(Minghui.org) Three Chengde City, Hebei Province residents were taken to the Hebei Province Women’s Prison on April 18, 2023, to serve time for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Han Liping, 73, had already exhibited some symptoms in the local detention center, but the prison nonetheless admitted her and denied family visitation. She was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in early May. The prison informed her family of her condition on May 11, yet the prison still refused to release her and tried to pressure her family into paying for her treatment. Her family isn't allowed to visit her, either.
Ms. Han was arrested on the morning of July 22, 2022, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Her computer, printer, and copy machine were confiscated. Three other practitioners were arrested the night before, including Ms. Bai Shuqin, 69, Ms. Liu Yan, in her 50s, and Mr. Ma Xingnai. The practitioners’ families received the approvals of their arrests on August 19.
The Shuangqiao District Court sentenced the four practitioners on January 19, 2023. Ms. Han was given five years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan. Ms. Bai and Ms. Liu each received one year and two months and a 4,000-yuan fine. Mr. Ma, 77, was sentenced to six months and released two days later. Ms. Han and Ms. Bai appealed to the Chengde City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold their original verdicts not long after.
Prior to their latest sentencing, both Ms. Han and Ms. Bai were targeted repeatedly for their faith, in the past two decades.
Ms. Han, a retired employee of a boiler factory, was given a two-year term at Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in May 2001. She almost died from electric shock torture. She was so weak when released that she couldn’t do any manual work for two years.
Ms. Han was arrested again on January 30, 2008, for installing a satellite dish to receive overseas uncensored TV programs. She was sentenced to four years by the Xinglong County Court on November 4, 2008. At Luquan City Women’s Prison, she was subjected to constant beatings, resulting in the guards knocking out her teeth.
In addition to the incarceration and torture, her pension was also suspended by the local social security office beginning in August 2020.
Ms. Bai was arrested in 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was given two years at the Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp. The guards refused to allow her to see her husband for the last time when he suddenly died of illness. Her son, who had been forced to drop out of school, had to handle his father’s funeral on his own.
Ms. Bai was arrested again on April 24, 2009, and her home was ransacked. She was first held at the Chengde Detention Center and later taken to the Hebei Province Women’s Prison to serve a prison term.
Du Yanpeng (杜燕鹏), political director of Shuangqiao Police Station: +86-15075495594Liu Mingcheng (刘明成), political instructor of Shuangqiao Police Station: +86-13603140072Tao Yibo (陶怡博), deputy political director of Shuangqiao Police Station: +86-13803140088Hou Shouyin (侯守银), director of Chengde County Domestic Security Office: +86-13463482161
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