(Minghui.org) Ms. Hong Shuyun was arrested in September 2021, shortly after she returned home after two years of hiding to avoid being persecuted for her faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline that includes five exercises. It was introduced to the public in 1992 and had an estimated 100 million learners by 1999. Fearing its growing popularity, the Chinese communist regime launched a nationwide campaign to wipe out the practice in July 1999.
Ms. Hong, 83, from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, was previously arrested at home on September 20, 2017, after the police suspected her of distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. She was denied admission to the detention center due to high blood pressure and then released on bail.
Four staff members from the Wanghua Procuratorate went to Ms. Hong’s home on March 5, 2019, to question her. They returned on March 23 and gave her an indictment. They asked her to be prepared for a court hearing. She said she would never go to the courthouse because she had not violated any laws. They then said they would hold hearings at her home.
A Wanghua District Court judge held hearings in Ms. Hong’s home on April 15 and again on May 31. The prosecutor claimed that they found 680 DVDs in her home and 580 of them contained Falun Gong information. Ms. Hong denied that she had such items. She also said she didn’t know the person who the police claimed to have received a calendar bearing Falun Gong information from her.
A court staff member went to Ms. Hong’s home on June 25, 2019, to inform her that she had been sentenced to two years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan. She was taken to Nangou Detention Center hours for a physical exam and was again denied admission again due to high blood pressure. After Ms. Hong returned home, the officials said they would request additional physical exams in order to detain her.
Fearing being imprisoned, Ms. Hong lived away from home to hide from the police, only to be arrested and taken to the Nangou Detention Center as soon as she returned home two years later. It’s not clear whether she will be made to serve the two-year term.
Related report:
81-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Her Faith
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