(Minghui.org) Eight Falun Gong practitioners in Shandong Province were sentenced earlier this year for making Falun Gong informational materials, and four of them are currently serving time. It is unclear when the other four, who had been released on bail following their arrests, will start serving time.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The eight practitioners, most of whom are farmers in Guan County, Shandong Province, were arrested between May and August 2022. The Guan County Court held a virtual hearing of their cases on December 21, 2022, and sentenced them to from 3 to 7.5 years in prison on January 4, 2023.
Ms. Zhang Yuxiang, 51, and Mr. Xu Hengkui, 60, were both sentenced to 7.5 years and fined 18,000 yuan. Mr. Kong Dequan, 61, was given 7 years and 4 months, with a 16,000-yuan fine. Mr. Zhou Chunbao, 48, Ms. Gao Shuzhen, 47, Mr. Han Zhenlin, 71, and Mr. Zhang Bingliang, 68, were each sentenced to 4 years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Mr. Wang Ruixiang, 55, was given 3 years and fined 8,000 yuan.
Ms. Zhang and Mr. Zhou were being held at the Liaocheng City Detention Center and Guan County Detention Center, respectively, at the time of their sentencing.
The other six practitioners, who had been released on bail not long after their arrests due to their health conditions, received calls from the court on February 12, 2023, asking them to come to the court to pick up their case documents. Mr. Han did not go, but the other five practitioners went.
All five of the practitioners were first taken to the local police station and then to the hospital for physical examinations. Mr. Xu, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Wang were rejected admission by the Guan County Detention Center due to health conditions, but Mr. Kong and Ms. Gao were admitted.
Related report:
Eight Shandong Residents Sentenced to 3 to 7.5 Years for Having Falun Gong Artwork at Home
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