(Minghui.org) Six residents of Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province were sentenced to prison in late 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The six Falun Gong practitioners were arrested four months apart and given prison terms ranging from 1 to 8.5 years.
Mr. Dou Changying Given 5 Years
Mr. Dou Changying was arrested on May 13, 2023. The police raided his home and confiscated his computer and other valuables. He was sentenced to five years at an unknown date. It is unclear which court convicted him or where he is being jailed.
Five Targeted in a Group Arrest and Tried Together Two Months Later
Mr. Zhan Xiangjun, 52, his wife, Ms. Yuan Airong, 50, Ms. Yang Shujun, around 60, Ms. Sun Qin, around 60, and Mr. Xiong Qiliang, 46, were all arrested on September 4, 2023. More than forty other Zhaodong practitioners were also arrested on the same day.
According to insiders, the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Bureau was involved in issuing the mass arrest order. The police began following and monitoring some of the practitioners two or three months before the arrests.
Mr. Zhan, Ms. Yuan, Ms. Yang, Ms. Sun, and Mr. Xiong stood trial at the Anda City Court on November 20, 2023. Their lawyers entered a not guilty plea for them and they testified in their own defense. The judge convicted all of them eight days later.
Mr. Zhan was given 8.5 years and fined 20,000 yuan. His wife Ms. Yuan was given 4 years and fined 10,000 yuan. Mr. Zhan is appealing his verdict.
Ms. Yang was given 4.5 years and fined 10,000 yuan. She was previously sentenced to 3.5 years in 2016 for practicing Falun Gong and was brutally tortured at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. She was forced to sit on a small stool for long hours. When she protested the abuse, the prison guards stuffed her mouth with a rag. They later yanked out the rag so forcefully that two of her incisors broke loose and fell out.
Ms. Sun was given 3 years. She was previously given forced labor several times, also for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Xiong was given one year.
It is unclear where the five practitioners are currently held.
Related Report:
Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province: Over 50 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day
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