(Minghui.org) The Minghui website recently confirmed that a 77-year-old woman in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province had been admitted to the Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison at the end of March 2024 to serve a one-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Suxia was sentenced days before the Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024). She was initially allowed to serve time outside of prison given her advanced age, but was taken back into custody on March 7, 2024. Her parole request was rejected and she was transferred from the Hantai District Detention Center to the Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison at the end of March.
Details of Ms. Yang’s Persecution
Ms. Yang’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 windshield. She explained that she simply wanted to help more people understand Falun Gong and benefit from it as she did.
Ms. Yang told Xu that she developed high blood pressure and high cholesterol in 2007 and often felt dizzy. Her husband passed away earlier that year and she feared that no one would know if she ever passed out. Then she ran into a friend one day and the friend urged her to give Falun Gong a try. She heeded the advice and soon recovered from her symptoms. Falun Gong also helped her cope with the loss of her husband.
Xu ignored Ms. Yang’s plea for him to stop persecuting Falun Gong. Taking advantage of her advanced age and limited knowledge about the legal process, he deceived her into writing a deposition and signing her name on it.
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 Department, 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 later indicted and made to stand trial. The exact date of her court hearing was unclear. The prosecution evidence included a DVD (with Falun Gong information) that Ms. Yang allegedly placed on a car windshield. The Hantai District Procuratorate, however, was unable to present the DVD in court. They said they had lost it, but the Hantai District Court still allowed the “DVD” to be included as admissible evidence.
Ms. Yang was let go after the hearing. She 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 before the Chinese New Year. Zheng 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. The Hantai District Court rejected her parole request and ordered her transfer to prison at the end of March 2024.
Related report:
77-Year-Old Woman Sentenced to One Year for Practicing Falun Gong
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