(Minghui.org) A Falun Gong practitioner in Taicang City was arrested in Rudong County while visiting fellow practitioners there. His wife was threatened with arrest should she continue to seek her husband's release.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
A Falun Gong practitioner herself, Ms. Qin Yanqiu knows that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that her husband, Mr. Shi Zehui, should never have been arrested for socializing with other practitioners. She persisted in calling for her husband's release and was arrested days before her husband's second hearing. Two other practitioners in Taicang with whom she kept in touch were also arrested at the same time.
Mr. Shi was later sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Ms. Qin and her two practitioner friends are still awaiting verdicts after two hearings.
Family Threatened After Husband's Arrest
Mr. Shi Zehui was arrested in Rudong County, about 70 miles from his hometown of Taicang City, in late January 2017. His wife, Ms. Qin Yanqiu, traveled to Rudong many times to visit him but was never allowed to see him.
Ms. Qin hired two lawyers to represent her husband, only to be arrested at home by the Taicang police on October 1, 2017. The police proceeded to try to get the couple's son and daughter-in-law to drop the lawyers. The younger couple ignored the police's threat.
Mr. Shi appeared in the Rudong County Court twice, on September 19 and October 12, 2017, respectively. His lawyers defended his constitutional right to freedom of belief and demanded his acquittal. Months later, the count sentenced him to 3.5 years.
Wife and Practitioner Friends Facing Possible Sentencing
Ms. Chen Yonglin and Ms. Dong Meiying were arrested along with Ms. Qin Yanqiu on October 1, 2017. Ms. Chen was later released on bail, while Ms. Qin and Ms. Dong were held at the Taicang Detention Center.
The case against the three women was assigned to the Zhangjiagang City Court. Ms. Qin and Ms. Dong appeared in court on July 10, 2018. Ms. Chen joined them during the second hearing on October 24, 2018.
Four lawyers representing the three practitioners defended their innocence in the second hearing. The lawyers argued that the persecution of Falun Gong lacks legal basis and that the principles taught by Falun Gong – Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance – are universal values that cause no harm to anyone or society at large.
When the prosecutor failed to rebut the lawyers' arguments, the presiding judge adjourned the hearing and said he would schedule another hearing at a later date.
Previous Persecution
Mr. Shi and Ms. Qin, 56, have been repeatedly detained for their faith since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999.
Ms. Qin's latest arrest was preceded by six prior arrests. She was detained in a mental hospital for six months in 2000, given 15 months of forced labor in 2001 and sentenced to 4 years in 2005.
Her husband, Mr. Shi, a former teacher at the local Jianxiong College, had been arrested seven times in the past. He has spent more than half of the last 19 years persecution behind bars, with three years of forced labor and two prison terms totaling 8.5 years.
Mr. Shi developed liver cancer while imprisoned at Suzhou Prison in 2014. He also suffered from swelling of his kidney and lungs. The doctor suggested that he may only had three months left to live.
Almost bankrupt after so many years of imprisonment, Mr. Shi couldn't afford the medical expenses and was released on bail. He resumed doing the Falun Gong exercises and gradually recovered, only to be arrested and sentenced again three years later.
Related Reports:
Former Teacher Sentenced to Prison Again for His Faith in Falun Gong
The Persecution Endured by Ms. Qin Yanqiu and Her Husband in Taicang City, Jiangsu Province
Related article in Chinese:江苏太仓县秦艳秋和董美英被非法开庭
