After Four Labor Camp Terms, Grandfather Secretly Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison

(Minghui.org) Changchun City, Jilin Province, resident Mr. Su Yucai was the last in the region to be sentenced to a forced labor camp before the labor camp system was abolished in 2013. Mr. Su was recently secretly sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after being recorded by a store owner while talking to people about Falun Gong.

Mr. Su Yucai has been held incommunicado since he was arrested on August 16, 2022. Even after his family recently confirmed his secret sentencing in November 2022, the authorities still refused to reveal his detention location and his current situation.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Su, 67, talked to a convenience store owner about Falun Gong while shopping there on May 25, 2022. The owner secretly recorded him and called the police. When Mr. Su finished shopping, the owner blocked him from leaving until the police showed up. Several officers took Mr. Su to the Nanhu Police Station and confiscated his ID. He was ordered to report to the police station every week.

Three officers knocked on Mr. Su’s door at around 8 a.m. on August 16, 2022, claiming to be from the residential committee. Mr. Su’s grandson opened the door, only to see the police barge in and arrest his grandfather. 

After three days at the police station, Mr. Su was taken to the Changchun City No.2 Detention Center. He hasn’t been allowed any visitation or contact with his family since. The police later submitted his case to the Chaoyang District Procuratorate. After the prosecutor indicted him and moved his case to the Chaoyang District Court, his family kept calling the police and the court, but no one ever picked up the phone. 

Mr. Su’s arrest dealt his son, who has become incapacitated due to a stroke, a hard blow. The younger man struggled with unstable blood pressure and had frequent seizures. 

Past Persecution

In addition to his latest sentencing, Mr. Su has been targeted multiple times and given four labor camp terms for upholding Falun Gong. 

He was arrested at work on March 14, 2000, and held in a lockup. On April 30 that year, he was taken to the Weizigou Forced Labor Camp to serve a one-year term, during which time he was forced to do free labor and subjected to brainwashing.

Mr. Su was arrested again on February 26, 2003, while visiting practitioner Ms. Liu Huijun. He was given another 1.5 years at the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp. He was also tortured and forced to work without pay.

Mr. Su’s next arrest was on October 11, 2005. His home was ransacked and he was again given 1.5 years at Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp.

Mr. Su was detained for 15 days following his arrest at practitioner Mr. Yang Zhanjiu’s home on February 14, 2009.

His fourth labor camp term was given after his other arrest on August 28, 2012. As the authorities were already planning to abolish the labor camp system months later, the Yushu City Domestic Security Office had to get special permission from the local justice bureau to give him a forced labor term. Mr. Su was taken to the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp on September 7, 2012, as the last Falun Gong practitioner in Changchun to be given labor camp terms.