(Minghui.org) A 62-year-old Tianjin resident was arrested at his daughter’s home in Beijing on February 4, 2024, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Mr. Qi Zhiyin was detained at the Wuqing District Detention Center in Tianjin. The Minghui.org website recently confirmed that he was sentenced to nine years by a local court in July 2024, but details about his indictment, trial, and sentencing aren’t clear.
Mr. Qi’s arrest came five years after he was forced to live away from home to avoid being persecuted. He was previously arrested on December 28, 2017 during a police sweep in Tianjin. At least 36 other practitioners were also arrested on the same day.
Mr. Qi was detained at the Wuqing District Detention Center for eight months. He held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was released 40 days later, when he was on the verge of death. The Tianjin Court later issued him a subpoena, ordering him to report to the detention center. To avoid the persecution, he lived away from home, only to be arrested five years later and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Among the other practitioners arrested during the police sweep in December 2017, twelve have also been sentenced to prison. Among them, Mr. Li Yongquan was sentenced to 11 years, Ms. Gao Lijuan to 9 years, Ms. Huang Junjuan and Ms. Gao Jianling to 7.5 years, Ms. Gao Yuming to 6 years, Ms. Lyu Houfen to 5.5 years, Ms. Xu Xueli to 4.5 years, Ms. Yang Yunxiang to 4 years, Ms. Zhou Houmei to 4 years, Ms. Feng Junling to 3.5 years, and Ms. Jin Zhi to 3 years.
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Tianjin: 24 Arrested in One Day for Refusing to Renounce Falun Gong
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