(Minghui.org) A Benxi City, Liaoning Province, resident, was recently sentenced to five years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Chen Yan, around 44, was arrested on July 14, 2024, after a community worker spotted her distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The worker videotaped her and shared the clip with his supervisor, who then notified the police. Officers of the Hexi Police Station arrested Ms. Chen and raided her home when no one was around. Her bankbook, cash, cell phone, and other valuables were confiscated.
Ms. Chen’s parents became worried when they could not get in touch with her. Her mother was still recovering from cancer surgery, so her 74-year-old father went to check on her. As soon as he saw the big mess in his daughter’s home, he knew she must have been arrested again for her faith.
The elderly man managed to find out who arrested his daughter and went to the Hexi Police Station to seek her release and a list of confiscated items. Deputy chief Meng Xiangchong was very rude and turned him away.
Prosecutor Hou Rui of the Xihu District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Chen and forwarded her case to the Xihu District Court. Judge Wang Mian barred her non-lawyer defender from reviewing her case file or visiting her.
Ms. Chen’s lawyer was allowed to visit her at the Benxi City Detention Center on October 30, 2024, and learned that she was beaten three times on August 5 by four inmates who were instructed by the guards to abuse her.
The lawyer noticed that Ms. Chen was in low spirits, slow to respond, and appeared weak. He returned the next day for another meeting and was shocked when she had no recollection of their meeting the day before. She complained about heart palpitations and said she had blood in her sputum.
Judge Wang scheduled three hearings of Ms. Chen’s case for December 17, 2024, January 15, 2025, and February 20, 2025. She refused to be taken to the courtroom to attend any of the hearings, in protest of the abuse she suffered at the detention center.
On May 15, 2025, judge Wang tried Ms. Chen at her detention center cell despite her objection. She testified in her own defense and recounted how the inmates beat her. She was emaciated after ten months of detention.
Judge Wang sentenced Ms. Chen to five years with a 5,000-yuan fine on June 26, 2025. He didn’t inform her lawyer of the verdict until the 10-day appeals window had expired. After learning about her sentencing on July 15, her family went to the court and demanded a copy of her verdict. Judge Wang refused to provide it.
It’s reported that Ms. Chen has managed to file an appeal, but it is unclear whether she did it herself within the 10-day window or received an extension.
Ms. Chen used to work at a state-owned enterprise, but was fired as she refused to renounce Falun Gong. She was previously arrested in 2015 for distributing Falun Gong materials. At the Benxi City Detention Center, she was subjected to the stretching torture, savage beating, denied restroom use, and involuntary drug administration. She was later sentenced to three years. The guards at the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison forced her to take unknown drugs that damaged her central nervous system. She was in very poor mental state and it took her years to recover after she was released.
Related Reports:
Copyright © 1999-2025 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
