(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhai Shanyong who lives in Jinan City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to three and a half years because he practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Zhai was arrested on July 30, 2025, after he was reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The nine arresting officers from the Zhangqiu District Domestic Security Office took him to the Zhangqiu District Detention Center. Minghui.org learned of his 3.5-year prison sentence in March 2026. It is unclear when he was indicted, tried, or sentenced.

Domestic Abuser No More, He Is Targeted for His Faith

Mr. Zhai’s wife said he was narrow-minded and hot-tempered before he took up Falun Gong. He smoked and drank, and often beat her. He fought with his mother and the neighbors.

After he began practicing Falun Gong Mr. Zhai was a completely different person. He quit smoking and drinking, and was a loving husband and son. He even apologized to his neighbors. His wife had hope in life again and was finally able to enjoy a happy marriage.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Mr. Zhai held firm to his faith and was arrested at least one other time prior to his latest prison sentence. He was arrested on the night of October 19, 2004, while he distributed Falun Gong materials in nearby Gaoguanzhai Town.

The following afternoon, the village notified Mr. Zhai’s wife to deliver bedding and clothes to him at the local detention center and to pay 100 yuan. The police also demanded more money. She was unable to pay, and the police extorted 200 yuan from the kiln factory that Mr. Zhai worked at.

Village secretary Liu Zhongyong threatened to give Mr. Zhai at least 2-3 years of forced labor if his wife failed to pay another 6,000 yuan. She didn’t have the money and her husband was sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor.

Mr. Zhai was subjected to various forms of abuse at the Shandong Province Second Labor Camp (also known as Wangcun Labor Camp), including beatings, long-term sitting or standing, water boarding, being hung up, and forced labor.

Mr. Zhai’s son, who was in middle-school, was unable to cope with his forced labor term and suffered a mental collapse. The teen had to drop out of school.