(Minghui.org) The Lixia District Court of Jinan City recently sentenced Ms. Zhou Dongdong to two years in prison and Ms. Wu Xiaoya to three and a half years in prison for passing out information on Falun Gong in public. Both women are appealing their sentences.
Ms. Zhou Dongdong, 56, was the director of the Border Police Discipline Inspection Office of Shandong Province. Because she refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong, she was demoted and discharged from the service. She has also been detained six times and sent to a brainwashing center once over the course of the 18-year persecution of Falun Gong.
Police arrested Ms. Zhou and Ms. Wu on the morning of April 1, when the two women were reported for passing out information on Falun Gong on the street. Their homes were searched on the same day. Police confiscated Falun Gong books and other materials, as well as a computer and several printers.
Both women were tried at the Lixia District Court on August 25. Ms. Zhou told the court that she was recognized by her superior officers and praised by her colleagues on many occasions when she served in the Border Police because she followed Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Even though she lost her job for upholding her belief, Ms. Zhou affirmed that she does not regret her decision and would continue practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Wu Xiaoya told the judge that she was diagnosed with glaucoma while detained at the Jinan Detention Center. She asked to be released for treatment.
