(Minghui.org) A 77-year-old woman in Shenze County, Hebei Province, was sentenced to three years with a 5,000-yuan fine for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yuan Wenge’s sentencing stemmed from her arrest on December 4, 2020, when she was talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair. The police later released her on bail after she was denied admission by the Shijiazhuang City Second Detention Center due to her high blood pressure. Shenze County is under the administration of Shijiazhuang (the capital city of Hebei Province).
Chief Cai Huolei of Baizhuang Township Police Station and two other officers arrested Ms. Yuan at home a year later on December 23, 2021. They took her to the Shijiazhuang City Second Detention Center, where she remains.
Her case was forwarded to the Jinzhou City Court on April 13, 2022. Jinzhou is also under the administration of Shijiazhuang.
Ms. Yuan’s family had long requested to attend her trial, but the court never gave them a firm answer. On the day of her hearing on March 28, 2023, her loved ones called presiding judge Li Shuangli, but Li hung up the phone without talking to them. They then called Li’s clerk Ju Lichan requesting to attend the hearing. Ju asked them to wait for her to get back to them, but she never did.
Ms. Yuan’s family waited outside the courthouse during her entire court proceedings. They learned on June 11 that Ms. Yuan had been sentenced to three years and fined 5,000 yuan.
Past Persecution
Ms. Yuan, a farmer, began to practice Falun Gong in 1998. She has been detained several times since the onset of the persecution, held in a brainwashing center once, and extorted of a total of 1,900 yuan. She was also harassed and had her Falun Gong books confiscated.
Ms. Yuan was first arrested in July 1999 when she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was held in a basement covered with water and feces and starved for two days. The police extorted 200 yuan from her before releasing her. They extorted another 500 yuan from her after deceiving her into going to the police station in October 1999.
Ms. Yuan’s next arrest was on July 20, 2000. She was detained for 20 days and extorted 200 yuan. After she was released, she returned to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, only to be arrested again and held at the Shenze County Detention Center for 1.5 years, during which time she was frequently beaten and verbally abused. She was forced to go through a month-long brainwashing session at the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp before being released. She also paid a 1,000 yuan fine.
Four officers, including three in plainclothes, harassed Ms. Yuan at home on August 20, 2019. They ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and related materials. She tried to stop them but to no avail. When she went to the police station the next day to seek the return of her books, the receptionist claimed that since so many officers worked at the police station, there was no way for them to know who took her books.
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76-year-old Woman Detained for One Week and Counting for Her Faith
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