(Minghui.org) Ms. Dong Guixia was taken to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison on November 29, 2016 while awaiting an Appeals Court verdict on her case.
Ms. Dong, 49, was arrested on July 16, 2016, for distributing desk calendars that contain information about Falun Gong in the Xiaozhuangzi Bath Center. She was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan by the Suizhong County Court.
Her appeal was heard in the Huludao City Intermediate Court on November 16, but no verdict has been issued.
Ms. Dong's family went to the prison to visit her on December 8. Her hands were cuffed behind her back during the visit. She had been on a hunger strike for more than four months to protest her illegal detention and was very weak. She had a feeding tube in her nose, which was used for daily force-feeding. She coughed a lot during the visit.
Two prison guards asked the family to sign a document recording the results of Ms. Dong's physical exam: tachycardia and serious malnutrition. The family refused to sign.
Arrested Seven Times for Her Belief
Ms. Dong has been arrested seven times since the Chinese communist regime started the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. She was held at detention centers, brainwashing centers, and labor camps. She was fired from her job because of her belief.
In 1999 Ms. Dong was given three years of forced labor without a trial for appealing for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was taken to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp and subjected to torture. She started a hunger strike on September 2, 2001. She was released 14 days later, when she was on the verge of death.
Ms. Dong was arrested on December 14, 2003 and taken to the Suizhong Detention Center. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. She went on a hunger strike and was later released on medical parole.
She was arrested on March 31, 2005. The authorities tried to brainwash her and force her to renounce Falun Gong. She went on a hunger strike for about five months and was released when she was in critical condition.
Ms. Dong was arrested again on October 10, 2007 and taken to the Luotai Village Brainwashing Center in Fushun City. She again went on a hunger strike and was released 22 days later.
In June 2015, Ms. Dong filed legal complaints against Jiang Zemin, former head of Chinese Communist Party who launched and directed the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.
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