(Minghui.org) Two Dezhou City, Shandong Province, residents were recently convicted for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Gu Wenhua, 64, and Ms. Li Rongju, 66, were both initially given three years on April 18, 2024, but the presiding judge reduced their terms to two years the very next day after forcing Ms. Gu to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong. Ms. Gu is currently serving time at home due to her poor health. It is unclear where Ms. Li is being held.

The two women’s sentencing stemmed from their initial arrests on September 8, 2023. Eight officers from the Lingcheng District Police Department descended at Ms. Gu’s home in private cars around 7 a.m. that day, with only two of them wearing the police uniform. They raided Ms. Gu’s place and seized a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder and some Falun Gong informational materials. Despite Ms. Gu’s extremely high blood pressure, the police took her to the police department and later to the Dezhou City Lockup. Only after the lockup refused to admit her due to her high blood pressure did the police release her in the afternoon. 

On the same day, Ms. Li was also arrested and taken to the Lingcheng District Police Department. When the police took Ms. Gu there, they asked her if she knew Ms. Li. It’s not clear how Ms. Gu responded to the police. Ms. Li was detained for over a month and released on October 12. 

The two practitioners later learned that a local county executive received a copy of Falun Gong materials at home and the police suspected them of placing the materials there.

On October 7, 2023, four officers of the Lingcheng District Police Department broke into Ms. Gu’s home and questioned her about where she distributed Falun Gong materials and where she got the materials. They forcibly held her hand to fingerprint the interrogation document. They also threatened her husband not to try to seek justice for her. 

A few days before the harassment, the police threatened to install a surveillance camera outside of Ms. Gu’s home. They also returned a few more times after the October 7 episode to take her photos. 

The repeated harassment caused tremendous pressure to Ms. Gu and her husband. She was hospitalized several times due to the stroke and persistently high blood pressure (268/75 mmHg).

The Lingcheng District Court tried Ms. Gu and Ms. Li on April 18, 2024. The presiding judge (a female whose name is unknown) ordered them not to practice Falun Gong or distribute materials about it anymore. Both women were sentenced to three years in prison and given unknown amounts of fines.

The court held another hearing the next day. The judge forced Ms. Gu to fingerprint a statement to renounce Falun Gong and then reduced her term to two years. Due to her medical conditions, she was allowed to serve time at home. Ms. Li’s term was also reduced to two years. It’s not clear whether she was forced to sign the renouncing statement.