(Minghui.org) A Yi’an County resident is appealing the guilty verdict against her for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Liu Yumei, 36, was arrested on November 30, 2015 and sentenced to five years in October 2016. This is not the first time that she has been targeted for her faith. Between 2001 and 2002, she was twice arrested and suffered sexual harassment, brutal torture, and other forms of mistreatment at the hands of the police and guards.
First Arrest Followed by Sexual Harassment and Forced Labor
Ms. Liu was arrested on January 30, 2001 while appealing for Falun Gong in Beijing. The police sexually harassed her, then 21, during the interrogation session. They next poured boiling water all over her body before moving her outside to face the freezing cold.
She was later taken back to Yi’an County, where she was detained for more than 30 days in two different detention centers. She went on a hunger strike in protest, only to be force fed. She was in so much pain that she rolled around on the ground in agony. She had lumps in her abdomen and often coughed up blood clots.
Her ordeal continued after she was given forced labor. She was tortured to the point where she once lost the ability to speak for a month. The guards didn’t let up though. They forced her to do hard labor and kept torturing her in various ways.
Ms. Liu wasn’t released until February 2002.
Hospitalized for 13 Days after Second Arrest
The police came for her again on April 19, 2002. She managed to escape, and the police paid her fellow villagers to catch her if they saw her.
Ms. Liu was finally seized at her rental place on November 28, 2002. The police confiscated the 850 yuan in cash that she had with her. They beat her so hard that she passed out many times.
She was moved to Mudanjiang First Detention Center the next day. Her hunger strike was again met with force-feeding. The guards didn’t offer her any bedding or allow her to use the restroom. They also shackled her feet to a ring anchored to the floor.
Ms. Liu passed out many times and stayed hospitalized for 13 straight days.
Sentenced to 5 Years Following 3rd Arrest
Ms. Liu later moved to Yingkou City, Liaoning Province.
She received a call from Yingkou police on November 30, 2015. They claimed to be from her bank and asked her to go fill out some paperwork. She went, only to be seized upon arrival.
Yi’an County police took her back on December 9, 2015 and kept her at Qiqihar City Detention Center. A group of police, including Wang Shigang, Su Guohui, Duan Ruisheng, and Xu, interrogated her. Wang Lan, Yang Liu, Xue Hingwei and Li Qichao from the local procuratorate were also present.
The procuratorate returned the case, citing insufficient evidence. The police, however, managed to fabricate more evidence and forwarded her case to Yi’an County Court.
Ms. Liu’s family went to the court on June 16, 2016 to seek her release, as she broke no law by spreading information about Falun Gong and filing a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin. Song Hongchen, the court president, ordered an assistant to videotape the family during the meeting.
Ms. Liu’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her during the hearing on September 22, 2016. The judge sentenced her to five years.
