(Minghui.org) A 55-year-old woman in Liquan County, Shaanxi Province has been detained for over six months for her faith in Falun Gong. She is now facing trial, yet the judge in charge of her case didn’t allow her family to hire a lawyer for her nor even visit her.
Ms. Zhang Hao was arrested on January 23, 2025 by Chengguan Police Station officers, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a public plaza. She was taken to the Liquan County Police Department and released in early afternoon.
The police took Ms. Zhang back into custody at the Liquan County Detention Center on February 22, 2025, without notifying her family. When her family inquired about her whereabouts, the police denied that she was held at the detention center. The family then went to the Qindu District Procuratorate, which refused to tell them which police station was in charge of her case and directed them to the Qindu District Court. The family went to the court and learned that Ms. Zhang’s case was there, with judge Chang Baomin assigned to it.
When the family talked to Chang about Ms. Zhang’s case, he said they were barred from hiring a lawyer for her or visiting her. He also warned them to stay away from local Falun Gong practitioners.
Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Zhang has been arrested multiple times and served a three-year prison term.
15 Days Detention in Inner Mongolia
Ms. Zhang was arrested in Wulan Town, Otog Banner, Inner Mongolia, on October 29, 2016, after she was reported for raising awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was held at the Wulan Town Lockup for 15 days.
Four days after her arrest, officers from the Wulan Town Police Station and Liquan County Domestic Security Office pried open Ms. Zhang’s home in Liquan and broke in. Her 45 Falun Gong books and some informational materials were confiscated.
Ms. Zhang was released on November 13, 2016.
Sentenced to Three Years
Ms. Zhang returned to her hometown in Qian County on December 3, 2017 to purchase goods for her small business. She passed out some informational materials about Falun Gong, and was arrested by Qian County Police Department officers and given 15 days of administrative detention at the Qian County Lockup.
When Ms. Zhang’s family went to the lockup to pick her up 15 days later, they were shocked that she was no longer there. The family inquired with the Qian County Police Department and the police said she was held at the Xianyang City Detention Center and that she would be sentenced to three years. The police added that her two children weren’t allowed to see her and they should just wait for further notice.
After over a year, Ms. Zhang’s children, two college students, went to the Xianyang City Detention Center to visit her, only to be told that she had been transferred to the Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison in the capital of Xi’an to serve a three-year term. However, the family didn’t receive any notice regarding her indictment, trial or sentencing.
Ms. Zhang’s children went to the prison to visit her. The guards denied their request, with the excuse that Ms. Zhang was receiving “customized education” upon her prison admission.
Another 15-Day Detention
Ms. Zhang was arrested again on June 4, 2024, at her workplace, the Changqing Oilfield. The arresting officers from Liquan County Domestic Security Office confiscated her Falun Gong books, two cell phones, and two notebooks. They took her to the Liquan County Police Station, and forcibly collected her blood sample and measured her height. She was then taken to the Liquan County People’s Hospital for a physical exam.
When Ms. Zhang told other patients in the hospital about the communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong, the police beat her. She was later taken to the Liquan County Lockup and detained for 15 days.