(Minghui.org) A 61-year-old Beijing woman appeared in court on January 20, 2025 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhang Baoling’s ordeal stemmed from her arrest on June 19, 2022, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was held in the Dahongmen Police Station for 36 hours before being released on bail.
The Fengtai District Procuratorate called Ms. Zhang on June 5, 2023, and ordered her to report to them in two days. She did not go because she was visiting her ill brother in their hometown.
Officer Gao Yong from the Dahongmen Police Station arrested Ms. Zhang on February 23, 2024, on grounds that she had violated her bail conditions by visiting her brother. She did not eat when offered her dinner that night. When Gao took her to a hospital for a physical examination, her blood pressure was 214/115 mmHg (when a normal range is 120/80 mmHg ). Gao then ordered her to give a blood sample and take medication for hypertension. She refused.
Despite Ms. Zhang’s persistent high blood pressure, Gao took her to the Fengtai District Detention Center after the hospital visit. During the required physical exam, her blood pressure was even higher, and the detention center declined to admit her. Gao ran to different offices in the detention center, trying to persuade them to accept Ms. Zhang. The detention center was adamant about not admitting her, and Gao had to let her go. She was released on bail at 2:30 a.m. on February 24.
The police submitted Ms. Zhang’s case to the Fengtai District Procuratorate in July 2024. She was indicted in November 2024 and had her case transferred to the Fengtai District Court.
During Ms. Zhang’s hearing on January 20, 2025, her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her. As the prosecutor kept calling Falun Gong a cult, Ms. Zhang demanded to know what legal basis he had to criminalize Falun Gong in China or label it a cult. The prosecutor went silent. Yet the judge also stopped Ms. Zhang from talking.
The prosecutor then played a video he submitted as prosecution evidence. But the video turned out to be a broken file. The judge thus adjourned the hearing. He scheduled a second hearing for March 13, 2025, but details of it are unknown.
Related Report:
60-Year-Old Beijing Woman Arrested Two Times in Less Than Two Years for Her Faith in Falun Gong
Copyright © 1999-2025 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
