(Minghui.org) Ms. Yuan Jianying, 55, from Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, was jailed twice for a total of two and a half years because she continued to practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She recently completed her second prison term on March 2, 2024.
Ms. Yuan credits Falun Gong for lifting her out of misery. She used to suffer from an overactive bladder, constipation, and gynecological diseases. Her husband was addicted to gambling and often beat her. She filed for divorce twice but it was not granted for various reasons. Her fate changed after she took up Falun Gong in 2011. Her symptoms disappeared and she became more understanding and tolerant of her husband, who in turn treated her better. They were finally able to have a harmonious marriage.
Ms. Yuan also became cheerful and open-minded. She took good care of her parents-in-law and never hesitated to help those in need. She was a conscientious worker and her coworkers respected her.
Because of her positive experience with Falun Gong, Ms. Yuan felt compelled to let people know that the practice was nothing like what’s depicted in the communist regime’s hate propaganda. She was repeatedly arrested for this simple act.
Two Arrests Weeks Apart in 2015
Ms. Yuan was arrested at her home on September 23, 2015, for filing a criminal complaint earlier that year against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong. She was taken to the Xukou Police Station and ordered to sign guarantee statements to renounce Falun Gong. She refused to comply and was released hours later.
A few weeks later, on October 13, the same Xukou Police Station officers arrested her again. Local government officials came to interrogate her and ordered her to sign statements to give up her belief. She refused and was later released.
Detained for One Week in 2016
Ms. Yuan was arrested on January 26, 2016, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was taken to the Suzhou City Fourth Detention Center. During the required physical examination, she was found to have high blood pressure and was taken to a hospital for a checkup. The hospital confirmed her hypertension diagnosis and also discovered issues with her heart and kidneys. They warned that her condition might become critical. The detention center released her one week later.
Sentenced to 1.5 Years Following Arrest in 2017
Ms. Yuan passed out some Falun Gong informational materials while she was on her way to visit her hospitalized mother on June 14, 2017. A plainclothes officer spotted her and called in officers from the Mudu Police Station to arrest her. One officer scratched her face so hard that her nose and mouth bled. The other officers also brutalized her as they tried to subdue her, bruising her arms and body.
When Ms. Yuan refused to sign the interrogation records at the police station, a few officers beat her again and her hands turned purple as a result.
The Wuzhong District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest of Ms. Yuan on June 29, 2017. She was given seven days of administrative detention on February 4, 2018 and transferred to the Suzhou City Fourth Detention Center that day. Her systolic blood pressure shot up to as high as 230 mmHg and she fainted once in January 2018.
The guards ordered her to take some unidentified pills. When she refused, they took her to a hospital to be force-fed the medication.
After one of her lawyers learned of her condition during a visit, he immediately filed a bail request with judge Wu Wanjin of the Wuzhong District Court. He also called Ms. Yuan’s family about the situation. Her loved ones went to the procuratorate and the court several times to demand her release. Prosecutor Luo Na said the case was no longer with them so it was not their business. Judge Wu claimed that Ms. Yuan did not qualify for bail.
While the Wuzhong District Court notified Ms. Yuan’s family well in advance of her court date of April 20, 2018, it intentionally waited until three days prior to inform her two lawyers of the upcoming trial. The court did this to prevent the lawyers from meeting with their client and preparing not-guilty defense statements. It’s unclear though why Ms. Yuan’s family did not tell the lawyers the court date.
The court initially allowed five family members to attend the hearing but later reduced the quota to only three people.
The day of the trial, April 20, 2018, Zhang Zhenhua, vice head of the Wuzhong District 610 Office, led more than 40 black-clad riot police officers and patrolled the courthouse during the almost five-hour-long session (from about 12:30 to 5:20 p.m.).
Plainclothes officers also surrounded the courthouse. One of them, who wore a red outfit, took pictures of local Falun Gong practitioners who showed up to support Ms. Yuan. Another man videotaped them. A different person later took over videotaping. Zhang harassed those practitioners whom he persecuted before and threatened to “visit” them at home in a few days.
Unmarked cars, including a black Audi, were seen driving back and forth in front of the courthouse. The passenger in the Audi car used his cell phone to photograph practitioners.
Judge Wu sentenced Ms. Yuan to one and a half years at the end of the hearing. As her practitioner-supporters were leaving, the police followed them for a short distance.
Ms. Yuan was admitted to Division Six of the Nantong Prison in September 2018. The guards ordered the inmates to beat her and pinch her until around midnight every day. They also force-fed her unknown drugs. They covered her eyes and twisted her left hand behind her back, before grabbing her right hand to write something. They then claimed that she had signed statements to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Yuan was released on December 13, 2018. A few plainclothes officers broke into her home in September 2021 and took her to the Xukou Police Station. She was interrogated for six hours before being released.
Sentenced to One Year Following an Arrest in 2023
Ms. Yuan went shopping on March 3, 2023 and used paper currency printed with Falun Gong messages to pay for an outfit. The clothing shop owner reported her to the police, who arrested her. She was taken to the Suzhou City Fourth Detention Center. She developed high blood pressure and heart problems during her detention.
The Wujiang District Court sentenced her to one year on March 2, 2024. The ruling was signed by presiding judge Zhao Chengcheng, judges Zhang Yulin and Wu Genlin, clerk Wang Wenzhou, and prosecutor Huang Xiufeng. Ms. Yuan was released on the same day having already served one year in the detention center.
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