Two Hebei Residents Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Two Zunhua City, Hebei Province residents were sentenced to prison in March 2022 for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Li Yongzhi was arrested in October 2021 after being reported for spray painting the message “Heaven Eliminates the Chinese Communist Party.” He was held at the Zunhua City Detention Center and sentenced to thirteen months by the Zunhua City Court on March 10.

The other practitioner, Mr. Jia Fengzhong, 59, was arrested on October 15, 2021. Mr. Jia returned home from working in the fields at around 10 a.m. for an early lunch, when the police came out from his home. Upon seeing him, they kicked him to the ground, held his arms behind his back and pushed him into the police car. Mr. Jia’s neighbors who witnessed his arrest condemned the police for arresting good people.

Mr. Jia was first held at the Jianming Police Station and then transferred to the Zunhua City Detention Center. He was sentenced to one year with 2,000 yuan by the Zunhua City Court on March 11.

Past Persecution of Mr. Jia

Mr. Jia began to practice Falun Gong in June 1999. He credits the practice for curing his stomach condition and inflammation of the pleurae.

For distributing informational materials about Falun Gong, Mr. Jia was arrested on February 1, 2001, and left outdoors overnight, handcuffed. He was taken to the Zunhua Lockup the next day and held for three months. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was transferred to the local brainwashing center and held for another three months before being given one year of forced labor in July.

At the Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp, the guards shocked him with electric batons, tied him up, and forced him to sit on a small stool for up to 12 hours without moving. He was also forced to do intensive labor without pay. Due to the filthy living conditions and physical abuse, his body was covered with scabies.

The police attempted to arrest Mr. Jia again in July 2003. He escaped and was forced to live away from home. Unable to find him, the police arrested his wife in November 2004 and held her in a brainwashing center for 50 days. Just a month later, the police arrested Mr. Jia and took him to the Zunhua Detention Center. He was given another labor camp term in January 2004 and wasn’t released until 2007.

Perpetrators’ information:
Xu Aihua (徐爱华), judge of Zunhua City CourtZhu Lianjun (朱连军), prosecutor of Zunhua City ProcuratorateMiao Aidong (缪艾东), director of Zunhua City Domestic Security Office: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ information is available in the original Chinese article.)