(Minghui.org) Ms. Du Shuzhi, 65, was sentenced to three years in Jilin No. 1 Women's Prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Prior to her sentencing in early March 2015, police extorted tens of thousands of yuan from her family, claiming that the payment would spare her from prison.

A large group of officers broke into Ms. Du's home in the afternoon of October 16, 2014. Officers arrested Ms. Du, ransacked her home, and seized her Falun Gong books and other personal belongings. The officers were led by Zhang Huaiqian, Director of Da'an City Police Department, Shui Yanlong and Li Zhimu from Da'an City Domestic Security Division.

While she was detained at the police station, Ms. Du's blood pressure escalated, and she was taken to Da'an No. 3 Hospital. When she was transferred to a detention center, police made false claims that Ms. Du had received money from a foreign country to print Falun Gong books.

Officers in charge of this case threatened Ms. Du's family and told them that she would be sentenced to five or ten years, but offered to release her in exchange for a large payment. To save her mother, Ms. Du's child paid about 70,000 to 80,000 yuan (the exact amount is still being verified) and had to sell their home to cover the resulting debt.