(Minghui.org) A 67-year-old Zunhua City, Hebei Province resident was seized by the police on October 26, 2023. His family confirmed on November 3 that he had been taken to the Jidong Prison to serve a seven-year term that he received three years ago for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.
Mr. Zhang Yuming was arrested on July 2, 2019 for talking to people at a market about Falun Gong. Eight officers, including Liao Aidong, then Zunhua City Domestic Security Office director, ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, several cell phones, two computers, a printer, and some printing paper.
The police later combined Mr. Zhang’s case with another 11 practitioners arrested in a late night operation on July 6, 2019. The twelve practitioners were tried by the Zunhua City Court on December 17, 19 and 23, 2019, before being secretly sentenced to terms ranging from two to eight years on November 27, 2020. Mr. Zhang received seven years with a 6,000-yuan fine.
Due to Mr. Zhang’s physical condition, he was released on bail after his arrest and placed under house arrest. He wasn’t immediately taken into custody after being sentenced.
On October 26, 2023, two officers of the Zunhua City Domestic Security Office showed up in Mr. Zhang’s apartment building and arrested him. Wu Guohua, the deputy director of the Zunhua City Domestic Security Office, came in the afternoon with two other officers and raided Mr. Zhang’s home. His Falun Gong books were confiscated. He was taken to the Zunhua City Detention Center later that day.
A guard from the detention center called Mr. Zhang’s family on November 3 and notified them that their loved one had been transferred to the Jidong Prison. His family demanded the detention center to transfer the remaining funds in his commissary account to the prison, but the guard refused to do so with the excuse that Mr. Zhang didn’t sign certain documents. His family was instead asked to pick up the 2,000 yuan they deposited for him earlier at the detention center. It’s not clear whether Mr. Zhang’s family has been allowed to visit him in the prison or make deposits to his commissary account there.
Past Persecution
This wasn’t the first time that Mr. Zhang has been targeted for his faith. He was first arrested in February 2000 and detained for 45 days. He was arrested again on July 28, 2002. After 3.5 months of detention, on November 11, he was given three years at the Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp by the Zunhua City Domestic Security Office. He developed a severe heart condition after one year at the labor camp and was released on medical parole. He was arrested another time on May 10, 2005 and held in the Zunhua City Detention Center. He developed severe symptoms and was released on bail three days later.
Related reports:
Zunhua City, Hebei Province: 12 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced from 2 to 8 Years
More Than 300 Police Officers Mobilized to Arrest 18 Falun Gong Practitioners
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