(Minghui.org) A Jinan City, Shandong Province, resident was recently sentenced to one year for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Sun Chao (also known as Sun Hongbin), around 57, was arrested at home on June 8, 2024. The arresting officers from the Silicun Police Station beat him and injured his knees. The Shizhong District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for him on June 21 and transferred his case to the Changqing District Procuratorate in September 2024.
Prosecutor Wang indicted Mr. Sun at an unknown date and he stood trial at the Changqing District Court on November 8, 2024. His lawyer from Beijing entered a not guilty plea for him and questioned the admissibility of a blurry video used as prosecution evidence.
After the hearing, the presiding judge had a brief conversation with Mr. Sun and asked why he was so stubborn in upholding his faith, which would result in a prison sentence. He told her that he was a lay Buddhist when he was young but later began practicing Falun Gong due to its profound teachings. He refused to admit any guilt and explained that he was exercising his constitutional right to freedom of belief. The judge sentenced him at an unknown date.
Mr. Sun refused to sign the verdict and planned to file an appeal. He is currently held at the Jinan City Detention Center.
This is not the first time that Mr. Sun, from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province has been targeted for his faith. He was previously sentenced to three years and was unable to attend his father’s funeral in 2015 because he was still in detention.
Mr. Sun landed a job in Qingdao City, Shandong Province after graduating college. While talking to an elderly man about Falun Gong on April 23, 2015, he was reported to the police and taken to the Luoyang Road Police Station. Two days later, he was moved to the Qingdao City Lockup. He was released on May 5, 2015.
Mr. Sun was arrested again in July 2015. The police beat him so hard that they knocked out multiple teeth. He was sentenced to three years around March 2016 and endured horrific torture at the Shandong Province Prison. The guards once did not allow him to sleep for one whole week, during which time they also ruthlessly beat him. He became confused and was in critical condition. The guards rushed him to a hospital but his condition did not stabilize for two weeks.
Mr. Sun moved to Jinan City after he was released in July 2018. The local police arrested him around 2021 and threatened that they could put him in jail any time they wanted. He was released hours later.
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