Single Father Given Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 53-year-old father in Zhongwei City, Ningxia Province, stood trial on March 31, 2023, and was sentenced to five years on April 13 for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. You Haijun used to work as an engineering vehicle driver. His wife divorced him less than a year after their daughter was born. The baby girl, You Qing, frequently fell ill. She developed epilepsy when she was three. Every time she had an episode, she would foam at the mouth and lose consciousness.

Mr. You sought many treatments for his daughter, but none had any effect on her. In 2004, when she was four, he heard about Falun Gong’s health benefits and taught her the exercises. Three days later, she stopped having the episodes and recovered. Mr. You also started to practice Falun Gong himself and his asthma disappeared as well.

On May 16, 2021, Mr. You was stopped by the police near a middle school. The police arrested him after finding 39 copies of Falun Gong booklets and two cell phones in the top box of his motorcycle. The police also accused him of distributing another 12 Falun Gong booklets found in the nearby neighborhood. A total of 51 booklets, 88 electronic Falun Gong books, 39 audio files, and eight pictures found in his cell phones were submitted by the police as prosecution evidence against him.

Mr. You was put on criminal detention a day after his arrest, which was formally approved by the Zhongning County Procuratorate on May 31. The Shapotou District Procuratorate indicted him on August 25, 2021 and forwarded his case to the Shapotou District Court.

During the hearing on March 31, 2023, Mr. You’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him. His daughter appeared in court as his family defender.

Mr. You’s lawyer argued that the prosecution evidence submitted by the police couldn’t support the charge that Mr. You “undermined law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. He said that no law identifies Falun Gong as a cult. The fact that the General Administration of Press and Publication lifted the ban on Falun Gong literature in 2011 meant that his client didn’t violate any law in possessing or distributing Falun Gong materials.

Mr. You testified in his own defense and maintained his innocence in practicing Falun Gong and distributing Falun Gong materials.

Mr. You also testified that Zhou Xu, the director of the Zhongning County Domestic Security Office, interrogated him at the local detention center and ordered him to sign a case document. Zhou became incensed as Mr. You refused to sign it. Zhou threatened him, “Don’t think about getting out of here alive if you don’t sign it. There are so many wrongful cases in China. I don’t mind adding another one. It won’t matter to anyone if you die.”

Mr. You’s family present at the hearing was shocked to learn that Zhou had made such threats. Zhou, who also attended the hearing, immediately left the courtroom.

The prosecutor recommended a heavy sentence on the grounds that Mr. You was a repeat offender, citing the 3.5-year term given to him by the Zhongning County Court on May 30, 2014, also for practicing Falun Gong.

The judge announced on April 13, 2023, that Mr. You was sentenced to five years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Mr. You appealed the verdict right after being convicted.

In the verdict, the judge said that two specific documents the defense lawyer brought up during the hearing were irrelevant to this case and had illegitimate sources, and were inadmissible. The two documents included the cult list published by the Ministry of Public Security in 2000 that didn’t include Falun Gong, as well as the notice issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication in 2011 that repealed its ban on the publication of Falun Gong books.

The detention center originally allowed Mr. You’s family to visit him on April 29, but reversed their decision two days before the visit. Mr. You is still being held at the Zhongwei City Detention Center at the time of writing. His family vowed to continue seeking justice for him.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Liu Wei (刘伟), president of Shapotou Court: [phone]Wang Jing (王静), presiding judge of Shapotou Court: [phone], [phone]Li Xiaona (李晓娜), judge of Shapotou Court: [phone]Li Yuanyi (李元颐), judge of Shapotou Court: [phone]Zhang Bin (张斌), president of Shapotou Procuratorate: [phone]Zhou Jie (周洁), prosecutor of Shapotou Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]

Related reports:

Daughter of Abused Practitioner Beaten in School, Sues Jiang Zemin

Two Ningxia Province Practitioners Remain Illegally Detained

Award-winning Music Teacher Mr. Ding Fadong and His Friend Mr. You Haijun Illegally Tried

Mr. You Haijun and Mr. Ding Fadong from Ningxia Arrested