(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a resident of Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, was taken to prison in February 2024 to serve a five-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Chang Haihua, around 68, used to work in the Xinfu District government. She was arrested along with her sister’s husband and son on May 9, 2023. Her brother-in-law and nephew do not practice Falun Gong, and it is unclear why they were also targeted. Officers from the Donglou Police Station seized at least two other Falun Gong practitioners that same day.
The Xinfu District Domestic Security Office placed Ms. Chang on criminal detention at the Xinzhou City Detention Center the next day, while the others arrested were taken to a brainwashing center located in a local health training center. More than 30 other practitioners from neighboring counties were also taken to the brainwashing center that day (May 10, 2023).
It is unclear which court sentenced Ms. Chang to five years, and at what time. Her family learned recently that she had been transferred to the Shanxi Province Women’s Prison in February 2024.
This is not the first time that Ms. Chang has been targeted for her faith. She was arrested on the night of April 27, 2013 while distributing Falun Gong informational materials in nearby Jian’an Town, Wutai County. She was released after an unknown amount of time.
The Nancheng Police Station arrested Ms. Chang at home on August 8, 2015. She was sentenced to four years and served time at the same Shanxi Province Women’s Prison. She was released in 2019, only to be arrested four years later and imprisoned again.
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