(Minghui.org) At least eight Falun Gong practitioners in Huainan City, Anhui Province are still serving time for their faith, an ancient spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
- Ms. Zhang Ruxia, in her 70s, was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to seven years. She appealed the verdict, but her appeal was rejected by the higher court. Her prison term is expected to end in 2022.
- Mr. Zhang Qinyou, 59, was arrested on July 26, 2018 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. He was later sentenced to four years in Fuyang Prison. He is expected to be released in July 2022.
- Mr. Xie Pengge, around 54, was arrested in April 2019 while working in Zhejiang Province. He was sentenced to four years and is serving time at the Suzhou Prison in Anhui Province. He is expected to be released in April 2023.
- Ms. Zhang Weihong was arrested on October 10, 2020 and later sentenced to four years. She was taken to the Hefei Women’s Prison on April 16, 2021. She is expected to be released in October 2024.
- Ms. Xia Zehong was arrested on February 3, 2020 for distributing Falun Gong materials. The judge at the Tianjiaan District Court first sentenced her to six years in late January 2021, and then reduced the term to five years. She is expected to be released in February 2025.
- Mr. Pan Feng, around 42, was arrested in April 2018 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was sentenced to seven years in the Suzhou Prison in late 2018. He is expected to be released in April 2025.
- Ms. Ma Haiyun, a 59-year-old former optical cable factory worker, was arrested on October 23, 2020 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was tried by the Tianjiaan District Court on March 18, 2021 and sentenced to five years. She appealed with the Huainan City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict. She is expected to be released in October 2025. Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Ma has been repeatedly detained and sentenced to eight years in October 2003.
- Ms. Pan Yunxia, around 70, was arrested on May 27, 2020, for giving a man on the street a Falun Gong flyer. She was tried by the Fengtai County Court on July 14, 2021 and sentenced to six years. She is expected to be released in May 2026.
Since the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, the courts in Huainan City have often sentenced local practitioners in groups. Below are details of previous sentencings. Due to strict information censorship in China, the persecution can’t always be reported in a timely manner, nor is all the information readily available.
Ten Sentenced by the Tianjiaan District Court in 2003
Ji Huijun to 12 yearsSun Qirong to 11 yearsGong Guoyuan to 11 yearsGong Guomin to 11 yearsBo Minghua to 9 yearsXu Chun to 9 yearsMa Haiyun to 8 yearsYang Lulin to 7 yearsHu Yu to 7 yearsXu Yufa to 3 years with 5 years probation
Five Sentenced in 2005
Chen Xiuan to 13 yearsWang Shiqiang to 13 yearsSun Suying to 5 yearsHuang Bangjun to 5 yearsWang Fuling to 3 years
Four Sentenced in 2010
Li Fang to 7 yearsHuang Chunrong to 7 yearsWang Xiaohong to 5 yearsTan Deqing to 3 years
Seven Sentenced in 2012
Wang Xiangyun to 7.5 yearsXu Jianhua to 7 yearsXu Chengzhong to 7 yearsWu Jiayue to 7 yearsZhu Chunmei to 6 yearsLiu Deyuan to 5 yearsLiu Peizhi to 3 years
Seven Sentenced in 2015
Zhang Ruxia to 7 yearsYou Jiaquan to 5 yearsZhao Shunu to 5 yearsFang Kezhen to 3 yearsSun Shuying to 3 yearsLi Duofang to 3 yearsLiu Jin to 3 years
Additional Sentencing Cases
Ms. Wang was sentenced to five years in 2002.
Meng Qingguo was arrested in 2009 and later sentenced to five years.
Li Hanqing was arrested in 2009 and later sentenced to an unknown term.
Wang Yuxiang was arrested in 2011 and later sentenced to three years.
Liang Yu was arrested in 2013 and later sentenced to three years.
Sun Guangrong was arrested in 2017 and later sentenced to three years. She should have been released.
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