(Minghui.org) A 57-year-old resident of Jinan City, Shandong Province is facing indictment for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Sun Chao (also known as Sun Hongbin) was arrested at home on June 8, 2024. The arresting officers from the Silicun Police Station beat him and injured his knees during the process. The Shizhong District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for him on June 21 and his case was recently transferred to the Changqing District Procuratorate with prosecutor Wang in charge.

Mr. Sun has been held at the Jinan City Detention Center since his arrest. This is not the first time that the Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province native has been targeted for his faith. He was previously sentenced to three years and unable to attend his father’s funeral in 2015 while he was still in detention.

Mr. Sun became interested in spiritual practice as a child and was a lay Buddhist before he took up Falun Gong in the 1990s. He held firm to his faith after the persecution began, as he had determined Falun Gong was the best spiritual path for him. He 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 multiple teeth were knocked out. 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 and his condition wasn’t stabilized until half a month later.

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.