(Minghui.org) It was recently confirmed that Ms. Zhu Xiaomei had been sentenced to one year in prison with one and a half years probation and a 5,000-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. Zhu, 73 and of Matou Village, Ruichang City, Jiangxi Province, started serving probation on July 31, 2023. Her sentencing stemmed from an incident on May 21, 2022. That day, she talked to a few children playing outside her apartment building about Falun Gong and was reported by someone who saw her interaction with the kids. Three officers from the Matou Village Police Station, including He Shaoqing, Liu, and Wu, along with Jin Lingling (security head of Matou Village), broke into Ms. Zhu’s home five days later and arrested her.
The police confiscated Ms. Zhu’s Falun Gong books and informational materials before taking her to the local police station for interrogation. Hours later, they took her to the Ruichang City Police Department, where they took her biometric information, including her height, weight, fingerprints, irises, voice, and gait.
Ms. Zhu was released at 9 p.m. that night (May 26, 2022). Just over a month later, on July 7, one of the arresting officers, He, and another officer named Liu Tingrui from the Matou Village Police Station, called her daughter at work at around 9 a.m., and ordered the young woman to take Ms. Zhu to the Ruichang City Police Department immediately.
Ms. Zhu’s daughter complied. Once they got to the police department, an officer ordered Ms. Zhu to sign her “release on bail” document. She refused to comply and the police then drove her home at around 11 a.m. They ordered her to point to the place where she talked to the aforementioned children about Falun Gong and took photos of her standing there.
The police then left, only to return at 4 p.m. that day. They ordered Ms. Zhu and her daughter to both sign two documents. One stated that Ms. Zhu was not allowed to leave Ruichang City, and the other stipulated that she was not allowed to move away without notifying the police first, otherwise she would be put in criminal detention.
Ms. Zhu, the main caregiver for her husband, worried that he would have no one to care for him should she be detained, so she signed the two documents against her will.
It was learned in mid-August 2023 that the Youngxiu County Court sentenced Ms. Zhu to prison, with her term beginning on July 31, 2023. The details of her indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Zhu had previously been arrested four other times for her faith.
She was arrested by the Ruichang City Police Department officers on July 14, 2000 and detained for 15 days.
Her next arrest was on February 12, 2001 and she was held at a brainwashing center for an unknown length of time.
The Matou Village Police Station arrested Ms. Zhu in the middle of the night on July 5, 2005 and took her to a local detention center. They targeted her because she taught an injured person to do Falun Gong exercises to help him recover.
Ms. Zhu and another practitioner, Ms. Liu Juzhen, were arrested by officers from the Sanyanqiao Police Station on May 21, 2011, while they were putting up Falun Gong informational materials. Both women’s homes were also raided. They were detained until June 5, 2011. Their respective families were each forced to pay 10,000 yuan before their release.
Thirteen Practitioners Arrested in Ruichang City, Jiangxi Province