Li Hongmei (李红梅)
Li Hongmei is a Falun Gong practitioner from Qujing, Yunnan Province, and a former employee of the Shuibei 14th Bureau (水电十四局). She was sentenced to five years in prison by the Qilin District Court in Qujing on April 19, 2024, with a reported term running to July 10, 2028. [Sources 1, 2]
Background
Li Hongmei was reported born in 1979. She worked at the Shuibei 14th Bureau in Qujing, Yunnan, and later faced layoffs from the unit. She began practicing Falun Gong before 1999. [Sources 1, 2]
First detention and sentence (2013–2018)
On November 12, 2013, Li was detained by police of the Beishijiang Police Station in Qilin District, Qujing, along with three other Falun Gong practitioners, while distributing materials. On November 11, 2014, the Qilin District Court sentenced her to four years in prison under the charge of “organizing and using a cult organization to undermine implementation of the law”; she served the term and was released in November 2018. In April 2015 she was transferred to Yunnan Provincial No. 2 Women’s Prison. [Source 2]
Re-arrest, trial, and five-year sentence (2023–2024)
On July 11, 2023, Li Hongmei was detained again by police of the Qilin branch of the Qujing Public Security Bureau and placed in the Qilin District Detention Center. She was formally arrested and indicted thereafter. [Sources 1, 2]
The Qilin District Court held a first hearing on March 19, 2024, and a second hearing on April 7, 2024. On April 19, 2024, the court issued judgment (2024)云0302刑初91号, sentencing Li Hongmei to five years in prison and a fine of RMB 10,000. She appealed; the appeal was reported upheld in mid-2024, and she was reported transferred to the Yunnan Provincial No. 2 Women’s Prison. [Sources 1, 2]
Current status
The Rights Defense Network’s monthly report on political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in custody (Issue 131, covering the period through August 31, 2026) lists Li Hongmei among the 111 people classified as sentenced to five years and in custody. [Source 3] No later verified record of release has been located; her status as of this report is recorded as reportedly incarcerated, with the caveat that no independent confirmation of her current detention facility has been published.