(Minghui.org) An 88-year-old woman in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province will be serving a six-month term outside of prison for practicing Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yu Fangzhuang, who has been practicing Falun Gong since 1996, was arrested on July 1, 2020 by a dozen police officers, who broke into her home. None of them showed their IDs or an arrest warrant. Ms. Yu’s over 20 Falun Gong books, 130 copies of informational materials about Falun Gong, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder and the media player she used to play Falun Gong exercises music were confiscated.
Ms. Yu was interrogated at the local police station for 12 hours and released on bail at 8 p.m. due to her advanced age.
She was tried by the Xihu District Court on December 21, 2020 and sentenced to six months with a 2,000 yuan fine. The judge initially intended to have Ms. Yu serve time in prison. She protested, “I’m almost 90 and yet you are trying to take me to prison. If anything happens to me, will you be able to bear the responsibility?”
The court-appointed lawyer also raised the question of Ms. Yu’s age, suggesting that she shouldn’t be taken into custody to serve time. The judge replied that he would make a decision on January 18, 2021.
Ms. Yu was informed by the judge in late March that he has decided to let her serve time outside of prison.
Related report:
Two Jiangxi Residents, One 88, Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith
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