(Minghui.org) A woman in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, was admitted to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison on May 10, 2026, to serve a 3.5-year term because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Ren Chunlian’s ordeal stemmed from her arrest on November 25, 2022, by officers from the Shouguang City Domestic Security Office and the Jitai Police Station. Her computer, printer, Falun Gong books, and 1,000 yuan in cash were confiscated. The police accused her of putting up Falun Gong posters the day before. They held her at the Jitai Police Station for two days and then released her on house arrest due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Jitai Police Station officers arrested Ms. Ren again on August 1, 2023, and took her to a local hospital for a physical exam. Due to her poor health, the Weifang City Detention Center refused to admit her. She was released on bail. Weifang oversees Shouguang.
Ms. Ren was indicted by the Shouguang City Procuratorate around February 2024 and had her case forwarded to the Shouguang City Court.
Ms. Ren was seized by officers from the Jitai Police Station on April 22, 2025. Although she failed the required physical exam several times, the Shouguang City Domestic Security Office still managed to get her admitted to the Weifang City Detention Center.
Ms. Ren’s health declined in the detention center. She was taken to the Weifang Hospital and examined every few days. She was found to have gallstones and a shadow on her lung. She was forced to take several kinds of medication but she was not told what they were for.
In July 2025, the lawyer hired by Ms. Ren’s daughter went to the Jitai Police Station to update the police on her medical conditions and demand that she be released on bail. The arresting officer, Dong, claimed that he handed over the case to his counterparts in the Shouguang City Domestic Security Office.
Ms. Ren’s daughter and lawyer went to the Shouguang City Domestic Security Office and were told that deputy director Zhang Linfeng was in charge of her case. The lawyer called Zhang and demanded Ms. Ren be released on bail for medical treatment. Zhang asked for a written request and hung up.
Ms. Ren’s daughter and lawyer also went to the Shouguang City Procuratorate and informed the prosecutor in charge of the case, Sang Zijun, of Ms. Ren’s medical conditions. Sang said it was impossible for Ms. Ren to be released for medical care.
When Ms. Ren’s daughter did not hear from Zhang, she called him two days later. Zhang stopped her from talking and said that he was “handling the case according to the law” and that she “should not have any hope that her mother would be released on bail.” He hung up and wouldn’t answer when she called again.
Ms. Ren appeared in the Shouguang City Court on October 16 and 27, 2025, and was sentenced to three and a half years, and fined 20,000 yuan on February 2, 2026. She appealed to the Weifang City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict.
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