(Minghui.org) After going from place to place for one and a half years to hide from the police, a 75-year-old Falun Gong practitioner was arrested in June 2021 and sentenced to four years in prison in January 2022.
Mr. He Xuezhi, of Dianjiang County, Chongqing, was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong and distributing informational materials in early 2020. Weeks later, on February 3, his family noted a surveillance camera installed in an empty apartment across the street, facing their home. They also saw a police wanted notice in an online local community forum, which included a surveillance video clip showing the back of Mr. He.
On February 4, two plainclothes officers appeared outside of Mr. He’s apartment to monitor him. Two former police officers who were later hired by the Dianjiang County 610 Office harassed him several times at home.
On a rainy night on February 15, Mr. He decided to leave home to hide from the police. He walked several miles to a friend’s home in the countryside and then changed several locations in the next month, before settling in a rental property arranged by his son.
Between February and April 2020, the Domestic Security Office ordered the local police, residential committee staff members and 610 Office agents to frequently harass and intimidate Mr. He’s family members. They often stayed outside of their apartment building or went to the apartment across the street to monitor them. At least one officer always followed the family when they went out grocery shopping.
The police accused Mr. He’s son, Mr. He Yizhen, of smashing the window of a downstairs apartment unit and breaking into his home on March 15, 2020. They intended to locate his father, only to find that he wasn’t there. Mr. He Yizhen and his mother, Ms. Zeng Fansu, were summoned to the Domestic Security Office on March 23. The younger Mr. He tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong, but the police threatened to arrest him or expel his own children from school. Both he and his mother were released four hours later. Upon discovering that he had several properties in Chongqing, the police searched every place to look for his father, but to no avail.
Arrest and Sentencing
Mr. He Xuezhi was hit by a car while going out to distribute Falun Gong materials in March 2021. To avoid a police investigation, he didn’t seek any compensation from the driver and let him go. The driver, however, reported him to the police, resulting in the police’s intensified search in the area.
Due to the family’s more frequent visits to Mr. He during his recovery period, the police eventually located him.
At 1:03 a.m. on June 18, 2021, the police called Mr. He’s son, telling him that they had arrested his father and were interrogating him. The police threatened to subject the son to severe consequences if he covered for his father.
The family went to check Mr. He’s temporary housing the next day and saw that the place had been raided and his Falun Gong books and laptop had been confiscated.
Without informing the family, the police took Mr. He to the Nanchuan District Detention Center and submitted his case to the Nanchuan District Procuratorate. His son tried to hire a lawyer for him, but no one was willing to take the case, fearing retaliation from the authorities.
The Nanchuan District Court secretly sentenced Mr. He to four years with a 10,000-yuan fine on January 16, 2022.
Due to strict lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the family had limited chances to visit the police station, detention center, or the procuratorate to inquire about Mr. He’s case status. Everywhere they went, they were stonewalled. After visiting several prisons in Chongqing, they finally confirmed that Mr. He is now incarcerated in the tenth ward in Yongchuan District Prison.
Earlier Persecution
Mr. He Xuezhi took up Falun Gong in 1997. He lives by its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and has enjoyed good health since. In addition to his latest prison term, he has also served a labor camp term and another prison term for a total of six years for not renouncing his faith.
Labor Camp Term of 2.5 Years
Mr. He was reported in late 2000 for spreading information about the persecution. He was arrested at home on January 24, 2001, the day of the Chinese New Year. Because he talked to the inmates about Falun Gong at the local detention center, the guards transferred him to the felon cells and instigated a murderer to beat him. Five of his teeth were knocked out. The clothes and daily necessities his family sent him were taken by the inmates.
After one year of detention, Mr. He was given a 2.5-year term at the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp.
Prison Term of 3.5 Years
Mr. He was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials in 2008. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in the Danzishi Prison in the Nan’an District by the Dianjiang County Court on August 7, 2008.
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