(Minghui.org) A Linqing City, Shandong Province resident has been taken to Shandong Province Women’s Prison around mid-February 2021 to serve a term of three years and three months for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Ma Shaojie, a retired textile factory worker in her 60s, has been arrested and detained several times in the past two decades for upholding her faith.
Ms. Ma was first arrested in May 2009 for talking to people about Falun Gong at a public plaza. The police extorted 10,000 yuan from her family before releasing her.
Ms. Ma was arrested again on June 29, 2010 at home. She was held at Linqing City Detention Center and taken to Jinan Forced Labor Camp on July 7 to serve a one-year term.
Her next arrest was on January 22, 2013 while she was talking to people about Falun Gong. She was held at the Linxi County Detention Center for 15 days.
Also for talking to people about Falun Gong, she was arrested two more times, on March 17, 2017 and September 29, 2018, respectively, and detained at Linqing City Lockup both times.
Her latest arrest was on September 13, 2019 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Although she was allowed to go home that evening, the police took her back into custody four days later and held her at the Guan County Detention Center.
Ms. Ma was tried by the Guan County Court via video conference on June 16, 2020. Her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her, and she testified in her own defense.
The judge sentenced her to three years and three months with a 10,000 yuan fine in late June. She appealed the verdict, but was rejected by the Liaocheng City Intermediate Court.
Related report:Shandong Woman Sentenced to Prison for Talking to People about Her Faith
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Category: Accounts of Persecution
