(Minghui.org) A 69-year-old woman was arrested again for her faith in Falun Gong, only four months after she finished serving a two-year term for talking to people about her belief. Ms. Zou Hualan is now awaiting a verdict after an October court hearing.
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. Zou, a Chongqing resident, was arrested on July 7, 2017 after she was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong while on vacation in Tongzi County, Guizhou Province. The Tongzi County Court sentenced her to two years in prison on November 9, 2018.
Four months after Ms. Zou was released in July 2019, the Chongqing police recorded her distributing Falun Gong materials on a surveillance camera. They accused her of being a “repeat offender” because of her previous prison term.
On November 13, 2019, the police broke into Ms. Zou’s home and arrested her. Her arrest was approved on November 26 and she has been held at the Changshou District Detention Center.
Ms. Zou appeared in the Jiangbei District Court on October 15, 2020. She entered a not guilty plea for herself and denied the charges against her.
Three Previous Labor Camp Terms
Prior to Ms. Zou’s 2017 prison term and latest arrest, the retired employee of the Changshou Agricultural Machinery Company served three labor camp terms for upholding her faith.
Shortly after the communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Zou went to Beijing to appeal for justice in July 1999 and was arrested. She was taken back to Chongqing, held in the Changshou Detention Center for a month, and fined 5,000 yuan. She was given one year of forced labor on October 18, 1999, which was then extended by eight months and nine days as she refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Zou was arrested again in November 2001 and sent to a brainwashing center. She was given a second labor camp term of two years after she challenged the brainwashing center staff about their propaganda against Falun Gong.
Ms. Zou was given a third labor camp term of one and a half years in September 2006, weeks after her arrest on August 25.
During her incarceration in the detention center and labor camps, she was subjected to a variety of torture methods aimed to force her to give up her faith. She was once forced to stand for 18 hours a day for nearly 15 consecutive days. Four inmates took turns monitoring her and didn’t let her use the restroom.
On another occasion, Ms. Zou wasn’t allowed to shower for a month in the summer. She also had her hands shackled to a bed and was forced to stand for long periods of time. Her left hand was fractured from being handcuffed. Her feet were badly swollen and seeped pus, and the soles of her feet were completely covered with open, infected sores.
Other torture she was subjected to included forced-feeding, being locked in a dark solitary confinement cell, and being stabbed with needles.
Ms. Zou was also arrested on September 7, 2012. She was detained at the Shibanpo Detention Center and wasn’t released until May 28, 2013.
Related reports:
Ms. Zou from Chongqing Sent Back to Prison for Talking to People about Falun Dafa
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