(Minghui.org) A Jiaozhou City, Shandong Province resident was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan on April 15, 2022 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Yu Baiqing, a native of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, who has been living in Jiaozhou since 2011, was arrested on June 2, 2021 during a police sweep. His computer and printer were confiscated.
At least 19 other local Falun Gong practitioners were arrested the same day, including Song Guiqin, Gao Xiue, Huang Yuqiang, Ji Jinmu, Wang Ruilian, Wang Ruilan, Zhang Meixiang, Song Jihua, Zhuang Zuojie, Ji Hong, Zhao Youqin, Zhou Ruiling, Liang Huiyuan, Sun Yuyun, Ye Yu, Wang Shujin, Cheng Jiqing, Jiao Qing’e, and her husband Xu Yanzhong. More than 100 police officers were dispatched for the operation.
Among the practitioners, Mr. Yu, Mr. Xu, and Mr. Ji Jinmu’s arrests were approved by the Jiaozhou City Procuratorate on July 9, 2021 and they were held at the Ducun Detention Center.
Mr. Yu’s case was forwarded to the Huangdao Procuratorate around September 2021. The prosecutor later returned the case to the police citing insufficient evidence. Yet the police fabricated evidence against him and pressed the prosecutor to indict him.
Mr. Yu was tried by the Huangdao Court on March 18, 2022 by way of a video conference. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him. The lawyer argued that no law has ever criminalized Falun Gong in China, and that the prosecutor failed to demonstrate how his client’s Falun Gong practice caused harm or damage to others. The judge announced the heavy term against Mr. Yu on April 15.
This is the second time that Mr. Yu has been sentenced. He was previously given three years in 2003. His sentencing dealt his son, who had just been admitted to a college, such a heavy blow that the teen developed depression. His wife also had to quit her job due to frequent harassment. While Mr. Yu was serving time, she did odd jobs to support the family.
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Qin Hongsheng (秦红升), secretary of Jiaozhou City Political and Legal Affairs Committee: +86-18553258137, +86-13853257666Li Chang (李昌), deputy mayor of Jiaozhou City and head of Jiaozhou Police Department: +86-13336396777Xu Jinxin (徐进新), head of Jiaozhou Domestic Security Office: +86-13606308807
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