82-Year-Old Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) After being arrested and released several times, an 82-year-old retired teacher in Shenzhou City, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 10 years in January 2021 for his faith in Falun Gong.

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. Li Dengchen was first arrested at home on October 22, 2018. The police ransacked his residence and confiscated his valuables worth 150,000 yuan. Due to his high blood pressure, the Shenzhou City Detention Center refused to admit him, and he was released.

Mr. Li returned to the local police station the next day and demanded the return of his confiscated property, but to no avail.

Days later, Mr. Li noticed that someone had scaled his fence and entered his home while he was out. He suspected that it was the police who tried to find more Falun Gong-related items in his home. He decided to live away from home to avoid further persecution.

Only a month later, on November 23, he was arrested again and admitted to the Shenzhou City Detention Center. Prior to his second arrest, the police extorted 1,700 yuan from his family for the alleged “physical examination fee.”

Mr. Li developed a critical medical condition in his lungs and was treated in an intensive care unit in 2019. He was released on bail on April 26. By then, he had become emaciated, incontinent, and unable to care for himself. His legs were also swollen.

After resuming practicing Falun Gong at home, he gradually recovered. Yet the authorities didn’t stop targeting him.

In late July 2020, Mr. Li received a notice to appear in court for his case. He lived away from home again for a month to hide from the police.

In January 2021, he was arrested one more time and directly given a ten-year sentence. He has now been taken to the Baoding Prison to serve time.