(Minghui.org) Two Zaozhuang City residents appeared in court on October 17, 2018, for putting up posters with Falun Gong messages more than one year ago.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Ms. Ren Weihua and Ms. Sun Zhongfeng are not the only ones in their extended families targeted for spreading information about Falun Gong.
Ms. Ren's younger brother, Mr. Ren Yimin, and his wife were arrested on April 25, 2017, for putting up posters with Falun Gong messages. Police had also tried to arrest Ms. Ren and Ms. Sun, whose husband is Ms. Ren's other brother, but the sisters-in-law were not home.
Mr. Ren and his wife were sentenced to prison in January 2018, while Ms. Ren and Ms. Sun were put on the wanted list after they lived away from home to avoid arrests.
Through bank records, Zaozhuang Police located the workplace of Ms. Sun and arrested her in the electronics factory that she works in on May 28, 2018. On the same day, while Ms. Ren was babysitting, police officers arrested her.
At the Fengminghui Police Station, a medical examination indicated that Ms. Ren had high blood pressure and hepatitis B. Although this disqualified her for detention, officials sent her to the Yuelou Detention Center without notifying her family.
Ms. Ren felt unwell and suffered from allergies during detention. Her family made multiple requests for her release, but officer Zhang Tong of the domestic security office turned them away each time. He later asked them to stop contacting him.
The cases against Ms. Ren and Ms. Sun were forwarded to the local procuratorate in late August.
The sisters-in-law were tried by the Zaozhuang Zhongqu Court on October 17. They each had a lawyer to plead not guilty for them. One of the attorneys pointed out that the evidence presented by the prosecutor was not obtained legitimately. He also emphasized his client's right to freedom of belief and that the practitioners were innocent.
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Married Couple Sentenced to Prison, Extended Family Targeted – All for Their Faith in Falun Gong
