(Minghui.org) A 64-year-old woman in Datong City, Shanxi Province, stood trial in mid-2026 because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Chen Zhongli credits Falun Gong for helping her recover from severe congenital heart disease and coronary heart disease. Her daughter, who had always feared losing her, was deeply grateful to Falun Gong for restoring her mother’s health.
Ms. Chen’s trial stemmed from her arrest around 5 p.m., on September 5, 2025, while she was on her way home. Officers from the Gucheng Police Station brought her home and ordered her to open the door. When she refused to comply, they twisted her arms hard. After a nearly one hour standoff, the police called in a locksmith to open the door.
Ms. Chen’s Falun Gong books, a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, cash, and electronics totally over 10,000 yuan were confiscated. She was taken to the Pingcheng District Police Department. She refused to sign the list of confiscated items and was transferred to the Chenzhuang Detention Center that night.
Fearing retaliation from the authorities, many lawyers declined to represent Ms. Chen. It wasn’t until September 21, 2025, that her family finally secured a lawyer to defend her.
The lawyer visited Ms. Chen at the detention center and learned that guard Guo Jiajia instructed inmates Li Sixian and Sun Yunxiang to beat her. They ordered her to watch TV programs that slandered Falun Gong and beat her even harder when she refused to comply. Whenever she was deemed slow, she would also be beaten. The bruises on her face were visible during when her lawyer visited her.
One of the inmates became ill and Ms. Chen took good care of her. She was moved and stopped beating her.
The lawyer reported the abuse to the prosecutor-in-residence at the detention center. The prosecutor promised to look into the matter but guard Guo continued to threaten Ms. Chen. Every time after the lawyer visited her, Guo would say things like, “I’ve heard your conversations with your lawyer. I’ll make sure you remain detained here!”
Officer Li Guoyuan interrogated Ms. Chen at the detention center. When she refused to admit her “guilt” he threatened to arrest her family members. The guards also denied her access to towels and other basic necessities because she refused to recite the detention center rules. Her family deposited money into her commissary account on September 11, 2025, but she was not allowed to use it. She had to borrow others’ towels to wash her face.
Prosecutor Qin Xiujuan of the Pingcheng District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for Ms. Chen on September 23, 2025. Her case was moved to the Yungang District Procuratorate on December 1. Prosecutor He Feng indicted her soon afterwards and moved her case to the Yungang District Court on December 26, 2025.
Ms. Chen’s lawyer was not allowed to review her case file or attend her first hearing on May 28, 2026. Her family was also barred from entering and had to wait outside the courthouse. Presiding judge Yuan Chenguang scheduled a second hearing for June 16, 2026, but details of that hearing are unknown.
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