(Minghui.org) A 60-year-old resident of Jianchang County, Liaoning Province, was tried at her home on April 25, 2024 for raising awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong. Ms. Gao Shufen suffered a stroke months prior and one side of her body was paralyzed.
On May 30, 2024, the local court delivered a guilty verdict to Ms. Gao’s home. She was sentenced to 1.5 years and fined 5,000 yuan. Given her health condition, she was ordered to serve a six-month house surveillance first before serving her prison term.
Put on Wanted List After Escaping Arrest in March 2019
Ms. Gao credits Falun Gong for curing her hereditary hypertension and gynecological diseases. She no longer felt dizzy and fatigued all the time after she took up the practice in 1997. However, she was targeted for her faith after the persecution began in 1999. Her latest prison sentence was triggered by an incident on March 28, 2019. She and six other practitioners went to a nearby village to distribute Falun Gong informational materials that day and were reported by villager Han Xiguo. The police soon arrived to arrest them, but Ms. Gao managed to escape.
The Jiangchang County Police Department put her on the wanted list and promised 5,000 yuan reward to whomever reported her.
The police called Ms. Gao’s husband in early April 2022 and said they needed to conclude her case. They promised to just have her released on bail if she turned herself in. Her husband said she was still living away from home. Police captain Zhao Kun later called Ms. Gao’s son and asked where she was.
Arrested in March 2023 and then Released Under House Surveillance
Ms. Gao later returned home, only to be arrested at 7:30 p.m. on March 2, 2023, by Gao, his subordinate Wang Chao, and their supervisor Yang Zhichao (deputy chief of the Jianchang County Police Department). She had a medical episode and was sent to a local hospital, where she remained for an entire day. The police then released her under house surveillance.
Three officers from the Zhennan Police Station showed up at Ms. Gao’s home on April 20, 2023 to see if she was well enough to be taken back into custody. They measured her blood pressure and got a reading of 280/140 mmHg (the normal range is 120/80 or lower). The relentless persecution resulted in a relapse of her hypertension. The police did not arrest her, and left.
Dong Peng (then chief of the Bajiazi Economic Development Zone Police Department and now a member of the Jianchang County Police Department) called Ms. Gao’s son on May 15, 2023 and ordered him to take his mother to the Huludao City Detention Center.
Ms. Gao’s son refused because his mother had become confused due to her extremely high blood pressure.
Chief Chai of the Zhennan Police Station called the the Bajiazi Economic Development Zone Police Department on July 12, 2023 and said they needed the latter agency’s help to get Ms. Gao to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. The latter agency called Ms. Gao’s son and he said his mother would not sign.
Hospitalized for Stroke, Harassed While Receiving Treatments
The Zhennan Police Station called the the Bajiazi Economic Development Zone Police Department again on August 2, 2023, and the agency in turn called Ms. Gao’s son. He told them that his mother had a stroke and was hospitalized.
Two days later, team captain Wang Shuai from the Zhennan Police Station, his subordinate Dong, and deputy chief of the Bajiazi Economic Development Zone Police Department, came to Ms. Gao’s hospital room. They saw the blood pressure monitor reading 240/128 mmHg. The deputy chief yelled, “Gao Shufen! Gao Shufen!”
She was unresponsive and kept her eyes closed. The three officers said that her six-month house surveillance was about to expire and that they needed to move forward with her case. They were there to collect her signature so they could submit her case to the Lianshan District Procuratorate in Huludao City. They also needed her to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong.
Since Ms. Gao was incapacitated, they asked if her family could sign on her behalf. Her loved ones said no. The three officers then took a picture of Ms. Gao and asked the doctors to give them a copy of her diagnosis.
Prosecutor Long Dan of the Lianshan District Procuratorate and a woman came to the hospital to depose Ms. Gao on August 11, 2023. She was still lying in bed, confused and her eyes were shut. Long threatened to give her a heavy sentence and send her to a psychiatric hospital if her family refused to cooperate with them.
The Bajiazi Economic Development Zone Police Department called Ms. Gao’s son on September 11, 2023 to say that his mother had been formally issued an arrest warrant.
Tried at Home and Sentenced
The Lianshan District Court delivered Ms. Gao’s indictment and bail release paperwork to her home on April 10, 2024. They said they’d return in about ten days to hold a hearing of her case.
Prosecutor Long and a judge came on April 25, 2024. Ms. Gao, who was paralyzed on one side of her body after the stroke, lay in bed with her eyes closed. Long read out aloud the indictment and the judge asked if Ms. Gao admitted to her “guilt” of practicing Falun Gong. She shook her head without saying anything. Her husband prepared a four-page defense statement but was stopped after he read the first page. The judge said he’d pass the defense statement to the presiding judge.
On May 30, 2024, the court delivered a guilty verdict to Ms. Gao’s home. She was sentenced to 1.5 years and fined 5,000 yuan. Given her condition, she was ordered to serve a six-month house surveillance term first before starting her prison term.
Copyright © 2024 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
