(Minghui.org) It has recently been confirmed by Minghui.org that a 94-year-old woman in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province was sentenced to 2.5 years and fined 10,000 yuan on December 13, 2022 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Rao Jiyu was searched by officers from the Beijing Road Police Station when she went to the Qianling Mountain Park on the morning of March 7, 2020. The police arrested her upon finding Falun Gong materials on her. She was taken to the Taiciqiao Police Station and had her blood sample taken against her will. The police then raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and 8,000 yuan in paper currency printed with information about Falun Gong (as a way to raise awareness of the persecution). She was released on bail that evening after she failed the physical examination required for continued detention.
The Nanming District Procuratorate put Ms. Rao on house arrest on November 19, 2021 and prosecutor Deng Haiying indicted her on March 15, 2022. A staff member of the procuratorate went to her home in early May 2022, and said she could hire a lawyer. Ms. Rao insisted that she didn’t violate any law by practicing Falun Gong. The person responded, “If you don’t hire a lawyer, the court will appoint a lawyer for you. They will come to your home in a few days to hold the hearing.”
It’s now confirmed that presiding judge Zhao Xi of the Nanming District Court sentenced Ms. Rao to 2.5 years with a 10,000-yuan fine on December 13, 2022, but other details about her trial and sentencing aren’t clear. It’s also not clear whether she was taken to prison to serve time or allowed to serve time at home.
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