Widowed Due to Persecution of Falun Gong, Heilongjiang Woman Gets Four Years for Her Faith, Devastated Daughter Dies at 39

(Minghui.org) Having lost her husband to the persecution of Falun Gong, a 61-year-old Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province resident was recently sentenced to a four-year prison term for her shared faith. Her daughter soon passed away due to the mental distress of the persecution.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Jiao Xiaohua was arrested on March 5, 2022, for spreading information about Falun Gong, and held at the Mulan Detention Center. The Daowai District Court sentenced her to a two-year prison term on July 12, 2022.

To seek justice for Ms. Jiao, her daughter, Ms. Jin Xin, wrote a letter to the police officer in charge of her case. The officer, a former colleague of Ms. Jiao’s late husband, used the letter against her, resulting in the judge adding two more years to her term.

Still mourning her father’s passing as a result of the persecution of his faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Jin was devastated by her mother’s extended prison term. The 39-year-old mother of a six-year-old son soon passed away due to tremendous mental distress.

Family’s Plight

Ms. Jin’s father, Mr. Jin Chengshan, used to work in the Hulan District Police Department in Harbin. He had a car accident in 1996 and sustained a thoracic spine fracture and became paralyzed. Just as he lost hope, he was introduced to Falun Gong and experienced great physical and mental benefits. Witnessing his improvements, Ms. Jiao also took up the practice.

After the persecution started in 1999, Ms. Jiao was arrested four times and sentenced to prison twice. Mr. Jin was sentenced once to a five year term.

Because Ms. Jiao went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong, she was arrested twice and fined 2,000 yuan.

Over twenty officers broke into the couple’s home on March 10, 2005. Four officers held Mr. Jin on the chair and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Ms. Jiao was held in the bathroom, and also handcuffed behind her back. The officers searched everywhere in their home, confiscating 13,000 yuan in cash, a computer, two printers, a photocopier, a scanner, and two laminators. Even Mr. Jin’s twenty urine drainage bags weren’t spared. The police stayed in the couple’s home for a few days, waiting to arrest any other practitioners who came to visit.

Ten officers raided the couple’s home again on October 15, 2006. Their laptop computer, a printer, and a set of wireless internet cards were confiscated.

Both of the couple were arrested again on December 22, 2006. Mr. Jin was held in a tightly isolated cell in the local detention center. With no one to take care of him, he did not defecate for nine days and was in tremendous pain. The pressure ulcers on his hips, buttocks, and back also started to ooze yellow pus and blood. The police had to take Ms. Jiao there to manually remove his stool.

The Hulan District Court held a secret hearing of the case against the couple in the detention center on February 27, 2007. Mr. Jin was sentenced to five years and Ms. Jiao to three years.

Mr. Jin was taken to the Hulan Prison on April 24, 2007. He endured unimaginable suffering and almost died. After Ms. Jiao was released in June 2009, she applied for medical parole for him and repeatedly went to the prison to demand his release. Although the prison allowed him to go home shortly after, they took him back into custody on May 5, 2010. The prison released him on medical parole again four months later after persistent efforts to rescue him by Ms. Jiao and their daughter.

The incarceration took a toll on Mr. Jin’s health. He passed away years later.

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