(Minghui.org) Three weeks into Mr. Zhu Tianfu’s detention at a brainwashing center for refusing to give up his faith in Falun Gong, a local court held a virtual hearing of his case over the phone. Within 20 minutes, he was sentenced to 3.5 years and fined 5,000 yuan. Due to a local outbreak of COVID cases, he was released the same day, pending developments in the medical situation.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhu, 69, of Weifang City, Shandong Province, was arrested at his sister’s home on December 6, 2022, and taken to the Fangzi District Brainwashing Center.
Officer Liu Guangyong went to Mr. Zhu’s room in the brainwashing center on the evening of December 8. He verbally abused him, his parents, and Falun Gong’s founder, while keeping him restrained in a metal chair. Liu also threatened to shoot Mr. Zhu to death if he dared to leave the brainwashing center.
The police submitted Mr. Zhu’s case to the Fangzi District Procuratorate on December 9. On December 23, Jiang Xiaohui, the head of the brainwashing center, suddenly told Mr. Zhu that he was scheduled to stand trial that day. Jiang opened a virtual meeting on his phone and connected Mr. Zhu to the Fangzi District Court. A judge announced that Mr. Zhu was sentenced to 3.5 years after a 20-minute trial. Jiang deceived Mr. Zhu into signing the verdict and didn't give him a hard copy. He was allowed to go home shortly after.
Mr. Zhu used to suffer from severe rheumatism and back pain. When he was just in his 40s, he was no longer able to do hard labor. He tried herbal remedies, acupuncture, and several different qigong schools, but to no avail. One month after he learned Falun Gong in 1995, he recovered. He also changed his bad temper and became a better person. Impressed by this, his wife, Ms. Zhang Ximei, also took up the practice and regained her health.
Because Mr. Zhu refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to five years. While his wife was forced to live away from home to hide from the police, their two teenage children were left unattended. Their son left home and went to work at the age of 18. Their 15-year-old daughter moved frequently for several years.
Shortly after Mr. Zhu was released in 2007, his wife was arrested and sent to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. When she was released a year and a half later, she was in a delirious state as a result of the relentless torture.
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