(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that Ms. Wei Shuyan, 61, from Xuchang City, Henan Province, was sentenced to three and a half years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Wei’s wrongful conviction stemmed from her arrest on the morning of August 14, 2023, while she was on her way back home from grocery shopping. The arresting officers from the Wuyi Road Police Station turned her case over to the Dingzhuang Police Station and its supervising agency, the Weidu District Domestic Security Division. These two agencies sent agents to raid Ms. Wei’s home.
The police released Ms. Wei the following night after she was found to have severe anemia. She was taken for another physical examination on September 21, 2023 and the local lockup again declined to admit her because of her anemia diagnosis. The police took her to the Xuchang City Case Processing Center. Shortly after 9 p.m. that night, the police drove her to the Dingzhuang Police Station to process her “bail release” paperwork.
While Ms. Wei was on bail, the police made numerous attempts to take her back into custody despite the fact that she had become extremely weak. She was resting in bed on January 9, 2024, when eight agents broke into her home and said they were taking her for a physical examination and would send her back as soon as the checkup was done. However, they drove her straight to the interrogation room of a local police station. Several officers carried her into the room. She struggled with all her might and managed to get out of the room. The police then let her go.
The Weidu District Domestic Security Division officers eventually took Ms. Wei back into custody on June 29, 2024, and had her admitted to the Xuchang City Detention Center. When her lawyer visited her, he noted that she had to use a stool to help her walk and she gasped for air when she talked. He immediately requested she be released on bail, but the police refused and submitted her case to the Weidu District Procuratorate. She was then indicted and sentenced. It’s unclear when the Weidu District Court issued the guilty verdict.
Ms. Wei’s appeals lawyer went to the detention center on November 11, 2024 and learned that she was being treated at a hospital. He went to the hospital to see her. He noticed that Ms. Wei was in a wheelchair. She was unable to walk without assistance but the detention center did not assign anyone to help her. Instead, she had to use a stool to help her move around. She was also suffering from vaginal bleeding with extremely low hemoglobin. The hospital also discovered that she had lumbar nerve abnormalities.
The lawyer requested she be released on parole, but judge Li Pei claimed that Ms. Wei did not meet the parole requirements.
Ms. Wei’s husband had to return to his hometown to care for his ailing mother. The couple’s son lives out of town and just had a new baby. Ms. Wei had no family to visit her at the detention center or seek justice for her.
This is not the first time that Ms. Wei has been targeted for her faith. She was previously detained for a total of more than eight years, while working as a school teacher in Hami City, Xinjiang Province.
One Year and Seven Months of Forced Labor
Ms. Wei took up Falun Gong in the summer of 1998 and became a much more conscientious and considerate person. She received numerous awards at work. Her principal once commented that his job would have been much easier if the other teachers were like her.
She was arrested at home in mid-July 2001 and detained for three days. The police seized her at work on February 28, 2002 and kept her at the Xinjiang Province Women’s Labor Camp for one year and seven months.
Two Concurrent Prison Sentences, Jailed a Total of 6 Years and 8 Months
Ms. Wei was arrested again on September 30, 2005, when she distributed Falun Gong informational materials. She was taken to the Hami City Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike for more than one month and was released on bail when her life was in danger. She was arrested at work again around mid-December 2005 and taken to the same detention center.
The local court sentenced Ms. Wei to five years on January 28, 2006, with her term running from about mid-December 2005 to mid-November 2010 (since she was already detained for more than one month in October 2005). She was admitted to the Xinjiang Province Women’s Prison on February 8, 2006.
On August 25, 2008, the day after the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the inmates assigned to watch Ms. Wei did not allow her to use the restroom. She yelled “Falun Dafa is good” in protest. Inmate Rebiya (last name unknown) slapped her face and covered her mouth. She felt suffocated and pulled Rebiya’s hand away. Rebiya reported her to the guards, accusing her of scratching her hand. Guard Chen Li then instigated Rebiya and three other inmates to fabricate evidence against Ms. Wei and got her indicted for “assaulting other inmates.” The Xinjiang High Court then sentenced her to another three years to be served concurrently with her existing five-year term. Her second prison sentence ran from July 2009 to July 2012. She was thus jailed a total of six years and eight months.
During her incarceration at the detention center and the prison, Ms. Wei endured various forms of abuse, including beatings, electric shocks, and sleep deprivation. When she went on a hunger strike in protest, the guards pried her mouth open to force-feed her. Her mouth bled and her teeth became loose. Four times she was placed in solitary confinement, with the longest episode being one year. During the winter, the guards intentionally turned the heat all the way up, cuffed her hands behind her back and forced her to squat against the wall, which was so hot that her buttocks developed blisters.
Another time division head Xia Jiangli instructed more than ten inmates to beat her for two straight hours. They punched and kicked her, kneed her, slapped her face, and pinched her. On another occasion, the guards dragged Ms. Wei down the stairs. Her body hit the stairs and railings, resulting in her being cut and scraped.
A healthy woman at the time of her arrest in 2005, Ms. Wei was incapacitated and wheelchair bound when she was released in July 2012.
Related Article in Chinese:
Related Report:
Former Xinjiang University Instructors Held in Prison for Seven Years
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