(Minghui.org) A Tianjin man in his 70s was recently given a 3.5-year prison sentence for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Xiao Shuqing was arrested in March 2020 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. Although he was released on bail shortly afterward, the police repeatedly took him back to the Ruijing Police Station for interrogation. He was also summoned to the local court and procuratorate and taken to hospitals for physicals. The police collected samples of his blood against his will on October 21, 2020, and in March 2021.

The police took Mr. Xiao back to the police station on April 19, 2021. They told him that his case wasn’t closed yet and that he had been scheduled to appear in court. At 9:30 p.m. that day, officer Jin went to Mr. Xiao’s home and informed his family that he had been sentenced to 3.5 years on charges of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to incriminate Falun Gong practitioners.

Officer Jin said Mr. Xiao was being held at the Beichen Detention Center and his case had been handled by judge Guo Huayang of the Beichen Court. No official verdict or hard copy of Mr. Xiao’s case document was ever given to his family.

A few days later, his family received his arrest warrant by express mail, but they refused to accept it.

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution