(Minghui.org) A Huichun City, Jilin Province resident was taken to the Yanji Detention Center on June 9, 2021 and ordered to serve a renewed 1.5-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zhang Junling

Ms. Zhang Junling, 62, was arrested on February 14, 2019 after the police spotted her putting up posters about Falun Gong and talking to people about the practice. Her Falun Gong books and two computers were confiscated.

The police initially put Ms. Zhang under 15 days of administrative detention and didn't allow her family to visit her or make deposits in the detention center account for her (for basic necessities).

When her family returned to the local detention center on the morning of March 1 to take her home, Ms. Zhang had already been taken to a hospital for a physical checkup for further detention.

Ms. Zhang was found to have high blood pressure and a heart condition. She also experienced swelling and pain around the area where she'd had a mastectomy years ago. As she had an amputation of her lower leg after a train accident in 1981, the artificial leg she was wearing no longer fit after she lost a significant amount of weight due to mental distress following her arrest.

After Ms. Zhang failed the physical examination, the police brought her back to the police station and attempted to force her to sign a statement renouncing Falun Gong. She refused to comply. After hours of intimidation, the police released her on bail at around 3:00 p.m. on March 1.

The Huichun City Domestic Security Office transferred Ms. Zhang’s case to the Huichun City No. 3 Police Station. The police and residential committee staff members have since been continuously calling her and harassing her at home.

Ms. Zhang was summoned by the Huichun City Procuratorate in early June 2019. She said she couldn’t go due to her physical condition. The prosecutor then sent the police to her home. 

During the police’s visit on June 10, they demanded to know where she got her Falun Gong books, and ordered her to sign her case document, as well as a prepared statement renouncing Falun Gong. Once again, she refused to comply.

Ms. Zhang was tried by the Longjing City Court on September 26, 2019. Within less than 30 minutes, the judge sentenced her to one year in prison. Due to her physical condition, she was ordered to serve time outside of prison.

Since being released in March 2019, Ms. Zhang has been struggling with health issues. She can no longer wear her artificial leg and has to use a wheelchair to get around. The constant harassment and intimidation for her to renounce Falun Gong have caused her and her family great fear and distress. Many of her ailments that were cured by practicing Falun Gong have relapsed.

After Ms. Zhang was taken back into custody in a wheelchair, the police claimed that her previous one-year term is now invalid and the judge has given her a new 1.5-year term, which she would serve in the detention center.

With the detention center denying Ms. Zhang’s family from visiting her, they are hiring a lawyer to visit Ms. Zhang on their behalf. The guard said they would only approve the lawyer’s visitation request after July 1, the centennial anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding.

Related reports:

Jilin Woman Sentenced to Prison for Raising Awareness about Persecution of Her Faith

Jilin Woman, 60, Detained for Telling People How Falun Gong Restored Her Health

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Tang Ke (唐可), officer of Huichun City No.3 Police Station: +86-13500929155Sun Shifu (孙世福), head of Huichun City Police Department: +86-433-7714001Jin Guiying (金桂英), secretary of Huichun City Political and Legal Affairs Commitee: +86-433-7559349, +86-433-7524956, +86-13944741988Jin Mingwen (金明文), president of Longjing City Court: +86-433-3476028

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)