(Minghui.org) A woman in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, was secretly sentenced to seven years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang Yuzhen
Ms. Zhang Yuzhen, 54, was seized by the police in a group arrest of twelve practitioners on July 12, 2019. She held several hunger strikes to protest the persecution at Zhuhai No. 1 Detention Center and was subjected to physical abuses.
A single woman whose parents have passed away due to the mental distress from the persecution, Ms. Zhang didn’t have any close family members to seek justice for her following her arrest. It’s only confirmed by a Minghui correspondent recently that she was secretly sentenced to seven years by a local court in Zhuhai City in 2020. She has already been taken to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison. Other details about her case remain unclear at the time of writing.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Zhang, a native of Jianxian County, Jiangxi Province, was arrested 12 times and incarcerated for a total of nine years.
She was sentenced to six years in November 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. At the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison, she was hung up by her wrists behind her back for 11 hours on September 19 and 3 hours on September 20, 2005. Her arms became disabled. She is still unable to completely extend her arms, make a fist, or extend her fingers. She also suffers from wrist drop, a condition in which the person cannot extend their wrist, and it hangs limply. Her upper limbs hurt and her hands quiver constantly, and she has occasional sharp pains in her chest, neck, and shoulders.
When her prison term ended, the authorities directly sent her to Jiangxi Province Women’s Forced Labor Camp on November 10, 2006, to serve three more years. As she was unable to do the unpaid labor, the guards barred her from washing herself or using the restroom. She was released on November 9, 2009.
Torture illustration: Hung by wrists
Ms. Zhang after her arms became disabled
Ms. Zhang was arrested again in May 2010 together with her mother, after they were reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police released them after seven hours. On their way home, the mother and daughter found they were followed and they didn’t return home, but stayed outside for one night.
Ms. Zhang and her mother were arrested again in October 2010, also for talking to people about Falun Gong. They were taken back by her younger brother after six hours at the police station. The police ordered her brother to open the cabinet for them to search. The police also threatened to detain Ms. Zhang for two weeks.
Ms. Zhang was arrested one more time on March 18, 2011. Two officers twisted her arms behind her back and tied up her thumbs, which caused further damage to her already disabled arms. She was taken to a brainwashing center, and held there for three months. She held a hunger strike to protest the arbitrary detention and was force-fed.
Related reports:
Guangdong Woman in Serious Condition after Another Arrest for Her Faith
Ms. Zhang Yuzhen Disabled as a Result of Nine Years of Torture and Imprisonment
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
Category: Torture of Women
