(Minghui.org) A 70-year-old woman in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan for filing a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Lou A’mei once remained bedridden for decades, but she regained her mobility and got her life back after she began to practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Because of her first-hand experience with Falun Gong, she never shied away from telling people that the persecution is wrong. Last year, she joined many other Falun Gong practitioners in seeking justice, but she was arrested.
Ms. Lou was home on November 3, 2015, when the police pried her door open and broke in. They confiscated two computers, a printer, calendars with Falun Gong messages, copy paper, ink cartridges, a cell phone, 2900 yuan in cash, and a briefcase with her ID, bank deposits, and jewelry. She was held down on a bed as they searched the house for more than an hour.
The Shenhe District Procuratorate twice returned Ms. Liu’s case to the local police department, first on January 27, 2016, and then on February 26. The police submitted their final version of the case file on May 25.
Ms. Lou was charged with “libel and filing a meritless lawsuit” and tried on August 18. Her lawyer argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that she should never have been prosecuted for seeking justice against Jiang for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong. Moreover, the Falun Gong items confiscated from her home contained nothing but facts regarding Jiang’s persecution of Falun Gong. Therefore, her alleged crimes are groundless.
The judge sentenced Ms. Lou on August 30. She remains in Shenyang City Detention Center. It is unclear when she will be transferred to prison.
Background
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners during the past 17 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
