(Minghui.org) Ms. Ma Lingxian, a 70-year-old Huili City, Sichuan Province resident, is scheduled to stand trial in mid-October 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Ma was arrested with Ms. Luo Jiping, Mr. Zhao Guowei and Ms. Ma Xinli, on the evening of May 18, 2024, after surveillance cameras recorded them distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The arresting officers, from the Huili City Domestic Security Division, raided all four practitioners’ homes and took them to a detention center.
Mr. Zhao and Ms. Ma Xinli were released on May 31 and Ms. Luo was released on June 21. Ms. Ma Lingxian’s son received a call from the local court on September 11 and was informed of his mother’s indictment and court date. It’s not clear whether she is still detained at the time of writing and whether the other three practitioners are also facing prosecution.
Ms. Ma Lingxian’s Past Persecution
Ms. Ma Lingxian, a retired teacher from the Shaba Middle School, used to suffer various ailments, including low blood pressure, skin irritations and long-term insomnia. Shortly after taking up Falun Gong in 1998, she regained her health.
Because of upholding her faith after the onset of the persecution, the police extorted money from Ms. Ma on three different occasion, her salary was suspended, she was denied promotion at work twice, her home was ransacked at least seven times and she was harassed countless times. She also served one labor camp term and two prison terms totaling more than six years.
Ms. Ma talked to an elementary school pupil about Falun Gong in November 2006 and was reported to the police by the student. While she was detained at the Huili City Detention Center, the guards kept her handcuffed and shackled. She was taken to the Nanmusi Women’s Forced Labor Camp on November 28 to serve a term of one year and nine months. Due to her heart condition and high blood pressure, she was denied admission initially, but the police managed to use their connections to have her admitted.
On January 31, 2007, more than 40 days into the labor camp term, Ms. Ma developed a serious medical condition. After the labor camp ordered the police to pick her up, Yang Shaoling, the director of the Huili County Domestic Security Division, took her to the lockup instead of releasing her. After another ten days, Ms. Ma was in critical condition and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. The guards watched her around the clock at the hospital for several days before finally releasing her.
Ms. Ma attended a class reunion in Xichang City, Sichuan Province on July 19, 2008. While heading to a park together the next day, she gave two classmates some materials about Falun Gong, only to be reported to the police by them. The Huili police drove to Xichang in the afternoon, took her back to Huili and held her in a detention center.
Ms. Ma appeared in the Huili County Court on March 16, 2009 and was sentenced to three years. She was transferred to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison in the capital city of Chengdu on August 6, 2009. She endured constant beatings and verbal abuse, as well as being pressured to renounce Falun Gong. She was released in July 2011.
Ms. Ma was arrested again on the evening of January 30, 2016 for distributing Falun Gong materials with four other practitioners. She was sentenced to one year and four months on December 29, 2016. Although the appeals court ordered a new trial after she and the other four practitioners appealed, the trial court still handed down the same prison sentences. They appealed again and the appeals court ruled to uphold their verdicts. See the reports below for further details of their sentencing.
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