(Minghui.org) Multiple police agencies in Dehui City, Jilin Province were mobilized to arrest 15 locals on February 25, 2023 for practicing or supporting Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Four of them have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

Among the arrested were 14 Falun Gong practitioners, including Ms. Wang Yufen, Mr. Zheng Yuming and his wife (who run a shoe shop together), Ms. Su Cuizhi, Ms. Wang Guiying, Ms. Xie Yunxiang, Mr. Liu Zhongrong, Ms. Zhuang Hongyan, Ms. Wang Xiuqin, Mr. Cui Tao, Mr. Zhang Chuanfang, He (whose gender and first name are unknown), Mr. Li Decheng and his wife Ms. Ma Shuhua.

Ms. Ma’s sister, who does not practice Falun Gong, was also arrested while visiting her.

The Ma sisters, Mr. Li, Ms. Zhuang, Mr. Cui, Mr. Zheng’s wife, and Ms. Wang Xiuqin were released either hours later or the next day. Mr. Zhang and He were released after fifteen days of detention.

Ms. Su, Ms. Xie, Mr. Liu, Ms. Wang Guiying, Ms. Wang Yufen, and Mr. Zheng were given criminal detention. The four women were initially held at Jiutai Detention Center in Changchun (the provincial capital) before being transferred to Dehui City Detention Center to join Mr. Liu and Mr. Zheng.

Ms. Su, Ms. Xie, Mr. Liu, and Ms. Wang Guiying were all sentenced to prison in August 2023, receiving 7 years, 5 years, 3.5 years, and 10 months, respectively. The details of their indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated.

According to insiders, both the Dehui City Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) and the 610 Office orchestrated the group arrests and ordered the wrongful conviction of the practitioners. Gu Min, the 610 Office head and the Dehui Police Department chief, was the chief perpetrator who planned out everything in the police sweep. Under his directive, the Dehui City Police Department, the Shengli Police Station, the Huifa Police Station, the Zhenxing Police Station, the Jianshe Police Station, the Dajiagou Police Station, the Chaoyang Police Station, the Tiantai Police Station and the Xiajiadian Police Station carried out the group arrests.

Related Report:Arrested in a Police Sweep, Shoe Shop Owner Faces Prosecution for His Faith