(Minghui.org) A 78-year-old woman who was sentenced to a three-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong is now serving time at home after the local detention center refused to accept her due to her advanced age.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Qi Cuixia, a resident of Wuhu City, Anhui Province, was arrested at home on September 27, 2019 by a dozen police officers. They ransacked her home and confiscated her computer, printer, and Falun Gong-related materials.
During an interrogation at the local police station, Ms. Qi explained that there is no legal basis for the persecution, and urged the police not to participate in persecuting law-abiding Falun Gong practitioners. The police refused to listen and took her to the hospital for a health examination in preparation to detain her. After the Wuhu City Detention Center refused to accept her, the police released Ms. Qi on bail.
The police later submitted Ms. Qi’s case to the Yijiang District Procuratorate. She was tried by the Yijiang District Court in April 2020. She acted as her own lawyer and entered a not-guilty plea.
Ms. Qi was sentenced to a three-year prison term with a 10,000 yuan fine on August 12, 2020. The Wuhu City Detention Center refused to accept her. She is now under house arrest.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Qi was harassed twice, in 2015 and June 2017, for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.
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