(Minghui.org) Four Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, residents were arrested between August 27 and 28, 2019, for their faith in Falun Gong. Two of them were recently sentenced to prison.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhang Jingzhou, 61, and Ms. Shao Lian, 77, were arrested where they were printing informational materials about Falun Gong by a dozen officers on August 27, 2019. Due to strict information censorship in China, many Falun Gong practitioners operate home-based printing centers to produce materials to raise awareness about the persecution.
The next day, Mr. Li Xingjun, a 51-year-old middle school teacher, was arrested by police officers waiting in the hallway as he left his mother’s home. When he resisted, the officers beat him in front of a crowd. Blood was all over his face. When a passerby took pictures of him, an officer shouted, “You are not allowed to take pictures. He has committed a serious crime.” Mr. Li protested, saying that he didn’t commit any crime but was being targeted for his faith in Falun Gong. The police also seized his wife, Ms. Sun Jiangyi, around the same time.
Mr. Li and Ms. Sun appeared in the Jingzhou District Court on the morning of September 21, 2020, and their lawyer pled not guilty on their behalf. The other two practitioners, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Shao, were tried in the afternoon.
On December 17, 2020, Mr. Zhang was sentenced to six years and fined 10,000 yuan, and Ms. Sao was sentenced to three years and fined 5,000 yuan. Mr. Li and Ms. Sun’s situation isn’t clear at this time.
Prior to this latest incident, Mr. Zhang had been arrested several times. He had served two labor camp terms for a total of 3.5 years and a prison term of 5.5 years.
Mr. Li was arrested in September 1999 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was held in Ximen Detention Center for five months and then taken to a psychiatric hospital, where he was injected with toxic drugs that damaged his nervous system.
Related reports:
Once Incarcerated for Nine Years for His Faith, Hubei Man in Detention Again for Nearly a Year
Illegal Trial in the Hongshan District Court, Wuhan City, Hubei Province
Wuhan City Authorities Attempt to Indict Four Falun Gong Practitioners
Police Refuse to Release Mr. Zhang Jingzhou Despite Serious Illness
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