(Minghui.org) The Minghui.org website recently confirmed that two residents of Macheng City, Hebei Province were sentenced to prison earlier this year for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Yi Jiahai and Mr. Yan Yingzhong, both in their 70s, were seized from their respective homes on November 6, 2021 and taken to the Macheng City First Detention Center. Mr. Yi was later sentenced to a nine-year prison term, and Mr. Yan to eight years. They were both admitted to the Shayang Prison Group on June 14, 2023.
The Shayang Prison Group has ten prisons, and it is unclear in which prison Mr. Yi and Mr. Yan are being held. The details of their indictment, trial, and sentencing also remain to be investigated.
This was not the first time that both men were targeted for their faith.
Mr. Yi is a retired principal of Wanyi Elementary School in Chengmagang Township, Macheng City. He was taking a nap on October 15, 2013 when officer Ding Pengcheng from the Macheng City Domestic Security Office, and several agents from the Wangfudian Police Station scaled his fence and broke in. They confiscated his two computers, one printer, and other valuables.
The police took Mr. Yi to the Chengmagang Police Station and moved him to the Macheng City Lockup the next day. In addition to the aforementioned police officers, Cao Guangyin of the Macheng City Police Department, along with the Longchi Police Station, the Nanhu Police Station, the Baiguo Police Station, and the local street committee, were also involved in Mr. Yi’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.
Eager to get him released, Mr. Yi’s wife fell victim to the police’s deceit, and revealed information that was later used against him. The police then submitted the evidence to get him indicted, and threatened to sentence him to more than ten years unless his family paid up. His daughter and son ended up paying a large sum of money to the police, only to see him still sentenced to four years by the Macheng City Court on October 23, 2014. He was admitted to the Fanjiatai Prison (of the Shayang Prison Group) two months later.
When Mr. Yi visited another practitioner, Mr. Liu Quanyong’, on November 6, 2021, he was arrested again by the police who came to raid Mr. Liu’s home. Several thousand yuan worth of banknotes printed with Falun Gong messages were confiscated from Mr. Liu. [As all legal appeals channels are blocked to Falun Gong practitioners, they use creative means, including printing Falun Gong messages on paper currency, to raise awareness of the persecution.]
Mr. Yi was taken to the Macheng City First Detention Center and held there for an unknown duration. Mr. Liu was held at the Huanggang City Detention Center for eight months and released in late May 2022.
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 by the Huangtugang Town Comprehensive Management Office.
Mr. Yan was arrested while out shopping on the morning of October 23, 2013, by officers Ding Pengcheng and Hu Jiancheng from the Macheng City Domestic Security Office, director Wan Ping and officer Guo Hui from the Huangtugang Police Station, as well as the Yanjiafan Village paramilitary captain. They next raided his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and informational materials, a 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 officers from the Huangtugang Police Station broke into Mr. Yan’s home twice on the morning of November 6, 2021. They confiscated his printer, and took his wife to their police station for interrogation. She was released in the afternoon, while Mr. Yan was taken to the Macheng City First Detention Center. It was unclear when he was later released.
Retired Elementary School Principal and Other Practitioners Persecuted