(Minghui.org) It’s been recently confirmed by Minghui.org that an 86-year-old resident of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province was sentenced to seven years and fined 40,000 yuan around January 2022 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Mr. Chen Renlin was admitted to the Suzhou Prison around May 2023.

Mr. Chen, a retired railroad engineer, was arrested on the morning of August 25, 2019 while delivering informational materials about Falun Gong to other practitioners for distribution. The police raided his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books, two laptops, four printers, and various forms of informational materials exposing the persecution. Prior to his arrest, Mr. Chen had been using his retirement income to purchase supplies and produce informational materials at home.

The arresting officers were from the Tianning District Domestic Security Office. The Tianning District Procuratorate indicted Mr. Chen and the Tianning District Court sentenced him.

During the past 24 years of persecution, the communist regime has been targeting practitioners both young and old. Many elderly practitioners, in particular, have been relentlesssly harassed, arrested, or sentenced during their retirement years. 

In addition to Mr. Chen, Minghui.org has also confirmed at least 23 other cases of law-abiding citizens in their 70s or 80s sentenced for their faith in Falun Gong since November 2022. Their prison terms ranged from six months to six years, with an average of two years and ten months.

With their advanced age, many of these practitioners are more vulnerable to the physical and mental torture they face in custody for upholding their faith. Around the same that Mr. Chen was admitted to prison, an 82-year-old woman serving a three-year term died in custody, less than 21 months after her imprisonment. 

The list of elderly practitioners sentenced since November 2022 can be downloaded here.