(Minghui.org) An 88-year-old woman in Kunming City, Yunnan Province was arrested on April 27, 2026, to serve a three-year prison sentence she was given in 2022 for her faith in Falun Gong.
Officers from the Yongchang Police Station showed up at Ms. Qu Yuexian’s home on April 27, and took her to the hospital for a physical exam. She was found to have dangerously high blood pressure, and needed a walking stick to move around. The police nonetheless took her to a local detention center and then to the Yunnan Province Second Women’s Prison.
Ms. Qu’s family questioned whether the police would be able to bear responsibility for her safety and well-being, given her advanced age and poor health. They responded, “The prison will take care of her.”
It’s commonly known that Falun Gong practitioners who uphold their faith are subjected to a variety of tortures in prison.
1.5-Year Prison Sentence Doubled After Retrial
Ms. Qu’s prison sentence stemmed from an earlier arrest on September 28, 2021. The police broke into her home with the photo she took with a group of practitioners during their book-reading gathering on May 13 that year.
Ms. Qu’s Falun Gong books and informational materials were taken away, no confiscation list was provided, and she was interrogated at the police station until 3 a.m. Due to her advanced age, the police charged her a 1,000-yuan bond and released her on bail.
The police later submitted Ms. Qu’s cases to the Xishan District Procuratorate. The Xishan District Court sentenced her to 1.5 years with an 8,000-yuan fine. She appealed with the Kunming City Court, which then ordered a retrial.
On December 15, 2022, prosecutor Bai Liqiong of the Xishan District Procuratorate filed an amended indictment against Ms. Qu. Bai accused Ms. Qu of being a repeat offender because 1) she was once sentenced to 1.5 years with two years probation and a 5,000-yuan fine by the Jinning County Court in 2017, and 2) she was arrested another time on September 27, 2019 and detained for 15 days, also for reading Falun Gong books with other practitioners.
It was unclear whether the re-trial by the Xishan District Court was ever held as ordered by the intermediate court. Not long after the amended indictment against Ms. Qu was filed in mid-December 2022, she received a verdict in the mail from the Jinning County Court.
The verdict stated that Ms. Qu was sentenced to three years, twice the original term prior to her appeal. The heavier sentence was “due to the fact that she failed to report to the police while serving probation in 2017.” The new verdict also included an 8,000-yuan fine.
Due to her poor health, Ms. Qu wasn’t required to start serving time immediately.
The authorities suspended Ms. Qu’s pension starting in October 2023.
Despite her weak physical condition, the police took her back into custody in April 2026, at the age of 88.
Related Reports:
86-year-old Woman Faces Retrial Because of Her Persecuted Faith in Falun Gong
Two Elderly Women Sentenced to Prison for Reading Falun Gong Books Together
Five Women in Kunming City Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith
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