(Minghui.org) Two Yitong County, Jilin Province, residents were recently sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang Lijuan and her son Mr. Cao Boyu were arrested on the street and at home, respectively, on July 20, 2020. The police ransacked their residence and took away their Falun Gong books, materials, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, computer, printer, and other office supplies. Both of them were taken to the Liaoyuan City Detention Center, which is about 40 miles from Yitong. While Mr. Cao was released one month later, Ms. Zhang remains in custody.
Another practitioner, Ms. Li Xiaojuan, was arrested at home on August 10, 2020. She was also detained at the Liaoyuan City Detention Center. Her husband, Mr. Wang, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, was brought to the police station and intimidated. The police didn’t release him until he was forced to sign statements to denounce Falun Gong.
The three practitioners were targeted because they had gone to Liaoyuan City in January 2020 and mailed some New Year’s greeting cards to the public with information about Falun Gong. They were reported by the postal workers and then arrested.
Ms. Zhang and Ms. Li were tried by the Xi’an District Court in Liaoyuan through a video conference on November 11, 2020. Ms. Zhang was sentenced to four years with a 3,000-yuan fine. Ms. Li was given one year with one and a half years of probation. She was also fined 2,000 yuan.
