(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old woman in Chengde City, Hebei Province, recently had her nine-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong reduced to four years by the appeals court.
Ms. Chen Yanqiu, who made a living selling boxed lunches to construction workers, was cooking at home on July 12, 2024, when plainclothes officers broke in and confiscated her Falun Gong books, printer, flash drives, card readers, and 15,000 yuan in cash. They never showed a search warrant Her husband was video-recording the police with his phone when they snatched it from him.
After the raid, the police cuffed Ms. Chen’s hands behind her back, carried her into a private car, and took her to the Shuangfengsi Detention Center. She was never given a list of the items they confiscated.
The Shuangqiao District Procuratorate forwarded Ms. Chen’s case to the Shuangqiao District Court on November 12, 2024. The presiding judge set a court date for December 27, 2024, but did not notify her next of kin. He claimed that, because she was an adult, there was no need to inform her family. Her lawyer later found out about the hearing date and notified her family.
The judge did not allow Ms. Chen’s daughter to represent her as a non-lawyer defender on the grounds that she had been made a witness to the case. She argued that she did not say anything during the police interrogation that would incriminate her mother. She condemned the police for fabricating evidence. The judge complained that it was impossible to hold a hearing in these circumstances and canceled the proceedings about one hour into the session.
A second hearing was held on January 7, 2025. This time the judge only allowed one member of Ms. Chen’s family to attend. Her lawyer protested, but to no avail. Ms. Chen then had a relapse of her heart condition and the judge canceled that hearing. Her family later went to the local appeals office to complain about the judge’s decision to only allow one spectator at the hearing.
At the third hearing held on February 10, 2025, Ms. Chen’s lawyer pointed out that she was arrested solely because of her faith in Falun Gong. The police targeted her after a government official received a letter from Chengde County, urging him to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. While it is not illegal to send letters about Falun Gong, Ms. Chen did not write or mail the said letter.
The police insisted that Ms. Chen wrote the letter, citing the items confiscated from her home as evidence. They also listed her daughter as a prosecution witness without her knowledge.
The police also went to the construction site Ms. Chen frequented to sell lunch boxes and offered 500-yuan reward to anyone who testified against her. The workers there replied that no one would incriminate a good person like Ms. Chen for a little petty cash. Her lawyer recorded what the workers said in her support and asked that they be included for the record. The judge refused to admit their testimonies as evidence or allow the lawyer to call the construction workers to court to testify. The “evidence” that the police allegedly obtained from the construction workers, however, was admitted.
The prosecutor cited Ms. Chen’s prior arrest in 2016 (also for her faith) as further evidence against her. She was released on bail that year after posting an 8,000-yuan bond, which was returned to her in 2022. Although her arrests in 2016 and 2024 were not related, the judge allowed the prosecutor to link them together to have more “evidence” against Ms. Chen.
Ms. Chen’s lawyer learned in late May 2025 that she had been sentenced to nine years. She appealed with the Chengde City Intermediate Court, which deposed her twice and heard her appeal on August 8 and again on September 9. More members of her family were allowed to attend those sessions than her initial trial.
On October 10, Ms. Chen’s family was notified by the appeals court that her prison term had been reduced to four years. They received another letter on October 25, informing them that Ms. Chen was admitted to the 14th Division of Hebei Province Women’s Prison on October 16.
Related Reports:
58-Year-Old Hebei Woman Appealing 9-Year Prison Sentence for Her Faith in Falun Gong
58-Year-Old Hebei Woman Stands Trial for Practicing Falun Gong
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