(Minghui.org) A man in Ningxiang City, Hunan Province, was sentenced to four years for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Zhou Jingcheng, around 60, was arrested in early 2020 after the local Yutan Police Station officers spotted him distributing Falun Gong informational materials from their surveillance cameras. He was soon released, only to be taken back into custody on May 29, 2021, and held at the Ningxiang City Detention Center. He went on a hunger strike and was released on the 59th day on July 27 and placed under house arrest.
The Wangcheng District Court in Changsha (the capital city that oversees Ningxiang City) held a hearing of Mr. Zhou’s case on January 5, 2023. He was taken to the Xiangya Affiliated Second Hospital for a physical exam in July 2023 and allowed to go home afterward. On September 22, he was instructed to go to the court to pick up his health exam reports, only to be seized and taken to the Ningxiang City Detention Center.
The police took Mr. Zhou to the Wangling Prison in You County, Hunan Province six days later on September 28. Only then did the court notify his family that he had been sentenced to four years in prison.
When the family went to the prison on October 9 to deliver clothes for him, they were surprised to be told that the prison refused to admit him for unknown reasons and he is currently held at the Zhuzhou City Prison Administration Bureau.
This is not the first time that Mr. Zhou has been targeted for upholding his faith. He was previously given two forced labor terms totaling five years and two prison terms totaling eleven years.
Past Persecution
Mr. Zhou, the former general manager of an animal feed factory, took up Falun Gong in 1996. As one of the first to practice Falun Gong in Ningxiang County, he volunteered to teach others the Falun Gong exercises. After the persecution began in 1999, he became a key target and was repeatedly arrested for upholding his faith. As he remained in detention, his feed factory also suffered huge losses.
Mr. Zhou was given two years of forced labor in 2000 and released on May 23, 2002. Only five months later, on October 28, 2002, he was arrested again and given three years of forced labor. He was savagely beaten and had a long gash at the end of his eyebrow that required six stitches. After the abuse of him was reported on Minghui.org, the Xinkaipu Labor Camp released him ahead of time, in May 2004, under pressure.
Mr. Zhou was arrested again in September 2004 for talking to people about Falun Gong and was soon sentenced to six years in prison. As he had almost half of his body weight (from 145 lbs to 80 lbs) after 49 days of hunger strike, the local prison refused to admit him.
The police released him but took him back into custody on January 14, 2006. While he was held at the Jingshi City Second Detention Center, the guards instigated the inmates to stuff socks soaked in urine and feces into his mouth. He went on a hunger strike in protest and was force-fed. Eight of his teeth were knocked out as the guards pried open his mouth.
After Mr. Zhou was moved to the Wangling Prison, the guards beat him savagely and shocked him on the head, ears, lower body, and other sensitive parts with high-voltage electric batons. One time the electric shock lasted more than one hour. His whole body was covered with burnt scars and he was in excruciating pain. Another time he was handcuffed and hung up for ten straight days. On yet another occasion, the guards stomped on him, breaking his ribs. They beat him so hard that his ears were bloody, shrunken, and deformed.
Mr. Zhou was released on medical parole on October 30, 2007, but taken back to prison on July 1, 2008. He was eventually released from prison ahead of time in September 2010.
The police arrested Mr. Zhou again on August 20, 2011, after he was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. He went on a hunger strike for more than two months. His weight dropped from 155 lbs to less than 70 lbs. Despite his critical condition, the Ningxiang City Court heard his case on October 12, 2011, and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was taken to the Wangling Prison before being transferred to the Jingshi City Prison. He was again brutally tortured. It is unclear whether he served the full term of five years.
Related reports:
Factory Manager Mr. Zhou Jingcheng Arrested and Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
Mr. Zhou Jingcheng from Ningxiang County, Hunan Province Still Being Detained after Three Months
Factory Manager Mr. Zhou Jingcheng Faces Trial on Day 50 of His Hunger Strike Protest (Photos)
Mr. Zhou Jingcheng Persecuted in Wangling Jail, You County, Hunan Province
Brutally Force-Fed Until Life in Danger: Practitioner Mr. Zhou Jingcheng from Changsha
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