(Minghui.org) A total of 43 cases of Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison for their faith were reported in September 2025.
The newly confirmed cases included 38 that took place in 2025, and five in earlier years. With ever stricter information censorship under the Chinese Communist Party, many details about the practitioners’ indictments, trials, and sentences were difficult (if not impossible) to collect, which caused further delays in reporting.
The sentenced Falun Gong practitioners came from 17 provinces or centrally-controlled municipalities. Sichuan reported the most cases (11), followed by Jilin (7) and Guangdong (4). Jiangxi and Shandong each had 3 cases. The remaining 12 regions had 1 or 2 cases each.
The practitioners’ terms ranged from three months to eight years. Among the 31 practitioners whose ages at the time of their sentencing were known, 2 were in their 30s, 1 in his 40s, 6 in their 50s, 15 in their 60s, 6 in their 70s, and 1 in her 80s.
The following are details of select sentencing cases.
Henan Man Sentenced to Eight Years
Mr. Bai Hongmin, 61 and of Xuchang City, Henan Province, was arrested on June 19, 2024. He was first held at a brainwashing center in Hebi City and ordered to renounce Falun Gong. While he was detained, the police also harassed his family, causing them tremendous mental distress.
Mr. Bai was transferred to the Zhengzhou City Third Detention Center around November 2024. He was tried by the Xinzheng City Court on February 26, 2025, and sentenced to eight years with a 20,000-yuan fine. He appealed to the Zhengzhou City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict.
Mr. Bai, a former employee of the Xuchang City Agricultural Bureau, and his wife, Ms. Tao Zhili, a chemistry teacher at the Xuchang City Ninth Middle School, have been repeatedly targeted during the past 26 years for their faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Bai was sentenced to four years in prison following an arrest in 2011. He was subjected to various forms of torture while serving time at the Xinmi Prison.
Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Seven Years
Ms. Zhu Jiyu, in her 50s, from Jianchang County, Liaoning Province, was a lay Buddhist. While working for an elderly Falun Gong practitioner as a home aide, she witnessed the practitioner’s kindness, and took up Falun Gong in 2017. Living by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, Ms. Zhu volunteered to care for her bedridden ex-mother-in-law. Her ex-husband and his family were all very touched.
Police officers broke into Ms. Zhu’s home at around 3 p.m. on March 13, 2024, and arrested her. They said that someone days prior turned in a purse, which had three copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, a media player, and a cellphone with eBook versions of Falun Gong books. They suspected Ms. Zhu of owning the purse after they viewed surveillance camera footage.
The police submitted Ms. Zhu’s case to the Lianshan District Procuratorate, which then indicted her. She was sentenced to seven years by the Lianshan District Court on November 12, 2024, and sent to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison in mid-August 2025.
53-Year-Old Heilongjiang Man Sentenced to 3.5 Years, On Hunger Strike in Custody
Mr. Wang Zebin, 53, a former employee of the Harbin City Bearing Factory in Heilongjiang Province, was arrested at home on December 19, 2024. He was first taken to the police station and then transferred to the Daoli District Second Detention Center that day for a 15-day administrative detention. He was put in criminal detention and taken to the Xiangfang District Detention Center on January 3, 2025.
Mr. Wang started a hunger strike the day he was arrested. On the seventh day, the police took him to a hospital to be force-fed. The nurse failed to insert the feeding tube into his stomach and yanked it out violently, causing him excruciating pain.
Mr. Wang started another hunger strike on January 28, 2025, after the detention center forbade him from doing the Falun Gong exercises. He began to experience pain a few days later. A guard took him to a different hospital for a physical exam. He was found to have kidney stones and was operated on. He was taken back to the detention center after being discharged.
The Daowai District Procuratorate indicted Mr. Wang on May 2, 2025. The police went to the detention center on May 16 to collect his blood samples. He stood trial at the Daowai District Court on July 4 and was sentenced to a three and a half-year prison term on August 13.
The Qingyang District Court in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, convicted five locals on September 19, 2025.
Ms. Zhang Ruifang, 69, was sentenced to three years and eight months with a 30,000-yuan fine.Ms. Jing Guihua, 60, was given three years and two months with a 20,000-yuan fine.Ms. Xu Shuyao, 62, received two and a half years with a 20,000-yuan fine.Mr. Nie Zhongyong, 78, was given two years and two months with a 10,000-yuan fine.Ms. Ming Yue, 62, was sentenced to one year and eight months with a 10,000-yuan fine.
The four women were arrested on the afternoon of July 8, 2024, as they were leaving a local park. The police raided their homes and confiscated their valuables. They were put on residential surveillance at a secret location for a month before they were transferred to the Chengdu City Detention Center.
The police revealed that they had monitored Ms. Ming for months before the arrest. They even installed surveillance devices at her mother’s residence. They took photos of her when she went out. After her arrest, they shadowed her sister for a period of time.
Mr. Nie was arrested at a bus stop on August 16, 2024, by officers from the Qingyang District Police Department. He was also held at the Chengdu City Detention Center.
The practitioners’ trial in the Qingyang District Court on September 19, 2025, was scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., but did not begin until 11 a.m. Judge Li Bo allowed each practitioner to have only two immediate family members attend the hearing. Two friends of one practitioner managed to enter the courtroom, but were removed soon afterwards.
Ms. Ming’s mother was approved to serve as her non-lawyer defender but was stripped of the right at the last minute and only allowed to attend as a spectator.
Ms. Jing’s husband was allowed to represent her as a non-lawyer defender. He requested that judge Li be recused. Li stepped away for five minutes and then returned to preside over the trial. He reprimanded Ms. Jing’s husband whenever the latter brought up “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” the core principles of Falun Gong.
Li also threatened to deprive Ms. Jing’s husband of his right to defend her as he was presenting his defense statement. Prior to the court hearing, Li didn’t allow him to review the case file until two days before the trial, and gave him only a half-day to review everything. He was not allowed to make a copy of the file and could only read and transcribe details of the case.
Li convicted all five practitioners at the end of the hearing.
Having Been Fired and Deprived of Pension, Jiangxi Woman Sentenced Again for Her Faith
Ms. Liu Yongying, a 62-year-old resident in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to three years and three months with a 10,000-yuan fine by the Xihu District Court on July 15, 2025.
Ms. Liu was arrested at home on August 21, 2024, by officers from multiple police agencies. Her husband and son, who do not practice Falun Gong, were also arrested and held in custody until 10 p.m.
The police took Ms. Liu to a brainwashing center the next day. Even though her blood pressure was over 200 mmHg (a normal range is 120 mmHg or lower), they had her admitted to the Nanchang City Second Detention Center on the third day.
Ms. Liu stood trial at the Xihu District Court on June 17, 2025. Her husband was not allowed to attend the hearing. After nearly one year of detention, Ms. Liu was very weak, and struggled to walk into the courtroom. She was unable to sit on the defendant’s seat because of her heavy shackles. Only then did the judge allow the shackles to be removed.
The prosecution evidence included 138 amulets with information about Falun Gong inscribed on them, that were confiscated from Ms. Liu’s car, as well as items seized from her home, including 16 Falun Gong books and a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder.
Ms. Liu pointed out that the 138 amulets were confiscated from her during her previous arrest on April 2, 2018. They were used as evidence to get her sentenced to two years, but the prosecutor was using them again in this latest case. The amulets shown in court this time looked worn and the words were blurred.
Ms. Liu’s lawyer defended her constitutional right to practice and spread information about Falun Gong. The judge nonetheless sentenced her on July 15, 2025.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Liu served two labor camp terms totaling five years, during which time she was beaten, verbally abused, force-fed, and forced to do intensive, unpaid labor. After her 2018 arrest, she was sentenced to two years, and suffered abuse in prison similar to what she went through during her forced-labor terms.
When she was released on April 3, 2020, Ms. Liu was emaciated, and staggered when she walked. Many of her teeth fell out as a result of the torture. She learned that her employer, the Jiangxi Civil Administration School, was ordered by higher-ups to fire her in May 2018, despite her being awarded “employee of the year” in 2015 and in 2017. They later also refused to issue her pension benefits.
Ms. Liu Yongying before she was persecuted
Ms. Liu Yongying after enduring severe abuse in detention
Once Jailed for 12 Years, Shandong Man Sentenced to Another Two Years
Mr. Zhao Weidong, a 62-year-old former assistant engineer at Xinhua Machinery Factory in Taian City, Shandong Province, was arrested on September 12, 2024, when he and his wife, Ms. Sun Xiuwei, were making deliveries to a local supermarket.
Mr. Zhao appeared in the Taishan District Court on November 13, 2024. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him and requsted his acquittal. The judge sentenced him to a two-year prison term at an unknown date. He was admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on February 19, 2025, and is scheduled to be released on September 11, 2027. It is unclear whether his wife faced prosecution.
Prior to his latest sentencing, Mr. Zhao was sentenced to 12 years in 2004 for his faith. He served time in the 11th Division of Shandong Province Prison, where he was subjected to relentless torture. He was released in 2016.
Father and Son Sentenced to Prison for Exposing the Persecution of Falun Gong
A father and son in Changchun City, Jilin Province, were both sentenced to prison for exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution of their faith, Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang Guozhi and his son, Mr. Zhang Yue (in his 30s), were arrested at their shared rental place on July 15, 2024, and taken to the Changchun City Detention Center. The older Mr. Zhang contracted pneumonia and it’s not clear whether or not he received any medical care.
Mr. Zhang Yue was later sentenced to four years and is now serving time in Jilin Prison. The father’s prison sentence remains to be investigated. It is only known that the older man was admitted to Gongzhuling Prison.
Both men have been denied family visits since their arrests more than a year ago.
58-Year-Old Woman Sentenced to 1.5 Years for Distributing Falun Gong Materials
Ms. Yang Liping, 58, from Qingyang City, Gansu Province, lived with her son’s family in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, to help care for her grandson. The police arrested her on June 6, 2024, and confiscated her cellphone and Falun Gong informational materials. They said a resident had reported her for distributing Falun Gong materials in her son’s neighborhood on June 3 and 4. They tracked her down after viewing surveillance camera footage. She was held at the Yanta District Detention Center.
Prosecutor Wang Nanxin of the Yanta District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Yang on September 5, 2024. She appeared in the Yanta District Court weeks later on October 12, and her lawyer entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. The judge sentenced her to 1.5 years with an 8,000-yuan fine on August 7, 2025.
Sichuan Retiree Sentenced to One Year for Practicing Falun Gong
Ms. Zhou Min, from Shifang City, Sichuan Province, was sentenced to one year in prison on September 9, 2025.
Ms. Zhou, who retired from the Nanxing Machinery Factory (formerly Southwest Chemical Machinery), was talking to people about Falun Gong in Shigu Town when a male government employee seized her and took her to the Shigu Town Police Station.
Ms. Zhou was interrogated and photographed by three officers. She refused to answer their questions and urged them to stop participating in the persecution of Falun Gong.
The police released Ms. Zhou on bail at an unknown time. She was harassed by local community officers on January 20, 2025, who claimed to be conducting a welfare check and handed her an envelope with cash.
Ms. Zhou refused to accept the money and also refused to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. They left, only to return and harass her again on March 6, 2025.
Ms. Zhou was seized at her home on May 14, 2025 and put in criminal detention at the Deyang City Detention Center. Her family wasn’t allowed to visit her. On May 28, her family got a notice that she had been issued a formal arrest warrant for “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame Falun Gong practitioners. It is unclear when she was indicted and tried. Her family only recently learned of the wrongful conviction, on September 9.
Related Reports:
Reported in August 2025: 69 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in July 2025: 74 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in the First Half of 2025: 430 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in May 2025: 79 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in April 2025: 79 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in March 2025: 61 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in February 2025: 68 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
Reported in January 2025: 97 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith
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