(Minghui.org) Two Jilin City, Jilin Province residents targeted in a group arrest last year for their faith in Falun Gong were sentenced to eight and nine years around July 2020. They have been sent to the Jilin Province No.2 Prison in August 2020.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Chen Jihai, 66, and Mr. Song Deman, who live in the same village, were arrested with 22 other practitioners on July 19, 2019. The police broke into their homes and ransacked them. Mr. Chen’s Falun Gong books, bundles of Minghui Weekly magazines, and a satellite dish that can receive non-censored, overseas programs were confiscated. Mr. Song’s laser engraving machine was impounded.
Mr. Chen’s wife, who doesn't practice Falun Gong, was also taken to the local police station and interrogated for several hours.
Both Mr. Chen and Mr. Song were detained in Jilin City Detention Center for a year before being sentenced, Mr. Chen to nine years and Mr. Song to eight years.
Because he practices Falun Gong, Mr. Chen has been repeatedly harassed, arrested, and detained during the past 20 years.
He was arrested on April 27, 2010, for introducing Falun Gong to a neighbor who lost her eyesight because of complications from surgery to remove a tumor. The police attempted to send him to the local forced labor camp, but he was denied admission due to poor health.
Liu Hongyan, the head of Erdaoxiang Police Station, once tied Mr. Chen in a metal chair with his hands and feet cuffed. He verbally abused Mr. Chen, slapped him in the face, and kicked him in the chest in attempts to force him to renounce Falun Gong.
Related reports:
Updates on Five Jilin Residents Arrested Last Year for Practicing Falun Gong
Jilin City, Jilin Province: At Least 24 Falun Gong Practitioners and Two Spouses Arrested in One Day
After Repeated Harassment and Arrests, Jilin Man Targeted for His Faith Again
The Relentless Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioner Chen Jihai in Jilin City
Practitioner Chen Jihai Arrested for Helping a Neighbor Cure Her Eye Disease
Mr. Chen Jihai Persecuted at the Erdao Township Police Station in Jilin City, Jilin Province
