(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhang Ziwen from Tianjin has been sentenced to prison again for his belief in Falun Gong. His family was not notified of the December trial or the verdict. His son found this out when inquiring in early January about his father.
Mr. Zhang was arrested in March and secretly tried in December 2016. He was sentenced to a four year prison term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual cultivation system of mind and body. Mr. Zhang has filed an appeal.
A group of police officers from the Junliangcheng Police Station arrested Mr. Zhang, his wife Ms. Liu Yuhong, and their younger son Mr. Zhang Ximing, all practitioners, without showing any identification or arrest warrant, on March 2016. They ransacked their home and confiscated books, calendars with Falun Gong information, cell phones, two laptops, a radio, and several hundred yuan.
Ms. Liu and their son were illegally detained for 37 days, and then released on bail in April 2016 due to insufficient evidence. Mr. Zhang's arrest, however, was approved by the procuratorate and his case presented to the court.
Mr. Zhang and his family have been harassed by the local authorities since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution against Falun Gong in 1999.
Mr. Zhang Ziwen, his wife, and younger son filed a criminal complaint in November and December 2015 against Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the communist regime, for launching the persecution against Falun Gong. All three have been arrested because of it.
They were detained in the Dongli Detention center for a month. The police ransacked their home and confiscated books, pictures of the founder of Falun Gong, a computer, four cell phones, booklets and printed materials with Falun Gong information, and currency that was found in the home. The entire process was videotaped.
Mr. Zhang and his wife were arrested in September 2010 during a road trip with their older son Mr. Zhang Xilong to Lhasa. Their village party official and officials from the district 610 Office flew out to Lhasa to escort them back to Tianjin. The two laptops and a printer that they had brought on the trip were confiscated. Their older son's vehicle was impounded and is yet to be returned.
Upon returning to Tianjin, the couple's home was ransacked. The police confiscated a computer, a printer, a car, four cell phones, three deposit books with a total value of 32,000 yuan, and more than 8,000 yuan that the police found in their home.
Mr. Zhang and Ms. Liu were each sentenced to three years in prison and their older son one year. Mr. Zhang was tortured in prison for remaining steadfast in his belief. He experienced high blood pressure and was transferred to the intensive care unit at one point.
Their younger son was arrested earlier that year for telling people about Falun Gong. He was tried by the Hexi District Court and sentenced to three years in prison.
To avoid being arrested and taken to a brainwashing center, Mr. Zhang, his wife, and their younger son left their home in 2000. The local police tapped their cell phones and spent two years searching nearby areas until they found them.
Mr. Zhang and his wife were arrested in October 2002 at a bus station. Their apartment was ransacked, and their younger son was arrested. All three were sentenced to three years of forced labor. Mr. Zhang was detained in the Tianjin Forced Labor Camp, Ms. Liu in the Banqiao Forced Labor Camp, and their son in the Tuanpo Forced Labor Camp.