(Minghui.org) A 63-year-old former middle school teacher in Tianjin was recently sentenced to five years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhao Fei’s arrest came after a local resident named Liu Junnan turned in a Falun Gong flyer that he picked up outside a noodle restaurant in Shigezhuang Town in the Wuqing District, Tianjin. Officers at the Shigezhuang Police Station watched the surveillance videos and saw a woman resembling Ms. Zhao distributing Falun Gong flyers outside the restaurant. Deputy chief Jia Dapeng and several officers arrested Ms. Zhao on October 2, 2024. They took her to the Wuqing District Detention Center. She was issued a formal arrest warrant on October 17. Her home was searched and she was placed on criminal detention.
The police submitted Ms. Zhao’s case to the Wuqing District Procuratorate, which returned the case, citing insufficient evidence. The police resubmitted the case one month later and this time it was accepted. The procuratorate indicted Ms. Zhao and forwarded her case to the Wuqing District Court.
Ms. Zhao stood trial on February 17, 2025. Her lawyer entered a not guilty for her. He also testified against the prosecutor for adding new evidence to the case without his knowledge, which is a violation of legal procedure.
Ms. Zhao’s family learned about her five-year sentence on March 20. She has appealed with the Tianjin Intermediate Court.
Ms. Zhao taught English at the Shigezhuang Town Middle School. After the persecution began in 1999, she was demoted to teach at the Shigezhuang Town Elementary School. She was arrested in March 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. After taking her back to Tianjin, the police shocked her with electric batons, badly burning her hands and feet. They also slapped her in the face, causing injury to her face. At night they cuffed her to a tricycle outside to expose her to the elements. During the day they handcuffed her to a utility pole to humiliate her. Zhang Qingxiang even threatened to whip her at one point.
After more than four months of detention, Ms. Zhao was finally released, but her school suspended her pay for six months.
Ms. Zhao was arrested again in 2008 after being framed by her school leadership. She was sentenced to 5.5 years by the Wuqing District Court. She was taken to the Tianjin Women’s Prison on January 17, 2009 and released on December 20, 2013.
Related Report:
Once Jailed for 5 Years, 63-Year-Old Tianjin Teacher Stands Trial Again for Practicing Falun Gong
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