(Minghui.org) A 67-year-old woman in Jiayu County, Hubei Province is serving a 3.5-year term at the Hankou Prison in the capital city of Wuhan. Her family finally discovered this in mid-May 2026, one year after Ms. Chen Jinxiu was arrested. The authorities had refused to reveal her whereabouts despite their repeated requests.
Ms. Chen was arrested on April 2, 2025, for her faith in Falun Gong, by officers from the Jiayu County Police Department, the Xinjie Town Police Station, and the neighborhood committee personnel. She was first taken to the Jiayu County Detention Center and then to the Xianning Jitang Rheumatology Hospital.
The Jiayu County Court held a hearing of Ms. Chen’s case on May 28, 2025, without announcing a verdict. Shortly after, she was taken to the Wuzhong Psychiatric Hospital, even though she was not mentally ill. Afterwards, her family lost contact with her. They repeatedly went to the local police stations to inquire about her whereabouts or case, but the police refused to update them.
At the end of 2025, two prison guards from Wuhan contacted Ms. Chen’s younger sister to ask a few things about her. They revealed that she had been sentenced to three and a half years, but refused to say which prison they were from.
Ms. Chen’s family went to the local police station numerous times trying to obtain a visitation permit to see her in prison. The police denied their request each time and also refused to reveal the exact prison where she was being held.
The family checked with the various prisons in Wuhan in mid-May 2026 and eventually found out that she had been admitted to the Hankou Prison. They requested to deposit money into her commissary account and were told to get a bank card issued by the prison first. They did, but realized that they still couldn’t transfer money to the bank card.
Days later, the family was harassed at home by the local authorities, who demanded to know details about their efforts to put money into Ms. Chen’s commissary account. The family realized they were being monitored and felt intimidated.
Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Chen has been repeatedly targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Her husband divorced her. Her son drowned on July 29, 2001, while she was serving an 18-month labor camp term. She was repeatedly arrested and held at various brainwashing centers. Following an arrest in 2015, she was sentenced to three years. See the related reports for details of her past persecution.
Hubei Woman Secretly Sentenced to 3.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Hubei Woman Secretly Sentenced and Sent to Prison for Her Faith