(Minghui.org) Eight Jingzhou City, Hubei Province residents were arrested in 2019 and were all sentenced to prison by January 2021 for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Li Xingjun and his wife Ms. Sun Jiangyi were each sentenced to 7 years in January 2021. Other practitioners were sentenced earlier. Mr. Liu Shehong was sentenced to 7.5 years, his wife Ms. Zhao Xiujuan to 7 years, Mr. Zhang Jingzhou to 6 years, Mr. Lei Yunbo to 6 years, Ms. Chen Shunying to 3.5 years, and Ms. Shao Lian to 3 years.
It’s only known that Ms. Chen has been taken to Hankou Prison, which has been converted from a male prison to a female prison in recent years. The detention locations of the other practitioners aren’t clear at the time of writing.
The cases of Mr. Liu and his wife Ms. Zhao, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Shao have been detailed in previous reports. Below are updates of the remaining four practitioners.
Mr. Li Xingjun and Ms. Sun Jiangyi
Mr. Li Xingjun, a middle school teacher, was arrested as he left his mother’s home on August 28, 2019. The police pushed him to the ground and began to beat and kick him. His face was covered with blood. When a passerby took a picture of the police, one of them shouted, “You are not allowed to take pictures! He has committed a serious crime.”
When Mr. Li refused to be taken away, an officer handcuffed him and dragged him into the police car. He was taken to the Ximen Detention Center. At the same time, the police also arrested his wife and confiscated his Falun Gong books, cellphone, and computer.
After a year of detention, Mr. Li lost two teeth due to abuse in custody. His bedridden mother is also longing for him to return home.
Mr. Li and Ms. Sun appeared in court on September 21, 2020, after a year of detention. About ten government officials attended their hearing, but none of the couple's family members were allowed to attend. The couple denied any wrongdoing in practicing Falun Gong. The judge adjourned the hearing in one and a half hours.
After the hearing, the judge once said to Mr. Li that as long as he pleaded guilty, they could release him immediately. But if he refused to do so, he would be sentenced to at least 7 years. The judge indeed sentenced both Mr. Li and his wife to 7 years later on.
Past Persecution
Mr. Li’s latest sentencing was preceded by four arrests and detention. He was first arrested in September 1999 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was taken back to Hubei Province and held at the Ximen Detention Center for over five months. The police extorted 2,000 yuan from him and transferred him to a mental hospital, where he was injected with and force-fed toxic drugs. When he refused to take the drugs, the guards shocked him with electric batons. He was often dizzy and it took a long time for him to recover.
Prior to the Chinese Communist Party’s Congress in 2000, Mr. Li was arrested again and detained at the Jingzhou District Detention Center for eight months.
In early 2001, he was arrested one more time and taken to the Wuhan Brainwashing Center.
When the police attempted to arrest Mr. Li and take him to a brainwashing center in May 2002, he escaped by jumping from the fourth floor and broke his right leg and left arm. Before he recovered, the authorities took him to the brainwashing center and held him there for a month. He was finally allowed to go back to work in late 2003, but his salary was reduced significantly.
Mr. Lei Yunbo
Mr. Lei Yunbo, a former bank employee, was fired by his workplace for upholding his faith. He was sentenced to three years in 2000 for distributing Falun Gong materials. While serving time at Fanjiatai Prison, he was beaten and forced to do intensive labor.
Mr. Lei was arrested and sentenced to five years again in 2009 while he was in Yunnan Province. For talking to the inmates about Falun Gong at Yunnan Province No. 1 Prison, he was held in solitary confinement and subjected to sleep deprivation and other torture.
Mr. Lei’s latest arrest was in early September 2019. He was sentenced to six years between December 2020 and January 2021.
Ms. Chen Shunying
Ms. Chen Shunying, 68, was first arrested on March 18, 2016, for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was held at the Ximen Detention Center for 10 days.
Ms. Chen was arrested again on May 14, 2018, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was detained for two weeks this time.
She was arrested one more time in October 2019 for distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong, and was sentenced to 3.5 years.
Related reports:
Jingzhou City, Hubei Province: Four Arrested in Two Days, Two Sentenced
622 Falun Gong Practitioners in China Sentenced for Their Faith in 2020
