(Minghui.org) A 72-year-old resident of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province was sentenced to three years on April 30, 2024 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The verdict against Mr. Liu Changjin was issued by the Funing District Court, and the prison term was set to run from May 17, 2024 to May 2, 2027. Presiding judge Shi Wenjing, judges Zhang Dawei and Li Hui, and clerk Zhong Jialin signed the ruling. Due to his poor health, Mr. Liu is currently serving time outside of prison.
Mr. Liu’s sentencing stemmed from his arrest on May 26, 2023. He distributed Falun Gong informational materials at a residential complex in the Qinhuangdao Economic and Technological Development Zone that day and was reported to the police by resident Lou Qinghai.
The police soon tracked Mr. Liu down and arrested him at home. They confiscated his Falun Gong books and informational materials, as well as his printer. They took Mr. Liu to the Qinhuangdao City Detention Center. As he refused to answer questions, the police called his daughter, who lives out of town, that night. She and her husband rushed back to Qinhuangdao to address the situation.
Mr. Liu was issued a formal arrest warrant on June 7, 2023. His daughter hired a lawyer from Qianqi Law Firm in Beijing to represent him. The police took him for a physical examination on June 26, 2023 and he was found to be unfit for continued detention. It turned out he was suffering complications from a stroke he had in mid-May 2023, when he remained bedridden for two days after the episode.
The police released Mr. Liu under house arrest after the physical examination. On December 12, 2023, they submitted his case to the Qinhuangdao Economic and Technological Development Zone Procuratorate, which in turn handed the case over to the Funing District Procuratorate that same day. The latter procuratorate indicted Mr. Liu and submitted his case to the Funing District Court on February 5, 2024.
It is unclear when Mr. Liu stood trial at the Funing District Court. After convicting him on April 30, 2024, the court ordered that he be taken to the Qinhuangdao City Detention Center. During the required physical examination, he was found to be still suffering from stroke complications and other health issues. The detention center declined to admit him.
Mr. Liu was then sent back home. The Funing District Court ordered him to serve the first six months of his sentence outside of prison and did not allow him to go out of town. He refused to sign the paperwork related to the court decision.
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