(Minghui.org) An 83-year-old woman was tried on January 8, 2020 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Having suffered a stroke recently, Ms. Tang Zhilan, a retired doctor in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was carried into Xuanwu District Court by her children. She could not talk clearly. She also had uncontrollable drooling and crying, as well as a runny nose.
Unable to proceed with the hearing because of her condition, the judge adjourned it and said he would schedule another court session.
Monitored for Three Months Before Being Arrested
A group of officers broke into Ms. Tang’s home on August 30, 2019 and raided her place without showing a search warrant. When Ms. Tang attempted to stop the police, they shouted at her and said she was interfering with law enforcement.
Ms. Tang’s body kept shaking and she collapsed to the ground, unable to talk.
The police turned her home upside down and confiscated everything related to Falun Gong. They left her a one-year bail notice before leaving. She was then sent to the hospital for resuscitation by her son.
It was later confirmed by Ms. Tang’s family that she was recorded by street surveillance cameras in May 2019 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police found her address and began to monitor her. They followed her wherever she went. All the local practitioners who had contact with her were also followed and monitored.
After three months of monitoring, the police and Nanjing 610 Office, an extralegal agency created specifically to persecute Falun Gong, orchestrated a group arrest of more than ten practitioners on August 30. Due to the authorities’ strict information censorship, the names of the practitioners arrested on that day remain to be investigated.
Widowed by the Persecution
Prior to Ms. Tang’s latest arrest, she has been repeated targeted in the past 20 years, including being held in a detention center twice and brainwashing centers another two times.
Her husband, Mr. Wang Zaiyuan, a professor at Nanjing University, was arrested three times, sent to a brainwashing center twice and given two years of forced labor, also for practicing Falun Gong. He passed away on June 22, 2008 after years of persecution.
Related reports:Widow of Deceased Professor Sues Former Chinese Dictator for Husband's Torture Death
Senior Professor Mr. Wang Zaiyuan Passes Away After Relentless Persecution
