(Minghui.org) Sixteen Falun Dafa practitioners in 11 provinces and centrally controlled municipalities in China have been sentenced or face prosecution again for upholding their faith. Eleven among them have served at least 10 years in prison or labor camps before their latest ordeals.
Only a year after a Gansu Province resident was released from a 20-year term for tapping into a cable TV network to raise awareness about the persecution, he was arrested again and has now been indicted.
A former college lecturer in Heilongjiang Province who has served 14 years and lost her husband and older son to the persecution, was also arrested and faces possible prosecution.
Because the persecution of Falun Dafa is still ongoing after 23 years, we have reason to believe that these cases are only the tip of the iceberg and similar cases are likely happening all over the country. The following is a summary of these 16 known cases of practitioners facing prosecution, including their past ordeals and current situations.
Nine Sentenced to Prison After Previous Lengthy Terms
Sentenced to Two More Years After Serving 15 Years Previously
Ms. Liu Mei, now 56, from Donggang City, Liaoning Province, was held in a forced labor camp for two years and jailed for another thirteen years. As a result of torture sustained in detention, she developed heart problems, tuberculosis, and brain atrophy and nearly died.
Ms. Liu was arrested again in November 2021 and tried by the Zhen’an District Court in Dandong City on December 13, 2022. The judge sentenced her to two years and fined her 3,000 yuan.
Ms. Liu grew up in a happy family and both her parents were teachers. Her family moved to a large city because of her father’s work. After her father got promoted, he divorced her mother. Ms. Liu had since held a grudge toward her father, after seeing her mother struggle. She was able to forgive her father after she took up Falun Dafa in 1995. At work she was nominated as an outstanding employee every year.
After the communist regime launched the persecution, the authorities arrested Ms. Liu after she went to Beijing to speak up for the practice. In the local detention center, several guards held her on the ground and whipped her with v-belts and bamboo sticks until she fainted. Both she and her husband were sentenced to 13 years in 2002 for not giving up their belief.
Shanghai Woman Sentenced to 15 Months After Years in Forced Labor Camp and Prison
Several officers from the Anting Police Station arrested Ms. Chen Qinfang, a resident of Dingjia District in Shanghai, on December 23, 2021. Her hearing was held at the Jing’an District Court on January 18, 2023, and she was given 15 months.
Previously, the local authorities put Ms. Chen in detention four times, forced labor camps five times, and prison twice, for a total of 10 years of incarceration.
Married Couple in Shaanxi Province Arrested and Sentenced to a Total of 16 Years
Mr. Wang Pingchuang and Ms. Zhao Xijuan from Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province were arrested in Xi’an City, the capital of Shaanxi Province. After a trial in the Yanta District Court on December 16, 2021, Mr. Wang was sentenced to nine years and Ms. Zhao to seven. The Xi’an City Intermediate Court rejected their appeal and upheld the original verdicts. Mr. Wang was taken to Weinan Prison on September 26, 2022, and Ms. Zhao to Xi’an Women’s Prison in January 2023.
Mr. Wang quit smoking and gambling after he learned Falun Dafa. After the persecution started, he was twice put in Zaozihe Forced Labor Camp, where he was locked in a cage, beaten, exposed to the blazing sun in summer, soaked in ice water in winter, and forced to do unpaid labor. He nearly died at one point. On one occasion, both he and Ms. Zhao were forced to leave their home and live a life of destitution to avoid the ongoing police harassment.
Illustration: Locked in a metal cage
College Teacher Gets 3.5 More Years in Prison After 13-year Sentence
Ms. Liu Yitao, 50, a former teacher at Jiangxi Open University in Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to 3.5 years in 2022 because she refused to renounce Falun Dafa. She is currently incarcerated in the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Liu’s previous arrest took place on May 8, 2008. She was subsequently held in a detention center for nine months and transferred to Jiangxi Women’s Prison after the Qingyunpu District Court sentenced her to 13 years in February 2009. She was released in early 2015.
Sentenced to Four Years After Spending 12 Years Incarcerated
Mr. Liu Deyu, a resident of Jingmen City, Hubei Province, was arrested on July 8, 2022 when he told people about the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa. The police ransacked his rental place and confiscated his Falun Dafa books and other personal property. Mr. Liu has been locked in the Jingmen City Detention Center since. The Dongbao District Court recently sentenced him to four years in prison.
Mr. Liu, 67, used to work at the epidemic prevention center of Jingmen City. Since the persecution started, he has been arrested many times and incarcerated for a total of more than 12 years. On several occasions he had to leave home to avoid arrest and harassment.
Yunnan Woman Given Fourth Prison Term
Officers from the Wenshan City Public Security Bureau in Yunnan Province arrested Ms. Li Qun, a resident of Yanshan County, Yunnan Province, in 2021. Ms. Li was recently sentenced to six years and transferred to prison. She was previously sentenced three times to a total of 13 years because she refused to renounce Falun Dafa.
Former Agriculture Machinery Worker Sentenced to 3.5 Years
The Naxi District Court in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province sentenced Ms. Yang Taiying to 3.5 years in prison and fined her 5,000 yuan on December 30, 2022.
Ms. Yang used to work at the Naxi District Bureau of Agriculture Machinery. Her physical ailments, including kidney, blood, and intestinal diseases disappeared after she started practicing Falun Dafa. During the 23 years of persecution, Ms. Yang was held in a forced labor camp twice for a total of 3.5 years. She was sentenced to 4.5 years by the Jiangyang District Court following another arrest in 2013.
After 11 Years of Incarceration and Torture, Liaoning Man Sentenced Again
Mr. Liu Quanwang from Huludao City, Liaoning Province was incarcerated three times in a forced labor camp and once in a prison for a total of 11 years. He was arrested again on August 19, 2022, and sentenced to five years by judge Zhang Liang of the Lianshan District Court.
Seven Face Prosecution
Threatened with Prison Time Again After 19 Years in Prison
The police arrested Mr. Li Wenming on August 23, 2022, from his temporary residence in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. He is currently being held in the Guoyuan Detention Center in Lanzhou City. The prosecutor has threatened to sentence him to five years.
Mr. Li, now 58, used to work in a scooter repair shop. He intercepted the signal of a local cable TV station and broadcast videos to clarify the truth of the persecution. As a result, he was sentenced to 20 years by the Chengguan District Court and released a year ahead of time in August 2021.
Continued Persecution After 14 Years of Prison and Deaths of Husband and Son
Ms. Jiang Chunmei used to teach at Mudanjiang Normal University in Heilongjiang Province. After the persecution started, her husband Mr. Jin Youfeng passed away because of torture sustained in prison. Her son Mr. Jin Luyi died some time after his father. Both deaths happened while Ms. Jiang was serving a 14-year prison term.
Ms. Jiang was arrested again in December 2022 and her home was ransacked. She now stays at home to care for her elderly parents and is facing possible prosecution.
Facing Trial after 12 Years in Prison
Several officers from the Changping District Police Department in Beijing arrested local resident Mr. Pang You on July 28, 2022. He has been indicted and faces trial by the Changping District Court.
Ms. Pang, in his 60s, used to work as a government official in Beijing, and later became a manager in a real estate company. He took up Falun Gong in 1998 but lost his job after the persecution started. He was sentenced twice for a total of 12 years for not renouncing Falun Dafa.
Mr. Pang You and his son
Tianjin Technician Who Spent Seven Years in Prison Faces Trial Again
The police in Tianjin arrested local resident Mr. Huang Liqiao on October 4, 2022, and put him in the Hedong District Detention Center. The judge attempted to have a video hearing on February 28, 2023, but Mr. Huang’s attorney requested an in-person session.
Mr. Huang worked as a technician in a steel pipe company in Tianjin after he graduated from college in 1988. When he was in charge of the equipment quality control of the energy department, he never took money (bribes) from clients or took company items home (a common practice in this industry). In an attempt to keep an outstanding employee like him, the company signed an indefinite-term labor contract with Mr. Huang.
After the persecution started, Mr. Huang was arrested and given three forced labor camp terms. The first two times he suffered uremia as a result of brutal torture. After he was released from serving the third labor camp term in 2010, he learned that his company had terminated his contract. He was arrested again on April 7, 2012 and sentenced to seven years in prison. His health deteriorated because of the torture he endured and he contracted tuberculosis.
Facing Trial After 13 Years of Torture in Prison
Ms. Luo Changyun, a resident of Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, was arrested by several officers from the local Hanbin Police Department on May 30, 2022. Her first hearing was held on February 2, 2023.
Before retiring, Ms. Luo taught at Hanbin High School. She refused to give up her faith after the persecution started and was given three terms in the Shaanxi Women’s Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Luo was arrested in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province in 2008 and later sentenced to five years. The guards at Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison force-fed her and injected her with nerve-damaging drugs. When she was released on February 1, 2013, Ms. Luo was mentally incoherent and had blurred vision. Her fingers were distorted and her health deteriorated.
86-year-old Former Model Worker and His Wife Harassed
Officers from the Youyilu Police Station in Tianjin broke into 86-year-old Mr. Guo Deyou’s home on February 13, 2023, and warned him not to leave town because he had a trial coming. A few months prior, his wife Ms. Han Yuxia went to a practitioner’s home on October 15, 2022, and was arrested by officers from the Guajiasi Police Station. The couple’s home was ransacked that same day.
Since the onset of the persecution in 1999, Mr. Guo, a former model worker in Tianjin, his wife, and their daughter Ms. Guo Chengru have been incarcerated for a total of 31.5 years for practicing Falun Dafa.
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