(Minghui.org) A 59-year-old woman in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on July 2, 2026, to serve a four-year-and-eight-month term because she practices Falun Gong.

Ms. An Jingtao was arrested by officers from the Beijuzhai Police Station agents on May 10, 2025, during a police sweep of over 20 local Falun Gong practitioners. All the practitioners were taken to the Qiqihar 39 Hospital for blood draws and other physical exams. Except for a few who were deemed unfit for detention, the majority, including Ms. An, were taken to the Qiqihar City Detention Center.

Ms. An was released on a one-year bail in June 2025, after she paid a 10,000-yuan bail bond. Officers from that police station arrested her again on December 15, 2025, and held her in the same detention center. She stood trial on March 20, 2026, and she was not allowed to speak. Ms. An was sentenced not long after her court hearing and admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on July 2, 2026.

Prior to this latest round of persecution, she was imprisoned twice for practicing Falun Gong. She served five years from June 2000 to June 2005. While still held at the Qiqihar City Second Detention Center, she was force-fed after she went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Director Sun instructed several inmates to insert a tube into her nose and keep twirling it to intensify her suffering. After she was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, she was also brutally tortured. One night she was hung up and slapped in the face hundreds of times. She suffered significant hearing loss as a result.

After another arrest on March 30, 2006, Ms. An was given nine years. She again endured brutal torture at both the Qiqihar City First Detention Center and the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. See the related reports for her past persecution.

Related Reports:

After 14 Years Behind Bars, Heilongjiang Woman Given Third Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong

Brutal Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison

Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province: More Than 20 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day, at Least 13 Still in Detention

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Qiqihar's 2nd Detention Center Brutally Tortures Dafa Practitioners

Ms. Zhang Guiqin from Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province Dies in Detention, the Lives of Ms. Qi Dawei and Ms. An Jingtao Are in Danger