(Minghui.org) A 38-year-old woman in Linyi, Shandong Province was sentenced to four years in prison for her faith in Falun Gong. Her family is appealing the sentence.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline with meditative exercises. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999 due to its immense popularity.
Ms. Li Jiafang was seized at 9 p.m. on May 23, 2018, when she was home alone. The police confiscated her computer, Falun Gong books, and five certificates of deposit worth a total of nearly 500,000 yuan that she inherited from her parents.
The police didn't inform Ms. Li's family of her arrest. They only found out about it after reporting her disappearance to the police a few days later.
Ms. Li was kept at Lanshan District Brainwashing Center for 27 days and then transferred to Linyi City Detention Center, where she was detained for more than eight months before she began to serve time in prison.
The local procuratorate had twice returned her case citing insufficient evidence, but the police gathered more “evidence” and managed to have her indicted.
Ms. Li was tried and sentenced inside the makeshift courtroom at the detention center on January 15, 2019. She was carried into the room due to her weak physical condition from the long term detention. Her family wasn't allowed to observe her trial.
The 610 Office in Linyi City and Domestic Security Division also attempted to block her lawyer's defense.
Prior to her latest imprisonment, Ms. Li has been detained at a forced labor camp for three years and subjected to various forms of torture for appealing for Falun Gong in Beijing.
Li Jiafang in Shandong Province Arrested, Detained Since May