(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Yanmei's family filed a legal petition on her behalf with the Changchun Intermediate Court in June 2016. They asked for reconsideration of the court's decision in upholding Ms. Zhang's three-year sentence for her belief in Falun Gong in 2014.
A hearing on the legal petition was scheduled for September 23, 2016 at the Changchun Intermediate Court. The outcome is unknown at this time.
Ms. Zhang Yanmei, a Falun Gong practitioner from Changchun, was sentenced to three years in prison in June 2014 by the Erdao District Court in Changchun.
When Ms. Zhang appealed, the Changchun Intermediate Court upheld the original sentence on September 2, 2014. Ms. Zhang was taken to the Jilin Women's Prison on September 12.
During the first two months, she was tortured for refusing to give up Falun Gong. She contracted tuberculosis, had an irregular heartbeat and had difficult breathing. She was hospitalized for nearly eight months.
After Ms. Zhang was transferred back to the prison, she was forced to sit on a small stool without moving for 19 hours daily, although she was still suffering from the tuberculosis and heart problems. Two inmates monitored her around the clock, and her physical condition continued to deteriorate.
The prison took her to the hospital for treatment at her family's demands. However, the police took her back to the prison after a few days and continued to torture her.
Ms. Zhang's mother died on January 23, 2016. Her health had deteriorated after the arrest of her daughter in January 2014. The prison refused to let Ms. Zhang attend her mother's funeral because she refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Previous report:Ms. Zhang Yanmei Secretly Sentenced to Three Years in Prison