(Minghui.org) It was learned in early May 2024 that a 71-year-old woman in Gaomi City, Shandong Province had her prison sentence increased from 2.5 to 3 years. She was subsequently admitted to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Xu Xiuzhen was targeted for her efforts to seek justice for her older daughter, Ms. Qin Shaohua, who was arrested in May 2022 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Ms. Qin was sentenced to 2.5 years in July 2023 and is currently serving time at the same Shandong Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Xu and her husband, Mr. Qin Songfa, who both practice Falun Gong, wrote more than 400 complaint letters to various government agencies demanding their daughter be released. In retaliation, the police arrested the couple on November 7 and 8, 2023, respectively. Their younger daughter, who has a mental illness, was also abducted and taken to the Gaomi City Psychiatric Hospital.
Ms. Xu was sentenced to 2.5 years weeks later (exact date unknown) and her husband later received the same sentence, around December 2023. It is unclear whether Mr. Qin is still held at the Gaomi City Detention Center at the time of this report.
According to insiders, the Gaomi City Procuratorate, the Gaomi City Court, the Gaomi City Domestic Security Division, and the Gaomi City Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC, an extra-judiciary agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong and given power to override the judicial system) worked hand in glove to increase Ms. Xu’s prison term to three years. She was admitted to prison soon afterwards.
It’s unclear though, whether Ms. Xu ever filed an appeal against her initial 2.5-year prison sentence. The new, longer sentence may be retaliation against her appeal (if any) or a result of the PLAC pressuring the judicial system to hand down heavier sentences against Falun Gong practitioners.
This is not the first time that the family has been targeted for their faith. Both Ms. Xu and Mr. Qin were previously sentenced to 3.5 years in 2011. Their older daughter was given one year of forced labor that same year. In 2016, Ms. Xu was sentenced to six months and her husband was sentenced to seven months in prison. For details of their past and latest persecution, see the related reports below.
Related Reports:
70-Year-Old Shandong Man Given Same Prison Sentence as Wife and Daughter for Practicing Falun Gong
Shandong Woman Gets 2.5-Year Prison Term for Her Faith in Falun Gong
Husband and Wife Detained, Daughter Persecuted for Hiring a Lawyer
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