(Minghui.org) A 63-year-old man in Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to four years with a 10,000-yuan fine on November 20, 2023, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The sentencing of Mr. Shi Xiaochun, a mailroom clerk at Heping Elementary School in the Jiguan District, Jixi City, stemmed from an incident on April 24, 2023. He put up Falun Gong flyers on campus that day and was reported by his colleague, Jia Chun, to the Xiangyang Police Station in the same district.
Officers Zhang Duo, Tian Meng, and Liu Jian poured over the school’s surveillance cameras and found footage of someone putting up flyers. They then had Song Junlong, the assistant school principal, and Zhang Baohua, a school employee, confirm Mr. Shi’s identity and employment before arresting him at work on May 12, 2023. They confiscated a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of Falun Gong, from the mailroom and informational materials about Falun Gong.
The Jiguan District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for Mr. Shi on June 8 and delegated his case to the Jidong County Procuratorate, which indicted him. Jidong County is under the administration of Jixi City.
Mr. Shi appeared in the Jidong County Court on October 11, 2023. Judge Xu Zhongqi (+86-13144665817, +86-13091570400) presided over the trial. Judges Wang Jing and Shi Lu, judges’ assistant Li Mo, clerk Zhao Jingsi, and prosecutor Liu Chunbo (+86-13125972577, +86-13836591178) were also present. Six people from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) (an extra-judicial agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong) were seen in the gallery as well.
Mr. Shi’s lawyer asked to have his handcuffs removed, but judge Xu denied the request. The lawyer then asked that clerk Zhao record the fact that Mr. Shi remained handcuffed during the proceedings.
Prosecutor Liu charged Mr. Shi with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” the standard pretext used to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. He cited as evidence an authentication report issued by the Jixi City Police Department that stated that the Falun Gong materials confiscated from Mr. Shi’s workplace were cult propaganda. He also presented an amulet with a Falun Gong message on it confiscated from Mr. Shi’s workplace.
Mr. Shi’s lawyer argued that, by law, only independent, third-party forensic agencies are authorized to examine and verify evidence. The police department had a conflict of interest in overseeing the arresting officers and authenticating the evidence they submitted. The lawyer read aloud the message on the amulet and said it was simply about the benefits of Falun Gong, which in no way caused any harm to any individual or society at large, much less undermine law enforcement.
The lawyer further emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and pointed out that Announcement 50 issued by the General Administration of the Press and Publications on March 1, 2011, had repealed a previous ban on the publication of Falun Gong books and materials. Liu said that the notice was invalid since it was over ten years old. The lawyer countered that the notice remained in effect since there was no new notice to invalidate it.
Liu accused Mr. Shi of being a repeat offender as he was previously given five forced labor terms and one prison term totaling 16 years, all for practicing Falun Gong. His lawyer reiterated the lack of legal basis in the persecution of Falun Gong and said his previous incarcerations were unconstitutional and should not be used as evidence to prosecute him. Liu ignored the lawyer and recommended a four-year sentence.
The court announced Mr. Shi’s four-year sentence on November 20, 2023.
Past Persecution: 16 Years Behind Bars
Mr. Shi went to Beijing on December 20, 1999, to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested and given one year of forced labor in the Jixi City Labor Camp. The guards beat him with batons and slapped his neck. They sometimes did not let him sleep until midnight. On one occasion, they forced him to stand in a military posture for more than two hours in deep snow.
Around January 2001, Mr. Shi was arrested for talking to people about Falun Gong and given two years of forced labor. He was tortured again in the Jixi City Labor Camp.
Mr. Shi was arrested on April 22, 2003, merely three months after he was released. He was given another two years of forced labor soon afterward.
Mr. Shi’s next arrest took place on a train to Changchun City, Jilin Province, on June 13, 2005. The train police seized him after receiving a tip that he was talking to fellow passengers about Falun Gong. He was held in a detention center for more than three weeks before being given two years in the Changlinzi Labor Camp in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.
Two officers from the Jidong County First Police Station arrested Mr. Shi on April 10, 2008, and confiscated Falun Gong materials from his home. Officer Qi Dongquan interrogated him using torture in the Jidong County Police Department. He was given two years of forced labor on May 16, 2008, and served time in the Suihua Labor Camp.
Mr. Shi was arrested on May 27, 2012. Two days later, over 20 officers from the Jidong County Domestic Security Office raided his home. They smashed the lock on his door and broke in, confiscating 11,000 yuan cash, a bank deposit book with a balance of 20,000 yuan, a computer, a printer, Falun Gong books, and other valuables. The Jidong County Court tried Mr. Shi in late November 2012 and later sentenced him to seven years in the Mudanjiang Prison.
Related reports:
Mr. Shi Xiaochun, a Practitioner from Heilongjiang Province, Sentenced to Forced Labor 5 Times
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