(Minghui.org) A Tianjin resident arrested in a police sweep in 2019 was recently sentenced to five years in prison for his faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Wang Junzhou, 45, a native of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province working in Tianjin as a security personnel, was arrested on September 5, 2019 after he got off from work. It’s reported that the police targeted him after finding him using WeChat social media to send information about the protests in Hong Kong against the extradition law.
His family received a call from the lawyer appointed by Binhaixin District Court to represent him in December 2020 that he has been sentenced to five years. When his family called the lawyer a month earlier to inquire about his case, the lawyer said if Mr. Wang pleaded guilty and renounced Falun Gong, there was a possibility that he would be released before the end of the year, or he would face prison time.
Ten-year Sentence
Mr. Wang’s latest sentencing was proceeded by a ten-year term, also for his faith in Falun Gong.
Mr. Wang was arrested in Shenyang on May 19, 2001. The officers from Nanta Police Station beat him, burned his face and hands with cigarette and locked him in a metal cage.
He was sentenced to ten years on August 29, 2002. He was first detained at the Huazi Prison in Liaoyang City and then transferred to the Nanguanling Prison in Dalian in December 2007.
Harassment After Release
The police continued to harass him after he was released in May 2011.
On March 9, 2012, a group of village officials went to Mr. Wang’s home and asked him what he had been doing since his release. They also asked him whether he still practiced Falun Gong and what he did to make a living.
Mr. Wang responded that religious freedom is his Constitutionally protected right and there is no way for him to give up practicing Falun Gong, even after he was persecuted by the Communist Party.
One officer said to him, “How can the Communist Party have persecuted you? The Communist Party didn’t persecute you.”
“Then what are you doing here at my home?” Mr. Wang asked them.
“We are just here to visit you.” they replied.
Mr. Wang’s 83-year-old father chimed in and said their family all practice Falun Gong.
Seeing that they were unable to persuade the father and son, the officials left, but threatened to come back to check on them again.
