(Minghui.org) A 67-year-old Jiaohe City, Jilin Province, woman recently had her appeal against a three-year prison sentence for practicing Falun Gong rejected.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhao Hongyan was arrested on September 14, 2021, after being reported for talking to people outside a kindergarten about Falun Gong. She was taken to the Jilin City Detention Center the next day. The police forced her family to pay 1,000 yuan for her physical exam and didn't give them a receipt. Her arrest was approved 12 days later.
Ms. Zhao developed a severe heart condition in the detention center and was later released on bail. In early July 2022, an officer from the Minzhu District Police Station came to her home and told her that she had been sentenced to three years. It’s not clear whether a trial ever took place.
Ms. Zhao appealed to the Jilin City Intermediate Court. Guo Qingli and Zheng Qi of the Jilin City Intermediate Procuratorate had a meeting with her on September 7. Shen Ji, a judge at the Jilin City Intermediate Court called Ms. Zhao on October 27 and said that they had decided to deny her appeal.
In addition to the persecution she suffered herself, Ms. Zhao’s daughter, Ms. Qiu Lin, was arrested on July 9, 2020, for talking to a retiree about Falun Gong. When Ms. Qin’s lawyer was finally allowed to visit her at the Jilin City Detention Center on January 9, 2021, he learned that she had already been secretly sentenced to three years with a 2,000-yuan fine.
Ms. Zhao’s husband, Mr. Qiu Baohe, was arrested on March 27, 2008, for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was tortured and interrogated by the police. After six months at the Jiaohe City Detention Center, he was secretly sentenced to five years at the Gongzhuling Prison.
Past Persecution
Ms. Zhao began to practice Falun Gong in 1996. After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong and was arrested. She returned to Beijing in September 2000 and was arrested again. While being held at the Handan Lockup in nearby Hebei Province, her feet had such severe frostbite that she was unable to walk. In January 2001, she was taken back to Jiaohe and given one year at the Jiutai City Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Zhao wrote a letter to her brother in 2002, detailing the persecution she had suffered. Her letter was intercepted by the Jilin City 610 Office. She was arrested for the third time and taken to a brainwashing session located in a hotel. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, she was given another year of forced labor. She was tortured in the labor camp and developed uterine fibroids. She was then released on medical parole.
Ms. Zhao was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong in 2007. The local 610 Office ordered her employer, the Jiaohe City Forest Bureau, to arrange to rent and staff an apartment near her home to monitor her. To avoid further persecution, she was forced to live away from home. Her annual bonus was also suspended.
Ms. Zhao was arrested a fourth time in 2010 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was given a third one-year labor camp term. When she was released in 2011, she had lumbar spine tuberculosis and dislocated bones. She was unable to walk or turn over in bed. After she resumed practicing Falun Gong, she soon recovered.
Related report:
Having Served Three Terms of Forced Labor, Jilin Woman Arrested Again for Her Faith
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