested for Protesting Police Violence
Shenyang Teacher and and Her Manager Daughter Persecuted
Falun Gong Practitioners Severely Persecuted in Liaoning Province Women's Prison
Retired Teacher and Her Daughter Detained in Liaoning Province