(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhao Xingyou, 79, and his wife Ms. Shi Guizhi, 77, live in Shuiquan Township, Shuangcheng District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Both were sentenced to prison in early January 2019 because they painted the words “Falun Dafa is Good” on their courtyard wall.

Mr. Zhao was given a three-and-a-half-year prison term, and his wife Ms. Shi a four-year prison term.

In November 2017, someone who worked for the Shuangcheng Real Estate Company went to a villager's home in Zhaojia Village, Shuiquan Township, where Mr. Zhao and Ms. Shi live. When the person noticed the phrase “Falun Dafa is Good” on Mr. Zhao's courtyard wall, they took photos and sent them to the Shuangcheng District Police Department and the 610 Office.

The police department and the 610 Office then notified the local police station. Officers led by Su Yongsheng, the police station's director, arrested Mr. Zhao and his wife Ms. Shi, on November 11, 2017. The couple was taken to Harbin City for physical examinations. Ms. Shi was released when she failed the physical exam. Mr. Zhao was taken to the Shuangcheng Detention Center, but was released six days later.

The police told the other villagers that they would release the elderly couple if they promised to monitor them and make sure that they did not write anything on the wall, go to the Falun Gong practice sites, or contact any other practitioners.

The Shuangcheng Police Department authorities sent the couple's case to the Harbin City Court. The court issued arrest warrants on September 10, 2018. Su Yongsheng and other officers from the Shuiquan Township Police Station arrested the couple again. Mr. Zhao was held in the Shuangcheng Detention Center. Ms. Shi was released when she failed another physical exam.

Ms. Shi was again arrested on January 1, 2019. The couple was sentenced to prison in early January 2019. Ms. Shi was taken to the Heilongjiang Women's Prison. Mr. Zhao was taken to the Hulan Prison in Harbin City.