73-Year-Old Shandong Man Sentenced to 1.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Judge Jiang Bing of the Jimo District Court in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, held a hearing at the Jimo District Detention Center on July 3, 2025, and sentenced Mr. Li Zhengxun, 73, to 1.5 years in prison for practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Li said he would file an appeal.

Mr. Li was arrested on March 5, 2025, while he was talking to people about Falun Gong. He was put on criminal detention the next day and taken to the Jimo District Detention Center on March 7. The Jimo District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for him on March 20. His lawyer visited him at the detention center on April 7.

During the required physical examinations for detention, Mr. Li was found to have a hernia, a tumor in his heart, and a mass in his abdomen, yet the authorities kept him in detention.

During the trial held at the detention center on May 21, Mr. Li’s lawyer testified against the police for listing his client’s wife as a prosecution witness, even though she didn’t sign the interrogation records. Another witness listed in the indictment didn’t appear in court for cross examination, and his testimony should not have been admissible.

The Falun Gong informational materials confiscated from Mr. Li’s home were also listed as prosecution evidence against him. Mr. Li pointed out that the General Administration of Press and Publication repealed its ban on the publication of Falun Gong books in 2011. His lawyer followed up, saying that the materials were Mr. Li’s lawful assets and caused no harm to anyone or society at large.

Prosecutor Wan Jun alleged that Falun Gong is a cult, and Mr. Li reminded her that no enacted law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult. He explained how Falun Gong freed him from a mental disorder and gave him his life back. He added that Falun Gong also turned him into a more considerate person. The factory he worked for used coal briquettes for heating in the winter. Other workers were unwilling to move the briquettes from the courtyard to the workshop. Mr. Li did it all by himself during breaks.

When Judge Jiang ordered Mr. Li to sign the court proceedings, he refused. He was sentenced at the detention center on July 3.

Prior to his latest prison sentence, Mr. Li was arrested and harassed multiple times over the years for practicing Falun Gong, which he credits for keeping a stubborn health condition under control and enabling him to return to work.

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