(Minghui.org) A 75-year-old woman in Laishui County, Hebei Province, was released on May 9, 2023, after she was sentenced to three years with four years probation for practicing Falun Gong. She has aged a lot after one year of detention and is very weak due to the abuse in custody.
Ms. Liu Yumin, a former elementary school teacher, was arrested at her son’s home on March 18, 2022. She was held at the Baoding City Detention Center. Her case was later submitted to the Zhuozhou City Procuratorate, which indicted her and moved her case to the Zhuozhou City Court.
The court initially scheduled a hearing for December 27, 2022, but canceled it after the presiding judge, Xie Wenhai, tested positive for COVID-19. The rescheduled hearing was held on January 11, 2023, through a video call.
According to her family, her health condition appeared to be very poor. She lost much of her hair. Due to high blood pressure, she felt dizzy and had pain in her legs. She could only walk when being held by two people.
The court held the second hearing on March 7, 2023. Two lawyers entered a not-guilty plea for Ms. Liu. They argued that no law ever criminalizes Falun Gong in China and that she didn’t violate any law by sharing information about Falun Gong with others.
Three of Ms. Liu’s family members attended the hearing. They were allowed to visit her after the court session. They were glad to know that her high blood pressure had dropped a bit since her last hearing two months ago.
The judge held the third hearing on March 24, before convicting her on May 9 and ordering her family to pick her up at the detention center. Now a week after returning home, she is still having trouble falling asleep at night and was very sensitive to any sound.
In the past 24 years of persecution, Ms. Liu was fired by the elementary school she worked at, for refusing to give up her faith. She also faced constant arrests, home ransacking, and harassment. When she was detained, the officers beat her, hung her up, force-fed her, and burned her with lit cigarettes.
Her husband, Mr. Wu Yanshui, who also practiced Falun Gong, died on May 20, 2001, due to the abuse he suffered in custody.
Related reports:
Elderly Woman Widowed in the Persecution of Falun Gong Faces Prison Sentence After Two Hearings
Incapacitated 75-year-old Woman Tried for Her Faith in Falun Gong
76-year-old Widow on Hunger Strike for 20 Days and Counting
Police Torture Wu Yanshui to Death in Local Detention Center
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