50-Year-Old Ningxia Woman Becomes Incapacitated While Detained for Her Faith, Repeatedly Denied Bail
(Minghui.org) A 50-year-old woman in Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, developed brain atrophy and lower-leg neuropathy while detained for her faith in Falun Gong. She was unable to walk on her own or take care of herself. The authorities however denied her bail on the grounds that she’d continue practicing Falun Gong if released.
Ms. Shen Dongmei
Ms. Shen Dongmei, born in October 1976, was arrested on November 2, 2025, after the police sawed open her lock and broke into her home. At least 50 other local Falun Gong practitioners were arrested on the same day.
Ms. Shen was held at an unknown facility before being transferred to the Yinchuan City Detention Center on November 9, 2025. Just two days later, an inmate saw her appearing extremely weak and unable to walk on her own. She either needed others to help her or had to lean against the wall to inch forward. Despite her condition, a woman guard reprimanded her and ordered her to wear a red vest (a prisoner uniform).
The guard also didn’t allow Ms. Shen to lie in bed to rest. She refused to answer the roll call, and the guard punished her cellmates to instigate their hatred toward her. It is unclear what other forms of abuse she had been subjected to.
Ms. Shen’s sister intended to hire a lawyer for her, but the local police station refused to issue a certificate attesting to their relationship as siblings. She was thus unable to secure a lawyer. By law anyone can hire a lawyer for another person without having to prove kinships.
The Yinchuan City Police Department submitted the cases against Ms. Shen and ten other practitioners arrested on the same day to the Xixia District Procuratorate on February 13, 2026. The procuratorate twice returned the cases, and the police resubmitted each time (the last time being late April 2026).
The eleven practitioners were indicted in late June 2026. Ms. Shen’s sister managed to hire a lawyer for her by then. The other practitioners also had defense lawyers.
While awaiting trial, Ms. Shen’s condition kept worsening. She was unable to care for herself and had to be wheeled around. In mid-August 2026, her family submitted a bail request to the Xixia District Court. The police then took her to the Yongning County People’s Hospital for a checkup. She was diagnosed with brain atrophy and lower-leg neuropathy.
The court nonetheless denied Ms. Shen’s bail after seeing her medical report. A pre-trial conference was held on September 2, 2026, with the practitioners attending remotely from the detention center, and their lawyers joining the judge and the prosecutor in the courthouse. Their family members were barred from entering the courthouse.
Ms. Shen’s lawyer noted she was in a wheelchair during the conference. She appeared to be in a lot of pain. Her family submitted another bail request after the conference.
Mr. Xie Yiqiang, one of the other practitioners being prosecuted, was interrupted by the judge many times as he tried to finish reading his defense statements. The judge then halted the conference and said that it’d resume on September 15. He also announced a trial date for September 21-23.
The pre-trial conference resumed on September 15, but the judge again aborted it midway. He also canceled the trial scheduled for September 21-23.
Ms. Shen’s family was recently summoned to the Xinshi District Sanjia Hospital to be questioned by the police. Her attending physician said they couldn’t allow her to be released on bail because she’d continue practicing Falun Gong and “negatively influence her family.” It was obvious to the family that the police and the doctor were working hand in glove to keep her detained.
It is unclear whether Ms. Shen is held at the hospital or the detention center at the time of writing. Prior to her latest persecution episode, she was arrested many other times and once served three years of forced labor.
Related Reports:
Arrested in a Police Sweep, 11 Ningxia Residents Face Prosecution for Their Faith
Yinchuan City, Ningxia: 31 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Two Days
Yinchuan City, Ningxia: 12 Falun Gong Practitioners Harassed for Their Faith
The Police in Yinchuan City, Ningxia Province Set a Trap for Falun Gong Practitioners