(Minghui.org) A Tonghua City, Jilin Province, resident was taken to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on December 11, 2023, to serve a 4.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yu Zhen was arrested on June 1, 2023, by Guosong Town Police Station officers after she was reported for putting up posters about Falun Gong. Her arrest was approved the next day. Her family recently managed to confirm her prison transfer, but still does not know other details about her indictment, trial, or sentencing.
Another practitioner, 75-year-old Ms. Wang Yanqiu, who had been sentenced to five years on November 30, 2023, was transferred to the same prison along with Ms. Yu on December 11.
Past Persecution of Ms. Yu and Her Husband
Ms. Yu, 64, and her husband Mr. Niu Yongzhou, 62, both started to practice Falun Gong in 1998. Because they have remained firm in their faith after the persecution started a year later, they have been repeatedly arrested over the past 24 years. In addition to Ms. Yu’s latest prison term, she was previously given a two-year labor camp term in 2003, sentenced to prison for three years in 2005, and given another prison term with probation in 2019. She was released ahead of time from both her forced labor term and first prison term due to her poor health.
Below are the details of the persecution of Ms. Yu and her husband.
The two were first arrested on December 24, 2001, by Sun Zhenmin and other Yayuan Town Police Station officers. Their home was ransacked and they were detained for a day.
Ms. Yu was arrested again on September 27, 2003, after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Dai, the deputy secretary of the Erdaojiang District Political and Legal Affairs Committee and director of the 610 Office, went to the Yayuan Town Police Station and took Ms. Yu to the Changliu Detention Center. She was given a two-year labor camp term on October 23, 2003. She started a hunger strike to protest the persecution and developed severe medical conditions. She was released on medical parole after four months of detention and forced to pay a 5,000-yuan fine.
Ms. Yu was arrested again on November 25, 2005, also by Yayuan Town Police Station officers after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. Police officers Sun Zhenmin, Wang Tao, Yu Changjiang, and Guo Hai raided her home. Sun slapped her twice in the face. The Erdaojiang District Court sentenced her to three years six months later. She was transferred from the Changliu Detention Center to Heizuizi Prison in Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province. Due to relentless torture in prison, she suffered heart failure and was released on medical parole one year ahead of time. Police director Sun extorted 3,000 yuan from her without providing a receipt.
Deputy police chief Zhang Hongtao, instructor Li Xin, and officer Han Lei of the Yayuan Town Police Station raided Ms. Yu’s home between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on May 30, 2012. They didn’t stop even when she had a heart attack and just called for more officers to help with the raid.
When the police called Ms. Yu on November 26, 2015, and demanded to meet with her and her husband, the couple decided to live away from home to avoid possible persecution. They returned home months later but were soon targeted again. On June 3, 2016, Wang Tao, Zhang Hongtao, Wang Junxian, and Ji of the Yayuan Town Police Station broke into the couple’s home and confiscated their Falun Gong books, portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, and informational materials. Mr. Niu was taken to the police station and released later that day.
The couple were both arrested on August 28, 2019, by officers of the Tiechang Town Police Station for talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair. The police took Mr. Niu’s key and raided their home. Their Falun Gong books, printer, computer, and cellphone were confiscated. Mr. Niu was released on the same day due to his poor health while Ms. Yu was admitted to the Changliu Detention Center. They appeared in court eight months later and were both sentenced to three years with five years probation.
Officers Sheng and Sun of the Tiechang Town Police Station broke into the couple’s home again on August 9, 2021, and raided the place after presenting a blank search warrant. Two music players were confiscated. The police held Mr. Niu in custody for a few hours and ordered him to report back two days later.
When Mr. Niu returned to the police station on August 11, 2021, the police took him to the Tonghua City Third Hospital, where he was given whole-body CT scan, ultrasound, and electrocardiogram. He also had his blood pressure measured and samples of his blood and urine collected. While the nurse was preparing his exam report, the police took him to the Erdaojiang Police Station to collect his biometrics, including his height and voice. He was taken to the Tonghua City Detention Center in the afternoon but was denied admission due to his physical condition. He was released that evening.
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