(Minghui.org) A 69-year-old veteran in Pingliang City, Gansu Province, was emaciated, dazed, deaf in both ears, and unable to walk when he finished a one-year term on March 21, 2026, for practicing Falun Gong.
The Gansu Province Second Prison did not allow Mr. Yang Zonglin’s family to pick him up. Instead, they handed him over to the Justice Bureau in his home district of Kongtong, which then notified his family to come and take him home.
Mr. Yang’s family said he was still sharp and lucid before his admission to prison on November 3, 2025. While his legs were weak, he could still walk normally. He had a bit of hearing loss in his left ear, but he was able to hear well with his right ear. They couldn’t believe that he became completely deaf and unable to walk within just a few months of imprisonment.
Mr. Yang later regained some mental clarity and told his family that the prison guards alleged that he had “geriatric diseases” and often took him to the prison hospital for IV drips. He developed extremely itchy bumps on his skin that oozed a viscous fluid. His family suspects that the unknown IV drips may have also caused his mental confusion and deafness, as it’s commonly known that the communist regime subjects mentally healthy Falun Gong practitioners to involuntary drug administration.
Brief Overview of Mr. Yang’s Persecution
Mr. Yang was last arrested on March 21, 2025. He stood trial at the Kongtong District Court on July 21 and was sentenced to one year. Mr. Yang was admitted to prison on November 3, 2025, and released on March 21, 2026. See the related report for details.
Prior to this latest round of persecution, Mr. Yang served two labor camp terms at the Gansu Province First Forced Labor Camp. In 2021, the local authorities frequently harassed him and ordered him to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. As he refused to comply, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extra-legal agency tasked with overseeing the persecution, ordered the local Social Security Bureau to stop his pension payments. He wrote to the bureau, explaining that he didn’t violate any law in practicing Falun Gong and that it was illegal to suspend his pension. In retaliation, the police broke into his home with the help of a locksmith on October 21, 2021, and arrested him. He was released after an unknown amount of time.
Related Report:
68-Year-Old Veteran Sentenced to One Year for His Faith in Falun Gong
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