(Minghui.org) A 74-year-old resident of Ba’nan District, Chongqing, stood trial on June 5, 2024 for raising awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Duan Zaiying’s trial stemmed from her arrest on December 20, 2023. She went shopping at a local farmers’ market that morning and talked to a farmer about Falun Gong. She said she took up Falun Gong in 1998 and soon recovered from her numerous diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar bone hyperplasia, insomnia, stomach problems, and migraine headaches. She urged the farmer not to listen to the communist regime’s hate propaganda against Falun Gong.
Another shopper overheard the conversation and reported Ms. Duan to police. The Jieshi Town Police Station in Ba’nan District soon arrived to arrest her. They interrogated her at their police station before taking her to her home that night. They confiscated a copy of Zhuan Falun (the main teachings of Falun Gong) a bookmark with Falun Gong messages, and a notebook containing some Falun Gong teachings transcribed by her.
The police then released her on bail and left. A few days later, on December 28, 2023, four officers came to her home and took her to the Ba’nan District Hospital for a physical examination. They also briefly showed her a three-day detention notice.
Ms. Duan was taken to the Ba’nan District Detention Center after the physical examination. Her case was later assigned to Jiulongpo District, which has been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the region.
It’s unclear when the Jiulongpo District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Duan. She appeared in the Jiulongpo District Court on June 5, 2024. Her lawyer and her husband, who served as her non-lawyer defender, both entered a not guilty plea for her. She also testified in her own defense.
It is unclear whether Ms. Duan was released on December 31, 2023 after serving the said three-day detention, or whether she is waiting for verdict at the Ba’nan District Detention Center.
Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Duan was previously targeted numerous times, resulting in three forced labor terms totaling 5.5 years and three prior prison sentences totaling 6.5 years. Below is a quick recap of her past persecution.
Ms. Duan was sentenced to three years in prison following her arrest on January 31, 2001 for putting up Falun Gong banners. She served time at the Chongqing Juvenile Center and later Chongqing Women’s Prison.
In order to avoid being arrested again, Ms. Duan left home around April 2004 and wandered around for more than one year. She returned home in 2005, only to be arrested again on August 15 that year, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The arresting officers from the Caiyuanba Police Station later gave her one and a half years of forced labor at the Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp.
The Ba’nan District Police Station officers arrested Ms. Duan on November 23, 2009, after spotting her talking to people about Falun Gong. They gave her two years of forced labor at the Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp.
The Lijiatuo Police Station officers arrested Ms. Duan on February 26, 2012 and gave her another two years of forced labor at the Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Duan was arrested on July 7, 2017 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The arresting officers were from the Tuqiao Police Station. She was later sentenced to one and a half years in prison.
Ms. Duan’s next arrest took place on April 29, 2021, by the Longzhouwan Police Station. They took her to the Jieshi Town Detention Center. The Jiulongpo District Court sentenced her to two years in prison around October 2022. She was released on April 28, 2023.
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