(Minghui.org) A Beijing woman in her 70s was sentenced to three and a half years in April 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Xu Shufen was allowed to serve time outside of prison due to her poor health. Her sentencing stemmed from her arrest on the afternoon of July 27, 2023. A group of officers from the Xinggu Police Station broke into her home and confiscated her valuables. They targeted her after receiving a tip that she had talked to people about Falun Gong. They took her to a case processing center in Pinggu District.
The police interrogated Ms. Xu for a whole night without allowing her any sleep. She had become very healthy since she took up Falun Gong more than two decades ago, but the marathon interrogation caused her blood pressure to spike. She had a heart attack and was rushed to the Pinggu District Hospital. The police notified her family of her hospitalization the next morning and released her on bail.
Ms. Xu survived but faced continued prosecution. The Pinggu District Procuratorate indicted her in August 2023 and recommended a prison sentence of 3-4 years. The Pinggu District Court appointed a lawyer to represent her and instructed the lawyer to enter a guilty plea.
Ms. Xu stood trial on February 28, 2024, and was sentenced to 3.5 years in April 2024. She was allowed to serve time outside of prison but ordered to report to the local justice bureau on a regular basis.
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