(Minghui.org)
Name: Ma XiongdeChinese Name: 马雄德Gender: MaleAge: 75City: WuzhongProvince: NingxiaOccupation: EngineerDate of Death: February 25, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 22, 2021Most Recent Place of Detention: Shizuishan City Prison
A 75-year-old man in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Autonomous Region, died on February 25, 2024, a year and a half after he completed a third prison term of 1.5 years for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
When Mr. Ma Xiongde was released on August 29, 2022, he had difficulty walking, struggled with incontinence, and was slow to react. He was also devastated to discover that the Wuzhong City Social Security Bureau had suspended his pension while he was still serving time. Despite his appeal to get his pension reinstated, the authorities never issued him a penny of his benefits before he died.
Mr. Ma, a retired watch factory engineer, and his wife, Ms. Zheng Fengying, 71, were repeatedly targeted for practicing Falun Gong for over two decades. They were each given two years of forced labor in 2001, with Ms. Zheng’s term later extended by two months and Mr. Ma’s term extended by ten months. After another arrest in 2004, Ms. Zheng was sentenced to three years with three years’ probation and Mr. Ma was given a five-year term. They were also arrested in 2012, with Ms. Zheng later sentenced to seven years and Mr. Ma to seven and a half years. The couple’s latest arrests on February 22, 2021, were followed by a 1.5-year prison sentence for each of them.
Below are details of the couple’s persecution.
Arrests for Writing Letters of Appeal
The couple wrote several appeal letters to the National Appeals Office and Ningxia Appeals Office in February 2000. They were arrested on March 1, 2000, and given 15 days of detention each.
They were arrested again on October 20, 2000, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. After one month of detention, Ms. Zheng’s toes festered due to the poor conditions. She was released after 48 days. Mr. Ma was detained for another 12 days and had 3,000 yuan extorted from him when he was released.
Forced Labor Camp Terms
Wang Wenzhang, the head of Wuzhong City Domestic Security Office, escorted a TV reporter and a cameraman to the watch factory on February 9, 2001. They ordered the factory’s employees who practiced Falun Gong to denounce the practice. Because Ms. Zheng said nothing, she was arrested and given two years at the Yinchuan Women’s Forced Labor Camp. For refusing to renounce Falun Gong when her term expired, the authorities extended her term by two months.
When Mr. Ma visited her in September 2001, the labor camp guards found the Falun Gong lecture he’d hidden in the clothes he delivered to Ms. Zheng. He was also arrested and given two years of forced labor. He was released in July 2004.
Couple’s First Prison Terms
Only a month after Mr. Ma was released, he and Ms. Zheng were arrested again. He was sentenced to five years and Ms. Zheng to three years with three years probation by the Litong District Court on December 28, 2004. Mr. Ma was first held in Guanmahu Prison and then transferred to Huinong Prison.
On March 15, 2005, while Ms. Zheng was still on probation, the police arrested her and took her to a brainwashing center, where she was held for a month.
When Mr. Ma was released in December 2008, he was also held at the brainwashing center for 14 days before being allowed to go home.
Couple’s Second Prison Terms
Ms. Zheng’s next arrest was in March 2009. She was released on bail a day later, but the police submitted her case to the procuratorate. She was forced to live away from home to avoid being sentenced when she received the notice to appear in Qingtongxia City Court in November 2009.
Officers broke into Mr. Ma’s home on July 9, 2010, and tried to force him to reveal Ms. Zheng’s whereabouts. Because he and his son refused to comply, the police took them to the police station. His son, Mr. Ma Zhao, was released the next day but Mr. Ma was taken to the Wuzhong City Detention Center.
After nearly three years of moving frequently, Ms. Zheng was located by the police and arrested on September 1, 2012. Her husband was also seized and taken to the Wuzhong City Detention Center along with Ms. Zheng.
Ms. Zheng was sentenced to seven years by the Qingtongxia City Court on January 15, 2013, and Mr. Ma was given seven and half years by the Litong District Court on January 23, 2013. Both of them appealed to the Wuzhong City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold both of their verdicts, Ms. Zheng’s in February and Mr. Ma’s in March.
Ms. Zheng served time in Yinchuan Women’s Prison and was released on November 10, 2018. Mr. Ma was incarcerated in Yinchuan Prison and released on January 29, 2019.
Couple’s Third Prison Terms
Ms. Zheng and Mr. Ma were arrested on February 22, 2021. The police first put them under criminal detention and then changed it to house arrest on March 21. Their arrests were approved by the Litong District Procuratorate on March 27, 2021.
The couple were tried in the Litong District Court on August 5 and both were sentenced to 1.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine on September 14, 2021. They were taken to the Incarceration Education Center under Ningxia Prison in early January 2022. Mr. Ma was later admitted to Shizhuishan Prison and Ms. Zheng to Yinchuan Women’s Prison.
Mr. Ma was released on August 29, 2022, and Ms. Zheng days later.
Related Reports:
Married Couple in Their 70s Imprisoned for Their Faith
Four Ningxia Residents Sentenced for Their Faith
Four Ningxia Residents Tried for Their Faith
Four Ningxia Residents Face Prosecution for Practicing Falun Gong
Ms. Zheng Fengying from Ningxia Secretly Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison
Wuzhong City: Husband and Wife Secretly Sentenced by the Chinese Regime
Practitioner Couple Mr. Ma Xunde and Ms. Zheng Fengying Arrested
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