(Minghui.org) Three residents of Weifang City, Shandong Province, were arrested on April 19, 2018, for talking to people about their faith, Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The three women are from the same residential neighborhood. The police ransacked their homes following the arrests and confiscated their Falun Gong materials, computers and other personal belongings before taking them to the basement in the Qingchi Police Station for interrogation.
While Ms. Sun Xiaoying, 44, and Ms. Zhang Wenying, 69, were released on bail shortly afterward, Ms. Tang Lihua, 66, is still being held in the Weifang City Detention Center and denied family visits.
On July 24, 2018, the police submitted their cases to the Kuiwen District Procuratorate, which later forwarded them to the court.
All three women were scheduled to appear in Kuiwen District Court on December 3, 2018. To avoid being persecuted, Ms. Sun left home and didn't attend the hearing. Both Ms. Tang and Ms. Zhang stood trial. They testified in their own defense, arguing that there is no law on the books in China that says practicing Falun Gong is a crime and that the Constitution guarantees them freedom of belief.
The judge later scheduled a second hearing for February 13, 2019. This time, Ms. Zhang also left home and refused to attend. Ms. Tang appeared in court and is now in the detention center awaiting a verdict.
Both Ms. Sun and Ms. Zhang's families have lost contact with them and don't know where they are.
Ever since Ms. Sun left home, the police have frequently harassed her family, including her husband, who is suffering from depression; her older daughter, who was facing the college entrance exam; and her younger daughter, who is only three years old, as well as her parents-in-law and ailing mother, all in their 70s.
The police have interrogated her husband several times at the police station and also make frequent phone calls to him. They also went to her older daughter's school and asked her about Ms. Sun's whereabouts. The non-stop harassment has left the family petrified and under tremendous pressure.
Three Women Facing Trial for Speaking Out for Their Persecuted Faith