(Minghui.org) Two residents of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, were sentenced to prison on December 11, 2023, for spreading information about their faith, Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Jin Meihua, 61, was given two years with a 30,000-yuan fine. She is currently held at the division for newly admitted inmates at the Zhejiang Province Women’s Prison. Prior to her latest sentencing, she was given 15 years on November 19, 2008, following her arrest on June 5, 2007. She served about 13 years of her term in the same prison.
Mr. Wang Dawu, 63, was sentenced to one and a half years and fined 20,000 yuan. He is still in the Gongshu District Detention Center in Hangzhou City.
Mr. Wang was arrested on September 26, 2022, by officers from the Gongshu District Domestic Security Office and its subordinate Chaohui Police Station. His wife Ms. Wu Xiangbing, also a Falun Gong practitioner, was seized from their home with him. Mr. Wang was taken to the Gongshu District Detention Center; it was unclear where his wife was held.
The police arrested Ms. Jin two days later and raided her home before taking her to the Hangzhou City Women’s Detention Center. They went after her because she had visited Mr. Wang and also distributed Falun Gong calendars.
The Gongshu District Procuratorate issued formal arrest warrants for Mr. Wang, Ms. Wu, and Ms. Jin on November 1, 2022. For unknown reasons, the procuratorate then turned over the cases to the Xihua District Procuratorate.
Mr. Wang and Ms. Jin were tried together in the Xihu District Court, which convicted them on December 11, 2023, after two hearings (on March 18, 2023, and November 21, 2023). Ms. Wu’s status is unclear. Ms. Jin was admitted to the Zhejiang Province Women’s Prison soon after her sentencing, while Mr. Wu remained at the Gongshu District Detention Center.
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