(Minghui.org) A 75-year-old Chongqing woman has been denied family visits while serving a 3.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong. The prison authorities only allowed her family to deposit money into her commissary account.
Ms. Duan Zaiying, born on August 9, 1949, is currently held at the strict management team designated to target steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. As she remained firm in her faith, an insider revealed that the prison scheduled a visit to her family for June 24, 2025 in an attempt to make her loved ones persuade her to give up her belief. It is unclear whether the visit materialized as planned.
Ms. Duan’s prison sentence stemmed from her arrest on December 20, 2023, for talking to people about Falun Gong at a local farmers’ market. She was released on bail that night, but was taken back into custody eight days later. Her case was later assigned to Jiulongpo District. She appeared in the Jiulongpo District Court on June 5, 2024 and was sentenced to 3.5 years on September 26, 2024.
Ms. Duan appealed with the Chongqing Fifth Intermediate Court. Her husband acted as her non-lawyer family defender. After he submitted the defense statement, the appeals court refused to have an open hearing of her case as requested and ruled to uphold her original verdict.
Ms. Duan was soon admitted to Chongqing Women’s Prison (located in Zouma Town, Jiulongpo District) after losing her appeal. To continue seeking justice, her family filed a motion on her behalf to reconsider her case with the Chongqing High Court. It is unclear whether they’ve received any response.
Prior to her current unlawful imprisonment, Ms. Duan was previously targeted numerous times, resulting in three forced labor terms totaling 5.5 years (August 15, 2005 – August 15, 2006; November 23, 2009 – November 23, 2011; February 26, 2012 – February 26, 2014) and three prior prison sentences totaling 6.5 years (January 31, 2001 – January 31, 2004; July 7, 2017 – January 7, 2019; April 29, 2021 – April 28, 2023).
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