(Minghui.org) A 69-year-old woman in Baoqing County, Heilongjiang Province, was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on May 14, 2024, after losing her appeal against a wrongful conviction for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Liu Duanhui was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan on August 25, 2023. A hearing of her appeal was held on November 29, but it is unclear when exactly the ruling to uphold her original verdict was issued.
Prison Sentence Follows 2.5 Years of Displacement
Ms. Liu lives on No. 853 Farm in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. Her prison sentence stemmed from her initial arrest on May 2, 2020, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials.
The arresting officers were from the Qinghe Police Station on No.853 Farm, which is under the administration of the Jiansanjiang Branch, Heilongjiang Province Land Reclamation Bureau, which manages the state-owned farms across the province. Such farms have their own police stations.
The police raided Ms. Liu’s home and released her under house arrest after an unknown amount of time. Her local street committee was tasked with searching her home once every ten days. When her daughter called the police to try to get her mother’s case dismissed, an officer threatened Ms. Liu, “Tell your daughter to not call us anymore! If she does, we’ll smash open your door and turn your house upside down!”
Ms. Liu refused to renounce Falun Gong as ordered, so the police changed tactics and invited her to lunch. She thought they’d understood the illegality of the persecution, so she accepted the offer, only to be taken to the same place where she distributed Falun Gong materials on the day of her initial arrest. The police took a picture of her at that location and promised her that it was just for their internal use. However, they proceeded to submit her case to the Jiansanjiang Branch Procuratorate in mid-November 2020.
Ms. Liu was indicted and the Jiansanjiang Branch Court scheduled a trial for December 24, 2020, but she managed to escape before that and then lived away from home.
Ms. Liu was arrested again on August 19, 2023, at her temporary residence in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. The arresting officers from the Dalian City Police Department notified the Qinghe Police Station at No. 853 Farm, which dispatched officers to pick her up and take her back.
The Qinghe Police Station attempted to get Ms. Liu admitted to the Shuangyashan City Detention Center, but she was denied admission after she was found to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol during the required physical exam.
The police then put Ms. Liu under house arrest at an undisclosed location. Her younger daughter, who had not seen her for two years, asked to see her but her request was denied. The police refused to reveal Ms. Liu’s whereabouts despite her family’s repeated requests. Her loved ones later found out that she was moved back to the Shuangyashan City Detention Center.
The Jiansanjiang Branch Court tried Ms. Liu on August 25, 2023, and sentenced her at the end of the hearing. Judge Ding Lichang (+86-454-5810941) presided over the trial and his clerk was Chen Zhipeng.
Hearing of Appeal Held in November 2023
The Hongxinglong Court heard Ms. Liu’s appeal on November 29, 2023. Judge Guo Jin presided over the hearing, with judges Li Dandan and Liang Haiyan, and clerk Sun Han assisting him.
The prosecutor read out aloud the initial indictment used to sentence Ms. Liu. She testified in her own defense and her non-lawyer family defender also requested that her guilty verdict be overturned.
Some time later (exact date unknown) judge Guo ruled to uphold Ms. Liu’s original verdict. She was admitted to Division Eight of the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on May 14, 2024.
Related reports:
Arrested After 2.5 Years of Displacement, 68-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Stands Trial for Her Faith
Copyright © 2024 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
