(Minghui.org) A Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province resident was sentenced to six months for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Mo Jufen was arrested on January 2, 2019 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong.
The police searched her purse and found more Falun Gong materials. They forcibly took her fingerprints and photos and videotaped her.
She was locked in a metal interrogation chair at Guanqian Police Station and questioned for four or five hours.
Around 10 p.m. that day, the police took her home and confiscated her Falun Gong materials. They brought her back to the police station and confined her to the interrogation chair from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. the next day, before moving her to a metal cage.
After one day of detention at the police station, she was taken to Huangdai Detention Center around 7 p.m. on January 3.
Ms. Mo appeared in Wujiang Court first on May 28 and then on June 26, 2019. She was soon sentenced to six months in prison and released days later after having served the term.
The lawyer hired by Ms. Mo’s son told him that their entire family should thank the judge for giving his mother a light term. The lawyer also revealed that out of the 46,000 yuan they had paid him, 30,000 yuan was given to the judge.
It is unclear whether the judge demanded a bribe in exchange for a lighter sentence or the lawyer offered to pay the judge on his own initiative because he wanted to help Ms. Mo avoid a heavy sentence for upholding her faith. In either case, no law in China makes practicing Falun Gong illegal.
