(Minghui.org) A Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province resident was admitted to Hulan Prison on July 21, 2023, to serve 4.5 years for his faith in Falun Dafa, a mind-body discipline also known as Falun Gong that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Wang Jiwu’s ordeal stemmed from an earlier arrest at 2 a.m. on October 28, 2019, after he was reported for writing “Falun Dafa is good” on a public wall. He held a hunger strike at the Shuangcheng District Detention Center and was force-fed. He was released on bail on November 8 that year and the police continued to monitor his daily life after that.
The father of two was arrested again on September 11, 2021, and released three days later.
Several officers showed up outside of his home in the early evening of April 4, 2023, and took him to the hospital for a physical examination. He was found to have a heart condition and high blood pressure, but they still detained him.
The police submitted Mr. Wang’s case to the Shuangcheng District Procuratorate in late April. The Shuangcheng District Court held a video hearing of his case on May 9. His family attended the hearing in the courthouse. They didn’t see his image but heard his weak voice saying “I didn’t commit any crime,” when the judge tried to press him to plead guilty.
Mr. Wang’s family received his verdict on May 18. He was sentenced to 4.5 years with a 10,000 yuan fine.
He refused to sign the verdict and wrote an appeal himself. He was transferred to the Hulan Prison (located in the Hulan District of the city) on July 21, 2023. It is unclear whether the prison transfer meant that he had lost his appeal.
Heilongjiang Man Sentenced to 4.5 Years, in Serious Condition After Two-Month Hunger Strike