(Minghui.org) The Minghui website recently confirmed that a Beijing hairdresser in her 60s had been sentenced to two years for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Li Xiaofeng was arrested on May 14, 2023, three years after she completed a prior 3.5-year term, also for practicing Falun Gong. One neighbor said he saw several officers talking to her in the yard that day. Another neighbor once saw local officials visit her prior to her latest arrest.
Ms. Li’s husband died in 2021, while she was still in detention. Their unmarried son, who lived with them, was nowhere to be found. It is unclear whether he was also arrested.
Other details of Ms. Li’s arrest, indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated.
This is not the first time that Ms. Li has been targeted for her faith. She was previously twice given forced labor totaling 4 years and 10 months, and once jailed for 3.5 years.
Given 1.5 Years of Forced Labor in 2001, Term Later Extended by 10 Months
Ms. Li was first arrested in July 2000 and held at a brainwashing center inside the Tuanhe Labor Camp for two weeks. She was arrested again in February 2001 and given one and a half years of forced labor. Her term was later extended by ten months. She served time at three facilities, including the Pinggu District Detention Center, the Xin’an Labpr Camp, and the Daxing District Women’s Labor Camp. She was tortured at every facility.
The detention center guards whipped Ms. Li’s head repeatedly when she refused to answer questions during interrogations. A woman guard hit her on the head with a broomstick.
For about a year, the guards at the Xin’an Labor Camp forced Ms. Li to sit on a small stool for hours on end every day. They slapped her in the face until they became exhausted.
Torture reenactment: sitting on a small stool
When Ms. Li was not sitting on the small stool, she was subjected to other forms of abuse, including a torture dubbed “flying an airplane” (see image below). She had to remain in the “airplane” position for long hours and ended up developing edema in her legs. Once guard Cheng Cui’e instructed seven drug addicts to beat her savagely in the washroom at around 10 p.m. Her right eye became bloodshot and she had bruises all over her body. Big chunks of her hair were also yanked off.
Torture reenactment: “Flying an airplane”
The guards also ordered Ms. Li to do hard labor without pay, including wrapping disposable chopsticks. After she was moved to the Daxing District Women’s Labor Camp, her “job” included sorting vegetable leaves, packaging mung beans, and folding cardboard boxes.
Given 2.5 Years of Forced Labor in 2006
Ms. Li was arrested again in March 2006 and taken to the Pinggu District Detention Center. The police confiscated her Falun Gong books and printer. They later gave her two and a half years of forced labor. She was initially transferred to the Xin’an Labor Camp before being moved to the Daxing District Women’s Labor Camp.
The guards at the Daxing District Women’s Labor Camp forced Ms. Li to sit on a small stool for 22 hours every day during her more than two years of detention there. She must remain seated and any slight movement would result in verbal abuse and beatings from drug addicts assigned to watch her. Her buttocks festered as a result.
Sentenced to 3.5 Years Following Arrest in 2016
Ms. Li talked to a customer at her own hair salon about Falun Gong on November 18, 2016, only to see him call the police. More than ten officers from the Pinggu District Domestic Security Division and Nandulehe Town Police Station broke in and arrested her. They also verbally abused her in front of her customers. They raided her salon and home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and other valuables. Her husband was threatened with arrest when he tried to stop the police from taking her away.
The Pinggu District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Li on December 21, 2016, and the Pinggu District Court heard her case on March 14, 2017, without informing her family. She was sentenced to 3.5 years with a 7,000 yuan fine on May 9, 2017. Her appeal was rejected by the Beijing Third Intermediate Court on June 14, 2017, and she was transferred from the Pinggu District Detention Center to the Beijing Women’s Prison on July 6 that year. Her pension was suspended during her imprisonment.
Ms. Li was released in May 2020, only to be arrested on May 14, 2023, and sentenced to two years.
Related Reports:
Pensions of Falun Gong Practitioners Suspended During Their Wrongful Prison Terms
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