(Minghui.org) A woman with high blood pressure and other symptoms was forced to stand trial on April 16, 2019. She became incoherent and started vomiting midway through the hearing. Only then did the presiding judge agree to delay her trial.
Ms. Gao Jinshu, in her 60s, is a resident of Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province. She was tried together with six other local residents for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Prior to the court hearing, Ms. Gao's family had twice submitted their requests to have her released on bail due to her medical condition, but the local Suihua Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) pressured the police and the court to keep her detained and get her prosecuted.
Ms. Gao remains detained at the time of the writing. It is unclear whether she is being given proper medical care.
Arrests
Five Suihua City residents, Mr. Yang Chuanhou, Ms. Bai Xia, Ms. Wang Fang, Ms. Wang Fuhua, and Ms. Zhao Tingting, went to nearby Lanxi County to distribute Falun Gong literature on the morning of October 3, 2018. They were arrested, interrogated, and taken to Lanxi County Detention Center later that day.
Ms. Gao, Ms. Song Hongwei (Mr. Yang’s wife), and Mr. Wu Jinghua went to Lanxi County one week later, on October 10, to demand the release of the above mentioned Falun Gong practitioners. Police arrested them, as well.
Except for Mr. Wu, the other seven practitioners were later indicted for their faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Gao Released on Bail but Frequently Subpoenaed
Ms. Gao was soon released on bail due to her high blood pressure, but she was subpoenaed seven times in the months that followed.
Each time she had to travel four to seven hours between Suihua and Lanxi (and sometimes another city). All this took up a lot of her time and cost her a fortune. She was treated like a prisoner while being interrogated. She had to wear handcuffs, was tied to an iron chair, and was verbally assaulted.
Ms. Gao was ordered to undergo medical evaluation five times. Each time when she failed to pass the medical exam, she was released on bail. In total, she was released on bail four times after her initial arrest.
Deceived and Taken Back into Custody
Ms. Gao received a call from Anda City Court on February 26, 2019 asking her to go and pick up her indictment notice. She asked to be mailed a copy because weeks ago, on January 29, she had received a notice from the same court about postponing her prosecution.
Ms. Gao was told that the indictment must be picked up in person. She and her lawyer went to the court on February 27. Hours later her sister-in-law received a call from the court saying that she had been sent to the Anda City Detention Center.
Her lawyer visited her on March 14 and learned she was suffering from high blood pressure and severe headaches. Her family demanded her release, but the court cited orders from higher-up to keep her detained. Her loved ones delivered clothes to her on two occasions, but they didn't know whether she was given the clothes as they had been denied family visits.
Ms. Gao's sister-in-law received another call on March 25 saying that the initial trial of her and the other six indicted practitioners had been postponed from March 28 to April 16.
Related Report:Suihua, Heilongjiang Province: Eight Arrested in One Week for Their Faith, Seven Facing Trial
