(Minghui.org) A disabled man in Xinzheng City, Henan Province, was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2018 for practicing Falun Gong. He is appealing his case.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Qiao Xiangyang was arrested on September 17, 2018. The police ransacked his home and held him in the Xinzheng City Detention Center. They submitted his case to the procuratorate, which then forwarded it to the court. Mr. Qiao denied all the allegations against him.

The Political and Legal Affairs Committee and 610 Office in Xinzheng City, two extra-judicial agencies tasked with carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong, attempted to lure Mr. Qiao's wife into testifying against him in exchange for a lighter sentence. It wasn't clear if she complied.

Mr. Qiao was handed the heavy sentence of eight years on December 29, 2018, in the Xinzheng City Court. He has appealed to the Zhengzhou City Intermediate Court.