(Minghui.org) A 66-year-old Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province resident returned home on July 14, 2020, after serving eight months for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Fengying was arrested at home on November 15, 2019. Her Falun Gong books were confiscated. The police first held her at a detention facility for 15 days and then transferred her to Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center on November 30. The Binhai New Area Procuratorate approved her arrest on December 10.
Li Yufu, a judge of the Binhai New Area Court, held a virtual trial of Ms. Yang on May 6, 2020, and sentenced her to eight months in prison. Her family wasn’t informed of the trial. She was released in July after serving time in the detention center.
Past Persecution
In the past two decades of persecution, Ms. Yang has been repeatedly arrested and detained for her faith. Her family also lived in fear.
Five Years of Forced Labor
Ms. Yang was arrested in 2000 after she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was beaten so hard for over three hours at Tianjiao Police Station in Beijing that she lost her hearing, and her face and legs were swollen and bruised.
The police gave her two years at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp on August 8, 2000. Because she refused to renounce her faith, she was directly taken to a brainwashing center at the end of her term and given a three-year term shortly after. She was subjected to brutal torture in the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
Tortured in the Detention Center
Ms. Yang and five other Falun Gong practitioners were arrested on January 6, 2012, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. Her cellphone and Falun Gong materials were confiscated.
The police kept the six practitioners in separate rooms and interrogated them. Because Ms. Yang refused to provide her personal information, a young police officer kicked her thigh with his boots and another officer blew a heater against her face.
Two more officers came shortly after. One of them pointed at her forehead and slapped her in the face six times. When Ms. Yang still refused to answer the questions, one of them threatened her, “We will still sentence you even if you don’t say anything.”
The police interrogated her until 3 a.m., before sending her to the detention center around 5 a.m. Ms. Yang was about to cross her legs to do the sitting meditation, when a detainee came over and stopped her. That detainee (the head of the cell) ordered two others to take off Ms. Yang’s coat and only leave a thin layer on her.
The next day, that detainee attempted to force Ms. Yang to wear the prison uniform, but she refused to comply.
Ms. Yang was forced to do unpaid labor on January 8. The detainee blamed her for working too slow. Ms. Yang responded that she didn’t do anything wrong and was being persecuted. The detainee became agitated and slapped Ms. Yang in the face, beat her and kicked her. She also forbade Ms. Yang from sleeping at night.
The detainee beat her again on January 9. She also ordered others to strip Ms. Yang naked with only her underwear on, in order to humiliate and freeze her.
On January 10, the detainees dragged Ms. Yang to the restroom and poured two basins of cold water onto her head.
Ms. Yang was released on January 11.
Other Detentions and Home-ransacking
In addition to the above persecution, Ms. Yang was also arrested on March 30, 2009, and detained for ten days, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong.
She escaped a group arrest on February 1, 2013, but had her home ransacked by the police.
Ms. Yang was arrested one more time on January 19, 2016 for distributing Falun Gong related materials. She was detained at Jinzhou City Detention Center for 15 days.
