(Minghui.org) A Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, resident was sentenced to three years and four months for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The Yimei District Court announced the verdict against Ms. Zhang Shuqin on September 28, 2020. She is now in the process of appealing the sentence.
According to Ms. Zhang’s family, who attended her sentencing hearing, she said she was subjected to severe abuse during her six months of detention and was emaciated. She was also crippled due to severe swelling of her ankle.
Ms. Zhang said she was suffering enormous pain in her ankle due to some injuries. The guards at Yichun City Detention Center refused to take her for a medical check up despite her repeated requests. Although they later performed an X-ray on her ankle, the guards claimed she was fine, even if she was still having sharp pain. It’s not clear whether Ms. Zhang incurred the ankle injury before or after her arrest.
Ms. Zhang, the owner of a family-run hotel, was arrested on March 5, 2020 while on her way to deliver some food to a friend. While she struggled to get away, she suffered a heart attack and collapsed to the ground. One officer kicked and verbally abused her.
She was tried through a video conference in the detention center on August 19, 2020. Her lawyer and her daughter entered a not guilty plea for her.
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