Sunwu County, Heilongjiang Province: Three Women Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith

(Minghui.org) Three residents of Sunwu County, Heilongjiang Province were sentenced to prison on May 25, 2023, for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Qu Yongxia was given three years and three months. Ms. Li Haixia and Ms. Zhang Guifang each received ten months.

The three women were all arrested on September 15, 2022, by three separate groups of agents from Sunwu County Domestic Security Office and Sunwu County Police Station.

Ms. Qu’s Falun Gong books and laptop were confiscated by officer Du Sen and other agents. Several street committee workers were also present during the home raid.

The police also seized Ms. Zhang’s Falun Gong books, MP3 player and cell phone (which was later returned). After arresting Ms. Zhang, the same group of officers proceeded to raid her daughter’s home, where they confiscated more Falun Gong books. Ms. Zhang’s grandchild’s computer and drawing board, as well as a broken printer the family had, were also taken away.

It is unclear whether Ms. Li had any items confiscated during her arrest.

Ms. Zhang was later released on bail, while Ms. Qu and Ms. Li were held at Sunwu County Detention Center for one month before being transferred to Heihe City Detention Center.

Heihe City oversees Sunwu County.

The three women were tried by the Aihui District Court in Heihe City and convicted on May 25, 2023. It is unclear whether Ms. Zhang has been taken back into custody to serve time.

Past Persecution of Ms. Qu

Ms. Qu has been repeatedly targeted for her faith since the persecution began in 1999.

She was arrested by Wang Hengyi and other officers from Sunwu County Police Department in December 2000. After being held at Sunwu County Detention Center for about seven months, she was given two years of forced labor at Shuanghe Forced Labor Camp in Qiqihar City. Her daughter was just one at the time.

The local authorities, including the police, government officials, and street committee, kept harassing her at home and her family-owned shop, after she was released from the labor camp. The harassers would come at any time, be it day or night, and they sometimes came in groups of more than a dozen people, terrifying her family.

Ms. Qu was arrested again on November 17, 2017, when she accompanied another local practitioner, Ms. Yang Lihua, to relevant government agencies to appeal for the reinstatement of her job. Ms. Yang, a single mother of two, had recently landed a job after she finished serving four years for her faith in Falun Gong in May 2017. The police, however, forced her employer to terminate her. Ms. Qu felt compelled to help her get her job back. Both of them were arrested and sentenced to prison on December 26, 2017. Ms. Qu was given four years and Ms. Yang three years.

Ms. Yang was beaten to death by a group of inmates while serving time at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. She was 43.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Jiang Xifan (姜喜范), president of Aihui District Court in Heihe City: [phone]Meng Qingzhen (孟庆祯), vice president: [phone]Ning Hui (宁辉), vice president: [phone]Yu Bingcheng (于炳成), vice president: [phone]Zhang Lixin (张立新), vice president: [phone]

Related Reports:

Seeking Legal Right to Work, Two Heilongjiang Women End up in Jail

Mother of Two Beaten to Death While Serving Time for Her Faith