(Minghui.org) A Tianjin resident’s parents were recently informed by a local court that he has been sentenced to 3.5 years for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Zhang Ximing and his mother, Ms. Liu Yuhong, who also practices Falun Gong, were arrested at home on April 17, 2019. The police confiscated their laptops, tablets, printers, cartridges, cellphones, Falun Gong books and other materials.

Although Ms. Liu was released later that afternoon, Mr. Zhang was transferred to the Dongli District Detention Center in the evening and put into criminal detention on the next day.

Mr. Zhang’s lawyer went to the Domestic Security Office on April 25, 2019 and demanded to meet with his client. The officer in charge of Mr. Zhang’s case refused to meet with the lawyer.

The lawyer then went to the local procuratorate to seek justice for Mr. Zhang, also to no avail.

Ms. Liu kept calling the procuratorate, but no one picked up the phone. On April 30, 2019, she was informed by the lawyer that the procuratorate just approved Mr. Zhang’s arrest.

Mr. Zhang was tried by the Dongli District Court in late July 2020. While the prosecutor recommended 1.5 to 2 years, the judge sentenced him to 3.5 years. Mr. Zhang has appealed the verdict.

Because of upholding their shared faith in Falun Gong, Mr. Zhang and his parents have been arrested and sentenced one after another in the past decade.

Mr. Zhang was previously sentenced to three years to Gangbei Prison in 2010. His latest sentencing came only six months after his father, Mr. Zhang Ziwen, was released on March 14, 2020 after serving a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong. His mother, Ms. Liu, was sentenced to one year and three months in 2017 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was released in October 2018.

Related reports:Obstruction of Justice at the Trial of Practitioner Mr. Zhang Ximing

Ms. Liu Yuhong from Tianjin Arrested and Tried for Her Beliefs