(Minghui.org) A lawyer in Changchun City, Jilin Province recently had his appeal against a seven-year prison sentence for his faith in Falun Gong rejected. His wife, who was arrested a year after him, is awaiting a verdict following a court hearing in December 2020.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Du Jingyi, in his 60s, was arrested at 6 a.m. on September 9, 2019, when he went out to buy groceries. The officers took his keys and ransacked his home. Although Mr. Du’s wife, Ms. Cui Yuqiu, and their daughter, Ms. Du Xin, were also arrested, they were released at around 11 p.m. that day.
Mr. Du was held at the Yihelu Police Station overnight and transferred to the Changchun City No.2 Detention Center the next day. He was once hospitalized for developing scabies due to the unsanitary conditions in his cell.
Two days after Mr. Du’s first hearing by the Chaoyang District Court on July 13, 2020, the police broke into his home and arrested his wife and daughter again. While Ms. Du was released after 13 days of detention, Ms. Cui is still detained at Changchun City No.4 Detention Center.
During Mr. Du's second hearing on September 28, judge Zhang Dan barred his daughter from attending the hearing, with the excuse that she was listed as a prosecution witness against him. When Ms. Du went out to look for a family member to attend the hearing for her, the judge started the proceeding and refused to let Mr. Du’s relative enter the courtroom.
On December 10, 2020, Mr. Du’s family received a notice from the Chaoyang District Court that Ms. Cui was scheduled to appear in court the next day. The judge said the family wasn’t allowed to attend the hearing, because the case was very special.
Mr. Du was recently sentenced to seven years. His family wasn’t informed of his verdict. He appealed with the Changchun City Intermediate Court, but it ruled to uphold his original verdict. It’s not clear whether he has been taken to a prison.
Ms. Cui, 68, used to work at the library of Jilin University. Both she and Mr. Du took up Falun Gong in 1996 and credit the practice for improving their health, including her heart condition, rhinitis, and kidney problem.
Prior to her latest arrest, she was given one year in April 2002 and one and a half years in November 2003, both at the Heizuizi Women’s Forced Labor Camp. She was often beaten, shocked by electric shocks, deprived of sleep, and forced to do long hours of free labor.
Ms. Cui's second labor camp term dealt a heavy blow to her mother. The elderly woman in her 90s was depressed and soon passed away. Because of missing her, Ms. Cui's daughter Ms. Du’s academic performance in high school quickly dropped. Once a top student in her class, she wasn’t admitted to a college, which caused her tremendous difficulty in finding a job.
Lawyer Tried, Wife and Daughter Arrested, All for Their Shared Faith