Previously Jailed for Nine Years, 72-Year-Old Woman Sentenced Again to Eight Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Ms. Meng Qingjie, a 72-year-old retired elementary school teacher was recently sentenced to eight years and fined 50,000 yuan for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Meng, of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was arrested at home around 7 a.m. on July 12, 2024. She was held at the Shenyang City First Detention Center and a formal arrest warrant was issued on August 16. The Dadong District Court heard her case on February 27, 2025 and sentenced her on March 26. Judges Zhang Jutao, Zhu Lina and Zhao Jingjun signed her verdict.

Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Meng was repeatedly targeted in the past 26 years for upholding her faith. She was incarcerated for a total of nine years and in 2018 her pension was suspended.

Because she wrote a letter in 2002 to her school leaders about the persecution, Ms. Meng was arrested and held in a brainwashing center for more than two months. She was arrested again in the spring of 2003 for renting her apartment to another Falun Gong practitioner. She was detained for over a month.

Ms. Meng was arrested again on the evening of June 27, 2005, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in a village. She was given a three-year labor camp term.

Her next arrest was on April 15, 2012, for buying cellphones to send messages about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was severely tortured at the Shenhe District Detention Center and was unable to walk on her own. The Shenhe District Court sentenced her to six years in March 2013.

Shortly after Ms. Meng was released from the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison in 2018, the authorities suspended her pension, leaving the elderly woman with 30 years of service, no income to live on.

Related Reports:

Having Been Incarcerated for Nine Years and Her Pension Suspended, 72-Year-Old Woman Faces Prison Sentence Again for Her Faith

Retired Teacher Faces Indictment Again After Nine Years Behind Bars for Practicing Falun Gong

Because of Her Faith, 70-Year-Old Retired Teacher's Pension Suspended for Five Years and Counting