(Minghui.org) A woman in Pingdu City, Shandong Province, was tried in late April 2024 and later sentenced to 14 months with a 10,000-yuan fine for refusing to give up her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Qi Ruiying, 70, began to practice Falun Gong in 1998, one year before the Chinese Communist Party ordered the nationwide persecution of this ancient mind-body discipline. Having recovered from the after effects of a concussion and improved her character by practicing Falun Gong, she remained firm in her faith despite the persecution.
While distributing informational materials about Falun Gong at a local community fair on December 17, 2023, Ms. Qi unknowingly handed a copy to a plainclothes agent of the Pingdu City 610 Office, an extra-legal agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong.
The agent called the Wanjia Town Police Station, which dispatched officers to arrest Ms. Qi. She was taken to the Pudong Detention Center the next day.
Ms. Qi was indicted by prosecutor He Qian with the Pingdu City Procuratorate in March 2024. She was tried in the Pingdu City Court in late April 2024. Judge Luan Jingmei later sentenced her to 14 months with a 10,000-yuan fine.
Previous Persecution
This isn’t the first time that Ms. Qi has been persecuted. She was arrested twice before and fined.
On the morning of January 7, 2008, Ms. Qi was having breakfast with her two-year-old grandson when three Wanjia Town Police Station officers broke in and raided her home. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and took both her and her grandson to the police station.
Hearing what happened, Ms. Qi’s son and daughter-in-law rushed to the police station. The police would only release the little boy while keeping Ms. Qi in custody.
Ms. Qi refused to cooperate with the police interrogation and was taken to the Pingdu City Lockup in the evening. The police extorted 5,000 yuan from her family and released her 15 days later.
After Ms. Qi returned home, Du Ruihua, the director of the local appeals office, harassed her several times and ordered her to renounce Falun Gong, which greatly distressed her and her family.
Ms. Qi was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair on February 11, 2014. Officers Wang Jinfu and Li Xisong with the Wanjia Town Police Station arrested her, detained for a day, and extorted 3,000 yuan from her.
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