(Minghui.org) Three Zaozhuang City residents were arrested in May 2018 for putting up posters about Falun Gong. Two of them were sentenced to prison in January 2019, while the third Falun Gong practitioner, who had been released on bail, was forced to live away from home to avoid being taken back into custody.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Mr. Liu Jie was sentenced to three and a half years and fined 30,000 yuan. Mr. Wei Yanjing received 9 months and fined 5,000 yuan. Mr. Liu vowed to appeal the verdict at the end of his sentencing hearing in January.
Mr. Liu and Mr. Wei were arrested on May 13, 2018 for putting up posters about World Falun Dafa Day to celebrate the anniversary of the practice's public introduction. A third practitioner involved in the case, Mr. Zhou Changfa, was arrested one day later.
While Mr. Zhou was released on bail after one month of detention, Mr. Liu and Mr. Wei remain in custody at Yuelou Detention Center.
The three practitioners appeared in Xuecheng District Court on November 29, 2018. Mr. Liu and Mr. Wei's lawyers entered not-guilty pleas for them.
Mr. Liu and Mr. Wei were taken back to the detention center following the hearing, and Mr. Zhou was allowed to go home to await the verdict.
The court ordered the police to take Mr. Zhou back into custody in December 2018. He escaped and has since lived away from home.