(Minghui.org) A Linxia County, Gansu Province, man was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in late December 2020 for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Song Xiaozong (also known as Song Youfu), 70, was arrested in April 2020 along with another practitioner, Mr. Jia Chunzhen, 75. Both were taken to the local detention center and sentenced by the Linxia County Court in late December. Mr. Song was given 3.5 years with a 4,000 yuan fine and Mr. Jia was sentenced to 4 years with a 3,000 yuan fine. Both are now appealing their cases with the Intermediate Court of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture.
Prior to his latest persecution, Mr. Song had been arrested in June 2012, for putting up stickers to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was secretly sentenced to 4.5 years to the Tianshui Prison.
He was arrested again on July 18, 2017, and harassed at home on February 3, 2020. The police tore off the New Year’s couplet he put on his door, with the excuse that it contained information about Falun Gong.
