(Minghui.org) A resident of Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, was sentenced to two and a half years in late October 2023 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Ms. Zheng Suzhen, nearly 80, was allowed to serve time outside of prison due to her advanced age. Her wrongful conviction stemmed from her arrest on May 18, 2022. The East Street Police Station officers broke into her rental place that day and confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials, as well as 2,000 yuan cash that she had saved to pay rent.
The police interrogated her at their police station for hours before releasing her under house arrest that night. She faced constant harassment from the police and the local street committee after that.
Prosecutor Zhang Qing of the Hantai District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Zheng and forwarded her case to the Hantai District Court. During her hearing on November 30, 2022, she submitted her written defense statement to judge Zhang Xu.
Ms. Zheng wrote in her defense that Falun Gong cured her cholecystitis, sciatica, cataracts, sinusitis, pancreatitis, and chronic rheumatism. She also testified against the arresting officers for raiding her rental place without showing their IDs or a search warrant. She added that there was no legal basis for her arrest or prosecution as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.
Judge Zhang sentenced Ms. Zheng in October 2023 and she is now serving time outside of prison.
This is not the first time that Ms. Zheng has been targeted for her faith in Falun Gong. She was previously arrested in 2003 by the secretary of the Hantai District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, chief of the Hantai District Police Department, and Du Jiucheng (head of the Nancheng County 610 Office. They raided her home and gave her one year of forced labor. While serving time at the Nanzheng County Detention Center, she was abused and developed heart conditions and high blood pressure. She was then released on medical parole.
About six agents from the Hantai District 610 Office and the Hantai District Domestic Security Division, including Xiong Hongbo, Pei Guangming, and Yu Jing, raided Ms. Zheng’s home in March 2011. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials, MP3 players, e-readers, and around 6,000 yuan in cash.
The police did not give Ms. Zheng or her family a list of confiscated items as required by law. They interrogated her at the Hantai District Police Department for several hours before releasing her at 6 p.m. that day. The confiscated items were never returned to her.
In the years that followed, the police kept harassing Ms. Zheng at home and ordered her to report to them from time to time. Her family panicked every time they heard police sirens.
To avoid further harassment, Ms. Zheng and her family sold their house at a loss and rented a place to live. The police tracked her down and continued to harass her. They threatened to suspend her daughter’s pension and evict her from her rental place when she refused to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong.