(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhang Xinhong was sentenced to his third prison term for not renouncing his faith in Falun Gong, after having served two earlier terms for a total of 14.5 years.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhang, a 64-year-old resident of Hefei City, Anhui Province, was arrested on May 8, 2018, after being reported for talking to someone about Falun Gong. He appeared in the Shushan District Court on May 30, 2019. Two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him. The judge sentenced him to three years and four months in late July.
Two Previous Terms
Because he refused to give up Falun Gong in spite of the persecution, Mr. Zhang was arrested in late November 2000 while living in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. He was held in Lucheng Detention Center for nearly a year before being sentenced to ten years in prison in late 2001. He served time in Zhejiang No.4 Prison.
Mr. Zhang's father, a veteran, also practiced Falun Gong but was forced to give up his belief under pressure. The elderly man passed away a few days before his son was sentenced.
Mr. Zhang was arrested again at home in May 2010. By then he had moved to Hefei City, Anhui Province. The police ransacked his home and held him in the Hefei City No.1 Detention Center and more than a month in a brainwashing center.
Mr. Zhang was tried in December 2010. No lawyer represented him. The judge simply asked him several questions and then adjourned the proceedings.
On February 18, 2011, a police officer told Mr. Zhang's family that he had been sentenced to four and a half years and taken to Suzhou No.4 Prison on January 23. The judge never informed his family of his sentence or place of imprisonment. In addition, the prison authorities denied him family visits.
Related report:
Once Imprisoned for 14.5 Years, Anhui Man Tried Again for His Faith
