Kindhearted Woman Arrested and Put on Trial for Her Belief

(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Yuanmei was reported to the police and arrested while she was distributing flyers about Falun Gong in Huadian Town, Ji’an County, Tonghua City, Jilin Province, in August 2013. Ms. Li’s family was not notified that an unlawful trial was scheduled for Ms. Li until they found out on their own on the day of the trial. The family is currently appealing the illegal actions and collecting petitions calling for her release.

Ms. Li, 59, and Ms. Sun Jimei, 62, distributed Falun Gong flyers in Mati Village, Caiyuan, Huadian Town on the evening of August 10, 2013. A villager named Xu Hai stopped them and accused them of stealing. The two women told him that they were Falun Gong practitioners who came there to explain the truth to people. Upon hearing who they were, Xu Hai shouted that he would report them to the police.

His shouting attracted many villagers. While some bystanders tried to persuade Xu not to do something wrong and to let the women go, Xu Hai wouldn't listen. Instead, he borrowed someone’s cellphone to call the township security officer, Liu Zhenjun, and the Huadian Police Station. Xu asked the police on the phone if he would be rewarded with cash for reporting the practitioners. When he received a positive answer, Xu said to another villager, “We can get some money now.”

Xu tried to extort money from the two elderly women as well. He said, “I will let you go if each of you give me 10,000 yuan.” While this was happening, the two practitioners were clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution.

Soon security officer Liu Zhenjun and four police officers arrived. They interrogated the two practitioners on the spot and videotaped what was going on. The police tried to search the two women, but Ms. Sun stopped them.

When the family received a notification call from the police, Ms. Li’s husband, Chi Yonggang, and her brother-in-law came to the village. After some negotiations, the police agreed that the two practitioners would report to the police the next day.

Huadian Police Station director Li Hongwei led three officers to arrest Ms. Li and Ms. Sun at 9:00 a.m. August 11, 2013. The two women were interrogated in separate rooms. When forced to sign the interrogation records, Ms. Li wrote “Falun Dafa is good” while Ms. Sun refused to sign.

The practitioners were taken to the Domestic Security Group at the Ji’an Police Station in the afternoon, and had photos and fingerprints taken one more time. Ms. Li was taken to Ji’an Hospital for a medical examination, after which the two women were taken to Ji’an Detention Center.

The detention center first refused to accept the two women upon learning that they were Falun Gong practitioners, because there was no room for them. Ms. Li was finally detained at the detention center, and Ms. Sun was released.

Ms. Li is suffering from poor health and vomits frequently, which has been ignored by the wardens and officers.

Ms. Li’s in-laws and brother went to the Ji’an Procuratorate to have her released on October 15, 2013, but were told by the office staff that Ms. Li had already been transferred to the court. They rushed to the court and arrived just in time for Ms. Li’s trial. The family asked, “Why wasn't the family notified about this trial?”

The police replied, “We don’t need to inform the family for trials related to Falun Gong. The court police prohibited the family from attending the trial, which ended at around 10:00 a.m. The family noticed that Ms. Li’s hair had turned grey when they saw her leaving the courtroom.

Ms. Li’s husband and other family members submitted to the chief judge Nie the family documents provided by the Huadian Village government and the Huadian Town government, and the petition calling for Ms. Li's release.

Ms. Li Yuanmei's Story

Ms. Li Yuanmei, 59, lives in Huadian Town, Ji’an County, Tonghua City, Jilin Province. She is retired from the Ji’an Highway Bureau. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, after which illnesses including heart disease and stomach problems disappeared without medical intervention. After the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, Ms. Li wrote a letter to the central government to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. For this she was detained for seven days at the Ji’an Detention Center.

Ms. Li was detained again for 15 days in 2000, because she went to a fellow practitioner’s home in Qinghe Town to pick up a copy of the Falun Gong founder’s latest lecture.

Ms. Li’s older brother Li Yuanjin was arrested in 2001 while he was distributing Falun Gong flyers in the community. He then revealed that the flyers were given to him by his sister, Ms. Li. She was arrested again on December 26, 2001.

Ms. Li was transferred to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp in Changchun on January 25, 2002. After one month of torture in the camp, Ms. Li started to suffer from mental disorders, and eventually entered a vegetative state (recorded in her medical file and record). In order to avoid their responsibility for this, the camp allowed the family to take Ms. Li home. She was then hospitalized and cared for by her family. With proper care and treatment, Ms. Li regained consciousness three months later and resumed practicing Falun Gong which helped her recover rapidly.

Impact of the Persecution on Family Members

The persecution has impacted not only Falun Gong practitioners but their families.

Ms. Li’s mother, 91, who is paralyzed, misses her daughter.

Ms. Li’s husband is also disabled and in need of support in everyday life. Without the companionship and care of his wife, he has been seriously depressed and suicidal.

Ms. Li’s daughter has experienced her mother being arrested and the family being harassed many times. Due to her fear of harassment, she started showing symptoms of a mental disorder and was hospitalized at the Hailong Mental Hospital several times, the longest of which was three months.

Ms. Li’s grandson, who just had his first birthday, often calls for his grandmother.

Ms. Li’s family:
Chi Yonggang, husband: [phone] (Cell)
Li Yuanjin, brother: [phone] (Cell)

Relevant Personnel:
Li Hongwei (李洪伟), director of Huadian Police station: [phone] (Cell)
Zhou Jiade (周家德), officer at Huadian Police Station: [phone]
Yu wenquan (于文泉), Political and Legal Committee secretary of Ji’an Government: [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Home)
Song Guoxiang (宋国祥), director of the 610 Office in Ji’an County: [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Home)
Yao Xinmeng(姚新猛), director of Domestic Security Group of Ji’an Police Station: [phone] (Cell)

Please refer to the original Chinese text for more names and telephone numbers.

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