(Minghui.org) An 83-year-old woman in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, was sentenced to one year and fined 3,000 yuan on February 28, 2023, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Li Shunhua’s sentencing stemmed from her arrest on October 23, 2020, by over ten officers. Her Falun Gong books and informational materials were confiscated. At the Zhanqianlu Police Station, the police interrogated and threatened her. They also ordered her to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Li refused to comply and was taken to the Maoming City No.1 Detention Center. At a health exam the following day, she had high blood pressure and a severe heart condition. She was released on the evening of October 26, 2020.
Although the police released Ms. Li, they didn’t give up pursuing trying to get her prosecuted. On October 22, 2021, prosecutor Deng Lijin of the Maonan District Procuratorate indicted her on charges of “undermining enforcement of the law and regulations with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used by the communist authorities to frame Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Li appeared in the Maonan District Court on December 27, 2021. The judge put her case on hold on February 15, 2022, and reopened it on May 22 that year.
Ms. Li was tried in the Maonan District Court on the morning of February 28, 2023, and convicted. Her two lawyers weren’t able to attend.
Because Ms. Li never returned home after her trial and the police never updated her status, her son was worried about her and reported her disappearance the day after her hearing. The police contacted the family a day later and told them to wait for further information.
With the help of their lawyers, the family finally learned about Ms. Li’s sentencing and that she had been taken to the Maoming City No.1 Detention Center after the trial.
Tan Wei (谭卫), vice president of Maonan District CourtKe Xuejun (柯学军), presiding judgeZhou Jinfeng (周晋锋), judgeLiu Qiuying (刘秋莹), judge’s assistantLiu Dan (刘丹), court clerk
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