(Minghui.org) Two residents of Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, were sent to prison in April 2024 after losing their appeal against their wrongful convictions for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Cao Ping, 73, and Mr. Chen Jun were arrested on September 24, 2022 and sentenced by the Xunyang County Court on October 25, 2023. Ms. Cao was sentenced to eight years and fined 50,000 yuan. Mr. Chen was sentenced to five years and fined 30,000 yuan.
Both practitioners filed appeals and the Ankang City Intermediate Court ruled against them on March 31, 2024. Ms. Cao was transferred from the Hanbin District Detention Center to the Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison (located in Nanliu Village, Yin Town, Chang’an District, Xi’an City) on April 19, 2024. Mr. Chen was transferred from the Langao County Detention Center to the Weinan City Prison the same month (the exact date is unknown).
Ms. Cao Denied Parole
While still held at the Hanbin District Detention Center, Ms. Cao developed dangerously high blood pressure due to the abuse and poor living conditions. She went blind in one eye and the vision in her other eye is now blurred. Her request for medical parole was denied.
This is not the first time Ms. Cao was targeted for her faith. She was previously arrested seven times: Twice in 2000 (July 17 and October 11) and five times in 2001 (January 19, February 2, April 29, May 13, and October 16). She was detained for 15 days following each of her first six arrests and given three years of forced labor following her seventh arrest.
Mr. Chen’s Wife Struggles to Pay His Court Fine
Mr. Chen’s mother-in-law, Ms. Du Fengying, also practiced Falun Gong. She was arrested with him and Ms. Cao, but was later released on bail. As the police kept intimidating her, she had a stroke and died on September 25, 2023.
While mourning her mother’s passing, Mr. Chen’s wife also had to deal with the endless harassment from the Xunyang District Court for her to pay her husband’s court fine. She did not even have money to cover her late mother’s astronomical medical bill, much less pay any fine. The court then threatened to seize her house.
Prior to his latest prison sentence, Mr. Chen was previously sentenced to three years and fined 10,000 yuan following an arrest on June 3, 2016. He was released on January 27, 2019, only to be arrested again on December 7, 2021. While he was released 15 days later, the police kept closely monitoring him and eventually arrested him again on September 24, 2022. One arresting officer said they made the arrest after following him for the tenth time.
Related Reports:
73-Year-Old Shaanxi Woman Loses Appeal of 8-Year Sentence, Denied Medical Parole Despite Blindness
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