(Minghui.org) It was recently confirmed by Minghui.org that a resident of Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, had been sentenced to six years for raising awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of her faith, Falun Gong.

Ms. Song Hongwei, in her 50s, was arrested on September 22, 2022, while distributing Falun Gong informational materials in nearby Wuying Township. The arrest came only two years after she finished serving a previous 1.5-year term. The arresting officers from the Wuying Township Police Station, along with agents from the Beilin District Police Department, interrogated her that night, before taking her to the Suihua City Detention Center.

It is unclear when Ms. Song was sentenced, but it was confirmed by Minghui.org that she was transferred to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison in April 2023.

This is the second time that Ms. Song and her husband Mr. Yang Chuanhou, also a Falun Gong practitioner, have been targeted for their faith in the past five years. Mr. Yang was previously arrested on October 3, 2018, while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Ms. Song was arrested one week later when she went to the police station to seek her husband’s release. They appeared in court on May 14, 2019 and were both sentenced to prison, with Mr. Yang given two years and Ms. Song one and a half years. 

Ms. Song was brutally tortured while serving time at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. She was released in April 2020, only to be arrested again in September 2022 and sentenced to six years in the same prison.

Mr. Yang was released on October 2, 2020, but was forced to live away from home to avoid persecution and has been put on the police’s wanted list. 

With their daughter jailed again and son-in-law on the run, Ms. Song’s parents are being closely monitored by the police. Officers have harassed the elderly couple numerous times in the past whenever they couldn’t find the younger couple. 

Ms. Song’s father suffered declining health as a result of the constant harassment. He is currently bedridden and relies on his 78-year-old wife to take care of him. 

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