(Minghui.org) A resident of Macheng City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to one year and four months in late May 2024 for raising awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Yin Aimei was arrested on August 4, 2023, after being reported for talking to a girl about Falun Gong. The Baiguo Town Police Station officers raided her home and took her to the Huanggang City Detention Center, where she remains.
The Macheng City Court heard Ms. Yin’s case in December 2023. While her lawyer was allowed to defend her in court, her family was barred from attending the hearing. Her latest sentence in May 2024 was preceded by a prior jail term of almost three years following an arrest in 2015. Other details about her latest sentence aren’t clear.
Details of Prior Prison Sentence
Ms. Yin was arrested on June 1, 2015, for talking to people about Falun Gong. The arresting officers from the Muzidian Police Station and the Macheng City Domestic Security Division took her to the Hubei Province Legal Education Institute, a brainwashing center in disguise. Weeks later on July 29, she was transferred to the Huanggang City Detention Center.
Ms. Yin stood trial at the Macheng City Court on June 22, 2018, and was sentenced to two years and five months in prison. Her lawyer was not allowed to represent her in court.
The court later extended Ms. Yin’s term by almost seven months. She served time at the detention center and was released on May 25, 2018.
Besides the two prison sentences, Ms. Meng was also subjected to repeated harassment for her faith in Falun Gong, which she credits for restoring her health.
Life Transformed By Falun Gong
Ms. Yin began to have eye issues in 1990. Her eyes hurt and were sensitive to light. She went to many large hospitals but no treatment worked. The long-term injections and oral medications also resulted in severe stomach issues for her. For three straight years from 1994 to 1997, she could only have a liquid diet and struggled to sleep at night because of the stomachache and bloating.
Ms. Yin’s condition further worsened in 1997 and she remained bedridden for six months. Her eyes almost went blind and she was just skin and bones. With her husband doing odd jobs out of town to support the family, their two sons, then 11 and 9, had to do heavy household chores and fix some quick meals for themselves.
Ms. Yin’s fate changed in September 1997 when she heard about Falun Gong’s miraculous health benefits. She immediately got a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main teaching of Falun Gong, and started reading right away. Even before she finished the book, she was able to eat a bowl of rice for the first time in three years. Her two sons were overjoyed and also began practicing Falun Gong together with her.
Ms. Yin’s symptoms disappeared in three days and her eyesight soon returned to normal. Her older son, Yisong, no longer suffered headaches and stomachaches. His younger brother, Yongsong, also became healthier. The boys learned to be better people and no longer fought with each other. Ms. Yin, once headstrong and dominant, was able to get along with her husband and mother-in-law. She also resumed doing her seamstress job and took good care of her sons, who later both obtained a bachelor’s degree. Yisong further received a master’s degree. Both he and his brother landed jobs in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province.
Repeatedly Harassed, Older Son Fired
Ms. Yin visited her two sons, who both have their own children and live in the same neighborhood, from time to time. During one such visit in 2022, she talked to a neighbor about Falun Gong on June 13 that year and was reported to the police.
Officer Jia from the Yongqian Police Station soon came to raid Yisong’s home and confiscated a Falun Gong book. Jia ordered Ms. Yin to return to her hometown in Hubei Province and threatened to come every day if she did not comply.
The same officer Jia showed up at Yisong’s door again at around 10 p.m. on February 28, 2023, together with at least ten other officers. Some of them wore uniforms while others in plain clothes. They threatened to go to Yisong’s company the next day if he refused to open the door. He had no way but to comply.
The police did not produce any IDs or search warrant. They claimed that a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Yin placing two copies of Falun Gong materials at a local parking lot. They confiscated a computer, a printer, and the key to Yisong’s newly purchased car. They also seized his mother’s clothes as they needed to verify it was the same one that she was seen wearing in the surveillance video.
Ms. Yin was staying at her younger son’s home nearby at the time. The police summoned her back and took her and her older son to the police station. They were held there overnight before being taken to the Zhongshan City Lockup, where they were held for 15 days.
Jia led five other officers who came to Yisong’s home again on March 23, 2023 and ordered Ms. Yin to return to her hometown. Yisong’s company later fired him after the police kept hunting for him there.
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