(Minghui.org) A 73-year-old resident in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province was arrested at home on July 15, 2020 for her faith in Falun Gong. Her home was also ransacked.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yan Ling, a retired factory worker, took up Falun Gong in February 1998. Six months into her practice, many of her ailments disappeared, including heart and liver problems, rheumatoid arthritis and digestive problems. Because of upholding her faith in the face of the persecution, she has been repeatedly targeted by the authorities in the past 21 years.
Ms. Yan was arrested and held in brainwashing centers every year between 2001 and 2004. She was given one year of forced labor at Jurong Women’s Forced Labor Camp in late 2004. The authorities extended her term by four months when she refused to renounce Falun Gong. She was deprived of sleep, forced to stand for days or sit on a small stool without moving. The guards also locked her in solitary confinement and denied her restroom use.
Ms. Yan was arrested again prior to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2007 and held in a brainwashing center for 15 days.
In April 2014 and January 2015, she was arrested and detained for 12 and 15 days, respectively, for talking to people about Falun Gong.
Ms. Yan was arrested one more time in late 2015 and detained for a month for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. The Tongzhou District Court sentenced her to two years in Nantong Women’s Prison in 2016.
The prison guards tortured Ms. Yan in attempts to force her to renounce Falun Gong. At one time, the inmates were instructed by the guards to tape her mouth and tie up her hands. She almost suffocated during this round of abuse.
During the two-year imprisonment her salary was suspended by the authorities.
