(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a 68-year-old woman in Heilongjiang Province had lost her appeal against a wrongful conviction for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Liu Duanhui was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan on August 25, 2023. A hearing of her appeal case was held on November 29 and it was unclear when exactly the ruling to uphold her original verdict was issued.
Prison Sentence Follows 2.5 Years of Displacement
Ms. Liu lives on Bawusan Farm in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. Her prison sentence stemmed from her initial arrest on May 2, 2020, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials.
The arresting officers were from the Qinghe Police Station on Bawusan Farm, which is under the administration of the Jiansanjiang Branch, Heilongjiang Province Land Reclamation Bureau, which manages the state-owned farms across the province. Such farms have their own police stations.
The police raided Ms. Liu’s home and released her under house arrest after an unknown amount of time. Her local street committee was tasked with searching her home once every ten days. Her daughter called the police to seek her case dismissal and an officer threatened Ms. Liu, “Tell your daughter to not call us anymore! Otherwise, we’ll smash open your door and turn your house upside down!”
Ms. Liu refused to renounce Falun Gong as ordered and the police changed tactics. They invited her to lunch and she thought they had understood the illegality of the persecution. She accepted the lunch offer, only to be taken to the same place where she distributed Falun Gong materials on the day of her initial arrest. The police took a picture of her at that location and promised her that it was just for their internal use. They, however, proceeded to submit her case to the Jiansanjiang Branch Procuratorate in mid-November 2020.
Ms. Liu was soon indicted and the Jiansanjiang Branch Court scheduled a hearing of her case for December 24, 2020, but she managed to escape before the hearing and has lived away from home since then.
Ms. Liu was arrested again on August 19, 2023, at her temporary residence in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. The arresting officers from the Dalian City Police Department notified the Qinghe Police Station in Bawusan Farm, which dispatched officers to pick her up and take her back.
The Qinghe Police Station had attempted to get Ms. Liu admitted to the Shuangyashan City Detention Center, but she was denied admission after she was found to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol during the required physical examination.
The police then put Ms. Liu under house arrest at an undisclosed location. Her younger daughter, who had not seen her for two years, requested to see her but her request was denied. The police refused to reveal Ms. Liu’s whereabouts despite her family’s repeated requests.
The Jiansanjiang Branch Court tried Ms. Liu on August 25, 2023, and sentenced her at the end of the hearing. Judge Ding Lichang (+86-454-5810941) presided over the trial and his clerk was Chen Zhipeng.
Hearing of Appeal Case Held in November 2023
The Hongxinglong Court heard Ms. Liu’s appeal case on November 29, 2023. Judge Guo Jin presided over the hearing, with judges Li Dandan and Liang Haiyan, and clerk Sun Han assisting him.
The prosecutor read out aloud the initial indictment used to sentence Ms. Liu. She testified in her own defense and her non-lawyer family defender also requested an overturn of her guilty verdict.
Judge Guo ruled to uphold Ms. Liu’s original verdict at an unknown date.
Related report:
Arrested After 2.5 Years of Displacement, 68-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Stands Trial for Her Faith
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