(Minghui.org) A 71-year-old Chongqing resident was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison on September 30, 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Li was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong outside the Guanyinqiao Market in Jiangbei District, in early February 2024. The Daxincun Police Station called her husband on the morning of February 8 and ordered him to tell her to report to them at 2 that afternoon.
Ms. Yang went to the police station and gave the officers a leaflet about Falun Gong, hoping they could learn the facts about the persecution. Instead of reading it, the police put the leaflet in a plastic bag and said it was “evidence” that she broke the law. They also searched her and confiscated four amulets bearing Falun Gong messages and some banknotes with Falun Gong messages printed on them. (Because the communist regime blocked all legal channels for Falun Gong practitioners to appeal for their right to practice their faith, they use creative ways to spread messages about Falun Gong.)
The police took Ms. Yang to the Jiangbei District Police Department and held her there overnight. The next morning they had her undergo a physical examination, and she was found to be unfit for detention. The police still took her to the local detention center in the afternoon. She was found to have high blood pressure and was denied admission.
The police eventually released Ms. Yang that night. She learned from her husband that the police raided her home while she was in detention. They confiscated her Falun Gong books, more than ten copies of Falun Gong materials, and lists of people who renounced their memberships in the Chinese Communist Party because it persecuted Falun Gong.
Officers from the Daxincun Police Station ordered Ms. Yang to report to them any time she was summoned. They also warned her not to go out and talk to people about Falun Gong again. They ordered her to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong, and it’s unclear whether she complied.
The Daxincun Police Station officers later submitted Ms. Yang’s case to the Jiangbei District Procuratorate and prosecutor Liu Jie indicted her for “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong. Judge Wang Guoping of the Jiangbei District Court was assigned to her case.
Ms. Yang appeared in court on August 14, 2024 and was placed on house arrest afterwards. The presiding judge, Wang Guoping, announced her verdict on September 30, adding three months to the 15-month term recommended by the prosecutor. Judges Li Yan and Liu Xiaolan, as well as court clerk Zhang Dan, also signed her verdict.
This is not the first time Ms. Yang, a retired factory worker, has been targeted for her faith. She was previously detained at least six other times (three times in brainwashing centers, once in a detention center, and twice in a lockup). She was sentenced to four years on November 13, 2013 and released from the Chongqing Women’s Prison on January 10, 2017. The police continued to harass her after she was released.
Related Reports:
71-Year-Old Chongqing Woman Faces Trial for Practicing Falun Gong
70-Year-Old Chongqing Woman Detained for One Day for Her Faith in Falun Gong
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