(Minghui.org) Three Botou City, Hebei Province, women were sentenced by a court about 800 miles away in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, on June 11, 2020, for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang Junxiu, also known as Zhang Jing, was sentenced to one year and six months, with two years probation. Ms. Sun Yaping was sentenced to one year and five months, with two years probation. Ms. Zhang Xiufen (no relation to Ms. Zhang Junxiu) was sentenced to one year and three months, also with two years probation. They were each fined 6,000 yuan.
The Jinyun County Court in Lishui City that sentenced the practitioners called the Botou City Judiciary Bureau in late June, directing the latter to monitor the women and ensure they carry their cell phones with them at all times while they are on probation.
The Zhejiang police targeted the Hebei practitioners because of the women's efforts to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong in Zhejiang. Details of their efforts in Zhejiang remain to be investigated.
7-Month-Pregnant Woman Taken to Zhejiang 800 Miles Away
On October 23, 2019, officers from Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, traveled to Botou and arrested Ms. Sun, who is around 40 and runs a wallpaper and lighting store with her husband in Botou.
Ms. Sun held a hunger strike at the local police station in Botou to protest the persecution and was taken to the hospital on October 24. After she was stabilized, Zhejiang police took her to Lishui for interrogation, even though she was seven months pregnant. She was later released and returned to Botou, where she was in the hospital for weeks before delivering a girl.
While she was still nursing her infant, Ms. Sun was harassed by the Zhejiang police and was later forced to go back to Zhejiang when her daughter was two months old. The Jinyun County Court in Zhejiang attempted to force her to admit guilt for spreading information about Falun Gong. It’s not clear whether she complied. Ms. Sun had a cough after returning to Botou and her baby also had medical issues.
Business Owner Detained for More Than 7 Months
Ms. Zhang Junxiu, the owner of a supermarket and a hotel in Botou, was also arrested by the same Zhejiang police officers on October 23, 2019. They searched her hotel and home. Her husband, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, had his cellphone confiscated and was held in custody for interrogation.
The Zhejiang police returned to Ms. Zhang Junxiu’s home on October 25 and confiscated her two printers. She was then taken to Lishui City Detention Center in Zhejiang and held for more than seven months. She was released after her sentencing hearing on June 11, 2020.
Woman and Family Harassed by Police
Ms. Zhang Xiufen, who lives in the same building as Ms. Zhang Junxiu, was found by the Zhejiang police through surveillance cameras when she went to Ms. Zhang Junxiu’s home to help hide her Falun Gong books.
The Zhejiang police harassed Ms. Zhang Xiufen and her family, seriously disrupting their lives. Ms. Zhang was then forced to move back to her parents’ home, only to be followed by Zhejiang police and subjected to further harassment in her hometown.
Ms. Zhang and the other two practitioners appeared in Jinyun County Court in Zhejiang on April 23, 2020, and sentenced on June 11.
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