(Minghui.org) A 54-year-old Beizhen City, Liaoning Province resident was recently sentenced to 2.5 years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Li Baohui was arrested at home on July 1, 2023, by officers from the Beizhen City Domestic Security Division, local village security official Guo Biao and accountant Jia Yan. They searched his home, seized everything related to Falun Gong and took photos. His family recently confirmed that he had been admitted to the Jinzhou City Prison to serve a 2.5-year term, but details about his indictment, trial and sentencing are unclear.

This isn’t the first time that Mr. Li had been targeted for his faith. He went to Beijing at the end of 2000 to appeal for Falun Gong and was intercepted half way there. At the Beizhen City Detention Center, the guards stripped off his clothes and poured cold water on him, despite the freezing weather. They also beat him and forced him to stand or squat for long hours without moving.

Mr. Li was later given three years at the Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp. The police said to him that as long as he renounced Falun Gong, they would release him immediately. He refused to comply and was subjected to intensive physical and mental torture for upholding his faith.

The police continued to monitor Mr. Li’s daily life and harassed him on a regular basis after he was released. Both he and his family live under tremendous pressure.