(Minghui.org) A 75-year-old woman from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, was admitted to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on December 28, 2023, to serve a three-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhu Yafen was arrested on February 1, 2023, after she was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong outside a department store. The three arresting officers from the Qianjin Police Station raided her home that night. She was later taken to the Fushun City Detention Center.
Judge Zhang Yang of the Dongzhou District Court appointed a lawyer to represent Ms. Zhu and instructed the lawyer to enter a guilty plea for her. Her family learned of her wrongful conviction in early September 2023, but the exact dates of her trial and sentencing are unclear.
This is not the first time that Ms. Zhu has been targeted for her faith, which she credits for eliminating her arthritis, insomnia, and many other health problems. She was previously given three years of forced labor and sentenced to one year in prison.
Earliest Arrest in 1999
One month after the persecution began in July 1999, Ms. Zhu and several other practitioners were arrested when they did the Falun Gong exercises in public. They were held at the Qianjin Police Station overnight before being taken to the Fushun City Detention Center.
When Ms. Zhu did the Falun Gong exercises at the detention center, she was knocked down on the ground. Two guards dragged her all the way to their office. Her top slipped off on the way, exposing her upper body. In the office, the guards forced her to squat as one of them held her head and the other kicked her.
After 17 days at the detention center, Ms. Zhu was transferred to a brainwashing class in the Wujiabaozi Forced Labor Camp, where she was held for over a month.
The labor camp videotaped her being handcuffed and humiliated and played the clip on a local TV program. Ms. Zhu’s mother saw her on TV and was so traumatized that she had a stroke. She became paralyzed, never recuperated, and died eight years later.
Three Years of Forced Labor in 2000
Ms. Zhu went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested there on October 2, 2000. She was taken back to Fushun five days later and held at the Qianjin Police Station before transferred to the Fushun City Detention Center on October 9.
After two weeks at the detention center, she was given three years at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. She had a stroke eight months later and was released ahead of time.
Sentenced to One Year in 2020
Four officers from the Fushun City Domestic Security Office and the Gongyuan Police Station arrested Ms. Zhu on August 24, 2019. The same Dongzhou District Court sentenced her to one year with a 4,000-yuan fine on August 30, 2020.
Ms. Zhu served her one-year sentence in the Fushun City Detention Center. She was released on August 23, 2020. Her pension was reduced by 4,000 yuan soon afterwards for no valid reason. Starting May 2021, the local social security office stopped her pension entirely.
Officer Zhang Weilai (+86-18940090723) was involved in both of Ms. Zhu’s arrests in 2019 and 2023. He worked at the Gongyuan Police Station in 2019 and was later reassigned to the Qianjin Police Station in the same Xinfu District in Fushun City.
Related Report:
Same Court Sentences Ms. Zhu Yafen to Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong
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