(Minghui.org) Two months after Ms. Chen Qinglan was arrested for her faith in Falun Gong, her husband passed away, after enduring two decades of mental distress due to the persecution of their shared faith. While still mourning her husband’s passing, Ms. Chen was sentenced to three years with a 3,000 yuan fine four months later, in early April 2023.
Ms. Chen, 70, of Shulan City, Jilin Province, was arrested on August 23, 2022, after several rounds of harassment in the months prior. The police searched everywhere in her home, even under the beds. They confiscated two of her Falun Gong books and several paper currency bills with short messages about Falun Gong printed on them (as a way to raise awareness about the persecution given the strict censorship in China).
The harassment and home-ransacking further upset her husband, Mr. Meng Xiangfu, who already had trouble walking and talking due to the distress of the suspension of his pension since 2020. His health quickly declined and he passed away on October 24, 2022. Ms. Chen wasn't allowed to attend his funeral.
Prior to Ms. Chen’s sentencing, she was previously arrested multiple times and served a forced labor camp term.
Ms. Chen was given a one-year term at the Heizuizi Women’s Forced Labor Camp in late November 2003. After one month of intensive brainwashing, she was forced to do free labor from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., with less than 20 minutes breaks for meals and limited restroom use. Because she greeted a practitioner who was about to be released, she was slapped in the face and stomped on the legs by the guards for a long time.
Ms. Chen was arrested again on July 18, 2006, and taken to a local brainwashing center.
Three officers showed up at her home on July 16, 2007, and ordered her to sign documents to renounce Falun Gong.
Husband Dies While Wife Incarcerated for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong