(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a 55-year-old woman in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with a 10,000-yuan fine, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Xu Zhen was arrested on March 12, 2023 and stood trial at the Xihu District Court on September 28. It is unclear when exactly she was sentenced. She has filed an appeal with the Nanchang City Intermediate Court.
Ms. Xu developed severe health symptoms not long after her arrest and was hospitalized multiple times in the following few months. She remains at a police hospital at the time of this writing.
Ms. Xu Zhen in her hospital bed
This is not the first time that Ms. Xu has been targeted for her faith. She was previously sentenced to a three-year prison term following an arrest in 2008. She was brutally tortured in the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison.
Latest Arrest
Ms. Xu went to nearby Luojia Town to distribute Falun Gong informational materials on March 12, 2023, and was spotted and followed by officers from the Jingdong Police Station. They arrested her and took her to the Nanchang City First Detention Center. Her husband, who does not practice Falun Gong but accompanied her to Luojia Town that day, was also arrested. He was held at the Erqibei Road Lockup for a few days before being released.
Repeatedly Hospitalized During Detention
Ms. Xu’s health quickly declined due to the poor living conditions in the Nanchang City First Detention Center. She was found to have hypoalbuminemia (a condition where the patient’s body doesn’t produce enough albumin protein, which is responsible for keeping fluid in the blood vessels). She needed to have small meals once every three hours.
Ms. Xu’s condition worsened on April 14, 2023 and she was taken to the Nanchang University Affiliated Second Hospital for resuscitation. The doctors said she had developed severe symptoms in her heart and kidneys. Her legs were extremely swollen and she suffered from skin fissures (cracks in the skin). She also vomited from time to time.
The detention center checked Ms. Xu out of the hospital even before her conditions improved. She ended up needing emergency rescue in the hospital again a few days later.
Ms. Xu was hospitalized several more times in the next few months. She was taken to Zhonghuan Hospital (under the administration of the local police department) around July 17.
The police had urged Ms. Xu’s family many times to cover her medical expenses, including supplements, as part of her medication regimen. It’s unclear whether her loved ones complied.
Ms. Xu’s family submitted a request in early May 2023 to have her released on bail, but the Jingdong Police Station refused to process the request, much less release her. She remains in Zhonghuan Hospital after her sentencing.
Related report:
Jiangxi Woman Hospitalized Multiples Times Since Arrest in Mid-March, Still Denied Bail
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