Twice Jailed a Total of 7.5 Years, 78-Year-Old Sichuan Woman Sentenced to Two More Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Juying, 78, from Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, was recently sentenced to two years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Zhang’s illegal sentence stemmed from her arrest on the morning of December 1, 2023, while she was distributing calendars that contained information about Falun Gong. The arresting officers from the Hexing Police Station searched her purse, took her keys, raided her home, and confiscated many personal belongings.

Ms. Zhang was released on house arrest hours later. Prosecutor Chen Li from the Guanghan City Procuratorate indicted her on June 12, 2024. The Guanghan City Court notified her on July 4, 2024 that her court date was set for July 10.

Ms. Zhang did not show up in court for her trial. It is unclear whether the hearing was still held in her absence. She was summoned to the Jinyu Town Police Station on September 18, 2024 and arrested when she arrived. She was held at the Deyang City Detention Center and recently sentenced to two years (exact time unknown).

This is not the first time Ms. Zhang has been targeted for her faith, which she took up in October 1998 and credits for resolving her uterine fibroids, a cervical infection, high blood pressure, sciatica, and back pain. She was arrested four times in 2000, on February 20, March 8, July 1, and July 17. Three more arrests on January 1, January 18, and April 2, 2001, and one arrest in July 2002 followed. After another arrest on September 27, 2004, she was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Less than one year after she was released, she was arrested again on July 24, 2008 and given a 4.5-year prison term. She was tortured following almost every arrest. See the related reports for details of her past persecution.

Related Reports:

Ms. Zhang Juying from Guanghan City Illegally Imprisoned in Lead-up to Beijing Olympic Games

Practitioner Zhang Juying from Guanghan City, Sichuan Province Sentenced to Prison Again