(Minghui.org) Mr. Xu Fangquan, 55, from Jinan City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to two and a half years by a court in Jiangsu Province on August 18, 2023, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since July 1999.

Mr. Xu Fangquan, a manager at Jinan Iron & Steel Group, visited his daughter in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province in January 2022. During his visit, he distributed some Falun Gong informational materials and was reported. The Lianyungang police soon identified and arrested him after looking at surveillance videos.

The Haizhou District Court in Lianyungang City held a hearing on February 24, 2023, and sentenced him to two and a half years on August 18. He is appealing the wrongful conviction.

This is not the first time that Mr. Xu has been targeted for his faith. He was held at a local detention center for one month in 2001, during which time he was brutally beaten by the guards and inmates.

Li Mei, a Jinan City 610 Office staffer, came to Mr. Xu’s workplace in 2012, attempting to make him renounce Falun Gong. As he held firm to his faith, Li sent Mr. Xu to a brainwashing class, where he was held for two weeks.

Mr. Xu was required to work full time for one year but was only given a fraction of his normal pay, causing his family great financial pressure.

Mr. Xu was summoned to the Shenghuo District Police Station on June 1, 2016, and arrested as soon as he arrived. The police targeted him because he filed a criminal complaint against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong.