(Minghui.org) A 77-year-old woman in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province was taken into custody on March 7, 2024 to serve a one-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Suxia’s ordeal stemmed from an incident in October 2021, when a police officer surnamed Xu contacted her and said that a surveillance camera recorded her putting Falun Gong materials on a car. She explained that she simply wanted to help more people understand Falun Gong and benefit from it as she did. Her high blood pressure and high cholesterol were both gone after she took up Falun Gong years ago. The practice also helped her cope with the death of her husband.
Taking advantage of Ms. Yang’s advanced age and limited knowledge about the legal process, Xu deceived her into writing a deposition and he instructed her to sign her name.
Ms. Yang thought it was the end of the case. But eight months later in June 2022, she suddenly received a notice from the Hantai Police station, which stated that she was given five days of administrative detention for “using a cult organization to disrupt social order on March 4, 2021.” But she was exempted from serving the detention term because she was over 70. The notice further indicted that she was placed on house arrest.
It dawned on Ms. Yang that she had been deceived by Xu into signing paperwork that incriminated her. She wrote to the local government and judiciary agencies, emphasizing that she didn’t violate any laws by practicing Falun Gong or telling people about it.
Instead of having her complaint addressed, Ms. Yang was visited by Zheng Bo of the Hantai District Court, as well as officer Xu and several residential committee staffers, at her home in early February 2024 shortly after the Chinese New Year. Zhang announced that she was sentenced to one year in prison. They deceived her, and said that as long as she signed the verdict, she would be allowed to serve time at home given her advanced age. Intimidated by the officers, Ms. Yang signed the verdict.
Ms. Yang was taken into custody at the Hantai District Detention Center on March 7, 2024. She underwent a physical examination and applied to be released on parole due to her health. It’s not clear whether her application was approved. She is still held at the detention center at the time of this report.
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