(Minghui.org) A 74-year-old woman had a stroke two months after she was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison to serve a 2.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Song Ruixiang, of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested at a farmers’ market in Zhaoyuan County on September 8, 2025, after she was reported for talking to shoppers about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was sent to the Daqing City Second Detention Center.
When Ms. Song’s lawyer visited her on October 14, 2025, she was in very low spirits. Her systolic blood pressure was over 200 mmHg (the normal level is 120 mmHg or lower). She also struggled with emphysema (damaged lung air sacs) and had difficulty breathing and walking.
Despite Ms. Song’s condition, the Ranghulu District Procuratorate still approved her arrest and indicted her. Her case was then forwarded to the Ranghulu District Court on November 14, 2025.
Ms. Song appeared in court on December 10, 2025, and March 11, 2026. The judge sentenced her to two and a half years with a 16,000-yuan fine shortly after the second hearing.
On May 22, 2026, staff from the Daqing City Intermediate Court went to the home of Ms. Song’s daughter and attempted to have her pay the court fine for Ms. Song. She refused.
Ms. Song’s daughter went to the detention center to visit her after that, and was told that her mother had been transferred to prison. A guard at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison refused to say when the prison transfer took place and said the family should wait for updates from them.
Finally, on July 1, the family received a call from the prison, saying that Ms. Song had been taken there on May 7 and that she was held in the Eighth Division.
Two days later, on July 3, the prison called Ms. Song’s daughter again, saying that Ms. Song had a stroke and had been admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. They ordered the family to pay for her medical expenses, and the family refused.
Ms. Song is still in the hospital. Her family applied to have her released on medical parole, but hasn’t received a response yet.
Ms. Song took up Falun Gong in 1998. Her many ailments, including lumbar disc herniation, stomach disease, and uterine fibroids, soon disappeared. After the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution in 1999, she was arrested at least five times and tortured while in custody. Her husband and younger brother, who also practiced Falun Gong, both passed away as a result of the persecution.
See the related reports for details of Ms. Song’s and her family’s persecution.
74-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Sentenced to 2.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong