(Minghui.org)
Name: Cheng ZhiqunChinese Name: 程志群Gender: FemaleAge: 78City: HefeiProvince: AnhuiOccupation: N/ADate of Death: July 18, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 7, 2025Most Recent Place of Detention: Unknown
A 78-year-old woman in Hefei City, Anhui Province, died on July 18, 2025, eleven days after she was arrested for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Cheng Zhiqun was arrested on July 7, 2025, after being followed by the police while distributing Falun Gong materials. The police raided her home and released her on bail (exact time unknown). As she was frequently harassed at home while serving a one-year term given in 2023 outside of prison, the fear of being sentenced again took a toll on her health and eventually claimed her life.
Ms. Cheng, born on November 9, 1946, was previously arrested in 2021 after being recorded by surveillance cameras distributing Falun Gong materials. The police raided her home and took her to a brainwashing center. The Shushan District Court held a hearing of her case on April 12, 2023. She hired Cheng Hai, a human rights lawyer whose professional license was wrongfully revoked by the communist regime, as a non-lawyer defender. Judge Xia Yunjiao barred Cheng from attending the hearing when she failed to make Ms. Cheng dismiss him.
Ms. Cheng ended up acting as her own lawyer, and she argued that no law ever criminalizes Falun Gong in China.
Judge Xiao later sentenced Ms. Cheng to one year and allowed her to serve time at home. Officers of the local Jinggang Police Station frequently harassed her since.
Related Reports:
77-year-old Woman Tried for Her Faith, Defender Barred from Entering Courtroom
At Least 43 Falun Gong Practitioners in Anhui Province Sentenced By the Same Court Since 1999
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