(Minghui.org) Having served six-and-a-half years in prison and suffered long-term abuse for upholding her faith in Falun Gong, a 79-year-old woman in Fushun City, Liaoning Province is now unable to walk and has to use a wheelchair.
When Ms. Wei Shaomin’s daughter visited her in early 2020 before the pandemic broke out, Ms. Wei said that the prison guards put her in the same cell with an inmate with a mental disorder who verbally abused her around the clock. But when Ms. Wei demanded that the guards move her to another cell, they responded that her other option was to stay with an inmate with HIV.
Since then, Ms. Wei’s family hasn’t been allowed to visit her. Her term won't expire until December 19, 2021. Ms. Wei's daughter is now very worried about her situation.
In the Chinese Communist Party's 21 years of persecution against Falun Gong, a traditional spiritual and meditation discipline, Ms. Wei has been arrested four times. She was held in a labor camp for 3 years between 2007 and 2010 and sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in March 2015. Her home was ransacked multiple times and her family were also harassed by the authorities.
Ms. Wei was first arrested in 2001 and held in a brainwashing center for three months.
She was arrested again on November 28, 2007 and given three years at the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. Because she refused to give up Falun Gong, she was tied to a death bed in a spread-eagle position, force-fed with unknown drugs, and hung up. The guards also ordered her to listen to recordings that defamed Falun Gong and to draw on a photo of Falun Gong’s founder. When she protested, the guards taped her mouth and beat her.
Ms. Wei’s third arrest was on July 31, 2012 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The police also ransacked her son's and daughter’s homes. After she was found to have high blood pressure, the police released her on bail and extorted a 20,000-yuan bail bond from her.
Ms. Wei was tried by the Wanghua District Court on June 17, 2013. Only her son was allowed to attend her hearing. She wasn’t convicted at that time.
Ms. Wei was arrested for the fourth time while studying Falun Gong’s teachings with four other practitioners on June 20, 2014. The Shuncheng District Court sentenced her to 7.5 years on March 19, 2015.
The long-term intimidation, fear, and worry contributed to her husband's sudden death. Her own 94-year-old father also burst into tears upon hearing about her verdict.
Due to high blood pressure and a tumor growing in her head, Ms. Wei was shaved completely bald. The Liaoning Women’s Prison initially refused to accept her and sent her back to the Nangou Detention Center, but still admitted her later on.
Related reports:
53 Older Falun Gong Practitioners Still Held in Liaoning Women's Prison for Their Faith
Seven Falun Gong Practitioners in Fushun Illegally Tried in Detention Center
Ms. Wei Shaomin, in Her 70's, Forced to Leave Home to Avoid Persecution
Gross Abuse and Mistreatment at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, Liaoning Province
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
