(Minghui.org) A mother and daughter were sentenced to prison for their shared faith in Falun Gong two years apart. Only three months after the mother returned home, the daughter, who had been released 18 months earlier, was arrested again on her way to visit her sons. Now the mother has also been arrested for seeking the daughter’s release.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Cao Yueling, 40, was arrested in Shanghai on April 2, 2015 for handing out information about Falun Gong and sentenced to 4.5 years on March 25, 2016. She moved back to her hometown in Fushun City, Liaoning Province, after being released around March 2019, as her husband had divorced her in 2014 due to pressure from the persecution.
Ms. Cao’s mother, Ms. Chen Yan, 71, was arrested on May 11, 2017 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to three years in 2018 and returned home on May 10, 2020.
On August 24, 2020, Ms. Cao was arrested at the airport before boarding a flight from Fushun to Shanghai to see her twin sons, who had been staying with their father in Shanghai that she hadn’t seen for five years.
Fifteen officers took Ms. Cao back to her parents' home, where she has been staying, and ransacked the place. Their computers and Falun Gong books were confiscated.
The police also attempted to arrest Ms. Chen, but were stopped by her 78-year-old husband.
Ms. Chen went to the police station several times to demand Ms. Cao’s release, but to no avail. After she found out that Ms. Cao was held at the Xinbin Detention Center, she went there four times with her lawyer to visit her. Each trip took her four hours. It’s not clear whether the detention center allowed her to see Ms. Cao.
On September 21, Ms. Chen went to the Leifeng Police Station to demand Ms. Cao’s release again. After the security guard told her that the police director wasn’t there, Ms. Chen went to the Domestic Security Office in Wanghua District and met with the director, Tu Gang. Tu asked Ms. Chen to wait for him at the police station. Ms. Chen returned to the police station, only to be arrested by Tu. She was sent to the Xinbin Detention Center at around 4 p.m. on the next day.
Related reports:
Shanghai Woman Sentenced for Her Faith, Hospitalized Months Later
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