The Moscow-Beijing axis of repression: Falun Gong practitioner arrested in Russia
The repression in Moscow
The crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners in Russia has escalated over the past year: since March 2024, seven more practitioners have been jailed.
“Prison is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. Because it is much worse to lose oneself by giving up acting according to one's conscience.” This is what Natalya Minenkova, a practitioner of the spiritual movement Falun Gong , wrote. A Moscow court sentenced her to four years in prison on June 23 for conducting activities for an “ undesirable organization.” This is the definition introduced in 2015 that limits, if not prohibits, non-governmental organizations committed to protecting human rights and freedom of expression.
The promotion of the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance promoted by Falun Gong , a spiritual practice rooted in Buddhist tradition and now part of the lives of millions of people worldwide, is therefore unwelcome in Russia . This ancient Chinese practice is characterized by two main components: personal improvement, through gentle exercises reminiscent of qigong, and meditation. This 47-year-old woman, deputy director of a dental clinic, has been practicing Falun Gong for over a decade and has seen relief from her stomach problems, sore throat, and chronic tonsillitis. Her character has also improved, as she is less argumentative and more at peace with others. She has thus decided to participate in medical forums and other events to demonstrate these benefits and to draw attention to the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, including the forced organ harvesting of those detained in China for their spiritual practice. Because in 1999 the Chinese regime banned this practice, considering it an enemy of the Communist Party.
"I could not, " said Natalya Minenkova , " remain silent in the face of such violence." When news of her arrest broke, Natalya said it was deeply painful for her to see her country, instead of protecting her from the Chinese regime's persecution and helping her denounce torture and forced organ harvesting in China, prove itself to be a tool in the hands of that regime and a persecutor of its own citizens. Indeed, this is also at play in Moscow's alignment with Beijing. The repression against Falun Gong practitioners in Russia has intensified over the past year: since March 2024, seven more practitioners have been jailed. Natalya is not the only one recently convicted of meditation. At the end of June, Russian citizen Zhu Yun was also sentenced to three years in prison under the same law, and in November 2024, Oksana Shchetkina, from the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk, was sentenced to two years in prison for the same reasons.
The fact that Minenkova was sentenced three days after the 26th anniversary of the start of the persecution of Falun Gong in China may be a coincidence. But I think there's nothing more certain than coincidences when it comes to regimes. Indeed, her arrest occurred in May 2024, two weeks before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, culminating in the two promising a " new era " of partnership. This pattern has also played out in Serbia and Malaysia over the past year, with arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in anticipation of Xi's arrival in these countries. This is an expression of a trend of transnational repression linked to Beijing's influence, as commented by Levi Browde , executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center. This repression, beyond the temporary detentions recorded in Serbia and Malaysia, is more severe in Russia . Moscow has outlawed seven organizations linked to Falun Gong and banned several publications related to the movement.
In 2017, several Russian cities banned an art exhibition featuring paintings depicting cases of torture and persecution of Falun Gong in China. A local court cited the opportunity to "preserve good international relations " to justify the censorship decision. Thus, in the absence of the rule of law, political and judicial power merge and merge, using repression as a diplomatic currency, at the cost of truth, compassion, and tolerance. Natalya Minenkova's story, of her gentle tenacity, becomes a metaphor for the power of truth and knowledge. The power that sets one free even when detained, the power within which lies the power of change. The power that must make us demand respect, in Russia as in China, for the human right to exercise freedom of religion or belief as a form of protection for our own freedom.
l'Unità
