(Minghui.org) A 59-year-old man in Shandan County, Gansu Province was admitted to the Lanzhou Prison after losing his appeal of a three-year sentence on May 31, 2023. This was the second time that Mr. Zhou Junqi has been sentenced for raising awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of his faith, Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Mr. Zhou was arrested on May 18, 2022 after being reported for distributing materials exposing the persecution. The arresting officers from the Shandan County Domestic Security Office submitted his case to the Shandan County Procuratorate, which issued an arrest warrant for him on June 1, 2022, and transferred his case to the Ganzhou District Procuratorate in Zhangye City, which oversees Shandan County.
The Ganzhou District Procuratorate later returned the case to the police, citing insufficient evidence. Captain Huang Dingming and political secretary Wang Aiguo from the Shandan County Domestic Security Office refused to release Mr. Zhou. They submitted the items confiscated from his home, including a computer, a cell phone, and a printer, to Lanzhou (capital city of Gansu) for authentication. It is unclear whether they asked Lanzhou police or an independent, third-party forensic agency to examine the items. By law, only the latter is allowed to examine prosecution evidence and determine whether it is admissible in the prosecution of a suspect.
Captain Huang and his subordinates fabricated additional evidence and re-submitted it to the Ganzhou District Procuratorate on October 26, 2022. Prosecutors Wang Donghai and Ma Haowen then indicted Mr. Zhou and forwarded the case to the Ganzhou District Court.
Due to the pandemic lockdown, Mr. Zhou was unable to hire a lawyer. The Shandan County Judicial Bureau then appointed two lawyers to provide free legal service to him. The lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him during his court hearing on March 31, 2023. Judge Zhang Qinming presided over the trial. Judges Liang Yufeng and Zhu Hongxia, as well as clerk Zhu Yaxin, were also present.
Zhang sentenced Mr. Zhou to three years in prison at the end of the hearing.
Mr. Zhou filed an appeal with the Zhangye City Intermediate Court, which ruled on May 31 to uphold his guilty verdict. Presiding judge Liu Yuming, judges Yang Huiling and Wang Jing, as well as clerk Zhang Qi, handled the appeals case.
Past Persecution
Mr. Zhou used to suffer from severe gastrointestinal disease, with a large area of ulcer running from the stomach to the small intestine. His intestines were about to penetrate, and no treatment was available. Eating and drinking was painful. All of his symptoms, however, disappeared three days into his practice of Falun Gong. Because of the positive experience, he never wavered in his faith after the persecution began in July 1999.
Mr. Zhou lost his job in 2002 as an electrician, as his employer, the Shandan County Coking Plant, was pressured by the authorities to fire him due to his practicing Falun Gong. He did odd jobs to make a living but was often terminated because he held firm to his faith.
Mr. Zhou was arrested in September 2002 and held at a brainwashing center hosted by the Zhangye City 610 Office for more than two months.
The Shandan County Domestic Security Office seized Mr. Zhou on April 26, 2004 and tortured him for more than five hours. The Shandan County Court later sentenced him to three and a half years in prison. He was forced to do hard labor without pay at the Lanzhou Prison. He was released in May 2007.
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