(Minghui.org) A resident of Changtu County, Liaoning Province, was admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on March 20, 2024, after losing her appeal in protest of a five-year sentence for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhang Chao was arrested on June 26, 2023, by vice captain Sun Licheng from the Shuangliao City Domestic Security Office in Jilin Province (about 60 miles away). Guo Xiaofeng from the Changtu County Domestic Security Office and a few officers from its subordinate Henan Police Station were also present during the arrest.
The Jilin police targeted Ms. Zhang because she was caught on surveillance cameras distributing Falun Gong informational materials in their jurisdiction two years ago. They took her to the Siping City Detention Center in Jilin Province after raiding her home.
The Shuangliao City Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Zhang on July 6, 2023. When vice captain Sun delivered the warrant and a detention notice to Ms. Zhang’s mother the next day and ordered her to sign for them, she refused.
Ms. Zhang’s case was submitted to the Lishu County Court in Siping City, Jilin Province on August 29, 2023. She was sentenced to five years on December 25, 2023, and filed an appeal with the Siping City Intermediate Court. Her family did not find out about the trial or sentencing until the intermediate court sent them a text saying that they’d received her appeal on January 18, 2024.
Her family was dismayed because the Lishu County Court, which is notorious for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, never notified them of her hearing or conviction. On February 26, 2021 alone, it sentenced 16 Jilin practitioners to between seven and nine years, including seven members of one extended family.
The Siping City Intermediate Court ruled on an unknown date to uphold Ms. Zhang’s original verdict. She was transferred to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison.
Related Reports:
Family Unaware of Woman’s Prison Sentence Until Higher Court Confirmed Receipt of Her Appeal
Seven Members in an Extended Family Wrongly Convicted for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong
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