(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old Weifang City, Shandong Province, resident was taken away from home by police on August 4, 2023 to serve two combined prison terms of 6.5 years for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Xu Guizhen’s family haven’t been allowed to see her since, and are very worried about whether she will be tortured in custody for not renouncing Falun Gong.
Ms. Xu’s ordeal stemmed from an earlier arrest on the evening of December 7, 2021 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Another practitioner, Ms. Wang Shuhua, in her 70s, was also arrested. The police attempted to detain them at the Changyi Detention Center, but had to release them on bail after they were denied admission due to their poor health.
Upon returning home, Ms. Xu was shocked to see her home in a mess after a police raid. All of her Falun Gong related items, including books and informational materials, were confiscated. The police constantly came back to harass her.
The Fangzi District Domestic Security Office submitted the two practitioners’ cases to the Kuiwen District Procuratorate in late February 2022. The Kuiwen District Court sentenced both of them to 3.5 years on June 20, 2022.
Due to their poor health, both women were again denied admission to the Changyi Detention Center after being convicted. While agents of the Fangzi District Domestic Security Office allowed them to go home, they managed to force the detention center to admit Ms. Wang days later on June 25, before transferring her to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison. Ms. Xu, on the other hand, was placed on house arrest.
Ms. Xu was arrested in the spring of 2023 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials in a residential area. The Fangzi District Domestic Security Office submitted her case to the Fangzi District Procuratorate this time. The Fangzi District Court held a hearing of her case on June 12, 2023 and gave her a 3-year sentence. With her previous 3.5-year term, she now has 6.5 years to serve.
The court initially allowed Ms. Xu to serve time at home due to her poor health, on the condition that she doesn’t leave Weifang for a year. The police nonetheless suddenly showed up at her home on August 4 and took her to the Weifang City Detention Center.
Her family made several requests to visit her, but were repeatedly rejected. As she had lost most of her teeth due to the persecution over the years and she has difficulty eating, her family is especially worried about her diet. A guard recently called her family and asked them to make cash deposit for her to buy daily necessities, but he still denied their request to visit her.
Related report:
Two Shandong Residents Sentenced to 3.5 Years Each for Distributing Falun Gong Materials
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