(Minghui.org) Shortly after Mr. Yan Yingzhong, in his 70s, was admitted to prison on June 14, 2023, to serve eight years for his faith in Falun Gong, his bank sent his daughter a text message saying that the local court had garnished 50,000 yuan from his account to pay a criminal fine.

Falun Gong is a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Yan, a farmer in Macheng City, Hubei Province, was seized from his home on November 6, 2021, and taken to the Macheng City First Detention Center. The Macheng City Court secretly sentenced him to eight years and fined him 50,000 yuan in 2023. He is currently serving time at one of the ten prisons in the Shayang Prison Group. The details of his indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated.

This was not the first time that Mr. Yan was targeted for their faith.

Mr. Yan went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in 1999 and was arrested and escorted back to Hubei. His color TV and 10,000 yuan in cash were confiscated.

Mr. Yan was arrested while out shopping on the morning of October 23, 2013. The police raided his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and informational materials, an MP3 audio player, a printer, a paper cutter, a binding machine, copy paper, and other valuables.

Mr. Yan refused to answer any questions or sign any paperwork during the interrogation. The police then took him to the Macheng City Detention Center. He was held there for seven days and released on November 1, 2013.

Around seven police officers broke into Mr. Yan’s home twice on the morning of November 6, 2021. They confiscated his printer and took his wife to the station for interrogation. She was released in the afternoon, while Mr. Yan was taken to the Macheng City First Detention Center.

Related report:

Two Elderly Men Given Heavy Prison Sentences for Their Faith in Falun Gong