(Minghui.org) A resident of Kunming City, Yunnan Province was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan in early July 2019 for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Li Wenbo was arrested on May 17, 2018 for writing two letters to the authorities. The first letter requested the removal of propaganda posters against Falun Gong that were displayed in his neighborhood. The second letter demanded that the farmers’ association in his village return a 10,000-yuan fine it had levied against him for practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Li developed a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, perforation of hollow organs, intestinal obstruction, and severe anemia after nearly six months of detention at Jinning Detention Center. He was released on bail and put under house arrest on November 2, 2018.

Prosecutor Kuan Judan of the Xishan District Procuratorate alleged that Mr. Li's two letters to authorities contained illegal content, and indicted him in April 2019 with the charge of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Li appeared in Xishan District Court on May 23, 2019, and presiding judge Deng Rui sentenced him to prison in mid-July. The verdict didn't mention any content from the two letters and only included a detailed list of all the officials and government agencies to whom the letters were delivered.

Mr. Li included copies of the two letters in his appeal to Kunming City Intermediate Court. He urged the higher court to read the letters, which contained no content that broke any law.

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