(Minghui.org) Two sisters, both in their sixties, were tried on May 25, 2018 and sentenced to prison by the Jinzhai County Court. Ms. Zheng Zhixia and Ms. Zheng Zhirong were prosecuted for upholding their belief in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zheng Zhirong, 59, was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 15,000 yuan. Ms. Zheng Zhixia clarified the truth about Falun Gong during the trial. Because she spoke up for Falun Gong, she was deemed “uncooperative” and sentenced to three years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.
Ms. Zheng Zhixia, 63, has filed an appeal. Both sisters reside in Gubei Town, Jinzhai County, Liuan City.
They traveled to Songhe Village to distribute Falun Gong informational materials on August 17, 2017 and were captured on video monitors. The police subsequently arrested them on September 19.
Ms. Zheng Zhirong was detained while Ms. Zheng Zhixia was released on bail due to her age. The sisters have been practicing Falun Gong since 1997.
Persecuted for Their Faith Since 1999
Five months after the suppression of Falun Gong began, the two sisters went to Beijing in December 1999 to appeal for the right to practice their belief. When they arrived, the police were ordering visitors to malign Falun Gong. The sisters refused and tried to reason with the police.
They were arrested and taken to their local county Beijing Office, then brought back to their hometown by a deputy manager from their local police department. They were detained for 15 days.
The police extorted 3,000 yuan from each, and after their release, they were forced to report to the police three times a day.
The sisters were taken to a brainwashing center in July 2000.
Ms. Zheng Zhirong was again illegally detained for 15 days in September 2000 after writing a long letter explaining Falun Gong to the village leaders.
They were arrested again in January 2001 for leaving town for a job. The village party director and police chief took the women to a detention center. After a month in detention, Cao Zhi from the county 610 Office took them to a forced labor camp and imprisoned them for one year.
Ms. Zheng Zhixia was reported for distributing calendars containing Falun Gong information on New Year's Day 2017. The captain, deputy captain of the Domestic Security Division, and officers from the Gubei Town Police Station ransacked her home.
They confiscated several Falun Gong books, copies of Minghui Weekly, and other Falun Gong informational materials. Ms. Zheng was taken to Liuan Prison and held for 13 days.
