Reported in May 2025: 79 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith

(Minghui.org) Another 79 cases of Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison for their faith were confirmed in May 2025.

The newly-confirmed cases included one each that took place in 2016 and 2019, 19 in 2024, 50 in 2025, and 8 cases in which the year of occurrence is unknown. 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 are from sixteen provinces or centrally-controlled municipalities. Shandong Province reported the most cases of 17, followed by 9 cases in Yunnan, and 8 cases in Liaoning. The remaining 13 regions had between 1 and 7 cases each. To note, the 9 practitioners sentenced in Yunnan Province were arrested in a police sweep in June 2024. Another 8 sentencing cases in Shandong Province and 6 cases in Jiangsu also resulted from group arrests with the targeted practitioners receiving up to 7 years in both regions.

The practitioners’ prison terms ranged from nine months to nine years, with an average of three years and five months. Thirty-six practitioners were fined between 2,000 and 100,000 yuan, for a total of 575,000 yuan and an average of 15,972 yuan per person. In particular, a 75-year-old Dalian City, Liaoning Province, resident was sentenced to seven years and fined 100,000 yuan. A former bank manager in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, was given five years with an 80,000-yuan fine.

Among the 55 practitioners with known ages at the time of sentencing, they were between 43 and 86, including 2 in their 40s, 15 in their 50s, 13 in their 60s, 20 in their 70s, and 5 in their 80s.

The following are details of select sentencing cases. The full list of sentenced practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).

Group Sentencing

Nine Yunnan Residents Sentenced to Prison

Nine Kunming City, Yunnan Province, residents were illegally convicted on May 1, 2025 for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Liu Cuixian, 73, was sentenced to four and a half years and fined 15,000 yuan; Ms. Liu Xiaoping, 68, was sentenced to four years and fined 10,000 yuan; Ms. Zheng Cuilan, 78, Ms. Ma Ling, 68, Ms. Li Huanzhen, 69, and Ms. Yang Huifang, 57, were each sentenced to three years and were each fined 10,000 yuan; Ms. Zhu Yongzhen, 72, was sentenced to two years and fined 7,000 yuan; Ms. Zhang Xiuzhen, 66, was sentenced to seventeen months and fined 5,000 yuan; and Mr. Bi Sheng, 62, was sentenced to fifteen months and fined 5,000 yuan.

The nine practitioners were arrested during a police sweep on June 6, 2024. The police submitted a joint case against them to the Xishan District Procuratorate. Prosecutor Zou Chengyun returned the case to the police twice for insufficient evidence, but the police refused to release the practitioners and submitted their cases for a third time on January 10, 2025.

Zou indicted the nine practitioners on February 8, 2025 and forwarded the case to the Xishan District Court.

Judge Yang Hui tried the practitioners on March 26, 2025. Only six family members were present at the trial. Other family members later said they either did not receive the trial notice or were not allowed to enter the courthouse. Yang appointed lawyers to represent the practitioners. Some of them refused to use the lawyers who were instructed to enter guilty pleas for them.

During the five-hour long hearing, no witnesses appeared in court to accept cross examination. Prosecutor Zou did not present any evidence to support his charges against the practitioners, namely, “using a cult organization to undermine the law enforcement,” a standard pretext used to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

The practitioners testified in their own defense and emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult. They demanded they be acquitted, but the judge convicted them all on May 1, 2025.

Most of these practitioners were repeatedly arrested over the years for holding firm to their faith. Some were jailed and subjected to various forms of abuse, including being forced to sit on a small stool for 16 hours a day, being put in solitary confinement, being forced to do hard labor for more than ten hours a day, or not being allowed to purchase daily necessities. The long-term abuse damaged their health, with some suffering high blood pressure, heart failure, swelling and other symptoms. Even after they were released, they faced frequent harassment from the authorities. Some got their pensions suspended as well. Their latest prison sentences are yet another attack on their constitutional right to freedom of belief.

Arrested in a Police Sweep 4 Years Ago, Six Jiangsu Residents Sentenced Up to 7 Years

Six residents of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, were sentenced to prison on March 20, 2025. The prison terms are as follows: Ms. Yuan Huifen was sentenced to seven years and fined 7,000 yuan; Mr. Zhao Haibo was given five years and fined 5,000 yuan; Ms. Wu Xiaoming, Ms. Chang Zheng and Ms. Cui Ping all received 4.5 years and were fined 4,000 yuan; and Ms. Wen Jian was sentenced to four years and fined 4,000 yuan.

All six practitioners were arrested together with seven other local practitioners during a police sweep on May 10, 2021. The Changshu City Police Department submitted the 13 practitioners’ joint case to the Zhangjiagang City Procuratorate on January 14, 2022. Prosecutor Guo Juncheng indicted them on May 18, 2022.

Between January 31 and February 8, 2024, prosecutor Guo escalated the charges against all the practitioners and accused Mr. Zhao of being a “ringleader” who was assisted by Ms. Yuan, Ms. Wu, Ms. Chang, and Ms. Cui.

The Zhangjiagang City Court then separated the joint case into two cases, and placed the six now-sentenced practitioners in one case and the other seven in another case. It was said that the other seven practitioners have also been tried and sentenced but details remain to be investigated.

Two Court Hearings Preceding Wrongful Convictions

Mr. Zhao, Ms. Yuan, Ms. Chang, Ms. Wen, Ms. Wu, and Ms. Cui made two court appearances, on January 31 and May 22, 2024, before their sentencing.

Three lawyers, who were hired by the practitioners and entered not guilty pleas for them, and several court-appointed lawyers were present during the hearings.

Prosecutor Guo alleged that it was illegal for the practitioners to read the Falun Gong teachings together, to produce and distribute Falun Gong informational materials, to register for Minghui.org mailboxes, to hire lawyers to defend other previously arrested practitioners, and to take Falun Gong books from the homes of deceased practitioners whose families decided to give the books away.

The practitioners and their lawyers argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that all of the things they'd done listed above were within their constitutional rights.

The three lawyers hired by the practitioners pointed out that the use of the Suzhou City Domestic Security Division to verify and authenticate prosecution evidence was a violation of legal procedures as only an independent, third-party can check prosecution evidence and issue formal opinions. As such, all the prosecution evidence should be inadmissible.

Mr. Zhao, Ms. Wu, and Ms. Cui testified against the police for torturing them during interrogations and coercing them into making false “confessions.” Hence the interrogation records should also be tossed out from the trial. They added that the location where they were held in criminal detention was not a legally recognized detention facility.

Throughout the trial, both the presiding judge, Lin Shuang, and prosecutor Guo failed to specify which law the practitioners broke while they were engaged in the activities listed above. Lin proceeded to convict them on March 20, 2025.

Three Shandong Residents, Including a Married Couple, Sentenced for Practicing Falun Gong

Three Dongying City, Shandong Province residents were illegally convicted on May 26, 2025. Ms. Wang Fan, 50, was sentenced to four years. Her husband, Mr. Du Jianxin, 51, and Mr. Fu Jian, around 47, both received three and a half years. All three practitioners decided to appeal the verdicts.

The three practitioners were arrested on November 29, 2023, during a police sweep of local Falun Gong practitioners. Prior to the arrests, the police monitored practitioners for a month, including installing tracking devices on their cars and arranging agents to follow and photograph them.

Mr. Du’s mother was so distraught by her son’s and daughter-in-law’s arrests that she passed away in May 2024. The couple’s family hired a lawyer to represent them. The Binhai Detention Center barred the lawyer from visiting his clients and told him he had to get approval from the Dongying City Police Department first. The police claimed that they could not grant any meetings because they were in the process of interrogating the couple and gathering prosecution evidence. In fact, the police never went to the detention center to question the couple. Ms. Wang went on a hunger strike in protest and was force-fed.

Four Hearings Preceding Wrongful Convictions

The Dongying District Court in Dongying City held the first hearing of the three practitioners’ cases on July 3, 2024. Presiding judge Liu Nan did not allow the practitioners or their lawyers to present defense statements. During the second and the third hearings on October 16 and 21, she allowed the defense statements to be presented. The lawyers entered not guilty pleas for their clients.

One key piece of prosecution evidence presented by prosecutor Wang Shasha were the interrogation records concerning another local Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Liu Chunrong, a retired water company employee. Ms. Liu was also arrested on November 29, 2023. Although she was released at 10 p.m. that night, she was arrested again one week later, on December 7 and taken to the Jishu Brainwashing Center, where she was abused to the point of developing a mental disorder in five days. The police then had her sign many documents, including blank pieces of paper.

Prosecutor Wang alleged that these interrogation records stated that Ms. Liu implicated Mr. Fu, Mr. Du, and his wife and that what Ms. Liu “confessed” was sufficient to prove that the three practitioners on trial broke the law.

The three practitioners and their lawyers, who learned about Ms. Liu’s abuse from an insider, challenged the prosecutor to show videos of Ms. Liu being abused and that she was coerced into signing the documents when she had no mental clarity. The prosecutor did not play any videos or address the question of how such illegally-gathered “evidence” against the three practitioners could be admissible in the trial.

Judge Liu held a fourth hearing on May 19, 2025. The three practitioners and their lawyers again demanded their acquittal, but they were all sentenced one week later.

Sentencing of Elderly Practitioners

75-Year-Old Liaoning Man Gets 7 Years, Another Local Practitioner Gets 1.5 Years

Two residents of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, were sentenced in late April 2025 for practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Liu Yingjun, 75, was sentenced to seven years and fined 10,000 yuan. Ms. Wang Chengmei, 50, received one and a half years and was fined 20,000 yuan.

Mr. Liu was arrested on May 10, 2024, while putting up Falun Gong banners. The police raided his home and confiscated 30,000 yuan in cash and other items. Ms. Wang happened to make a call to Mr. Liu during the police raid. They tracked her down and went to her home around 8 p.m. She was having dinner with her father and opened the door. Nine plainclothes officers barged in and arrested her. They confiscated her computer, printer, Falun Gong books and other personal belongings.

Ms. Wang’s family went to the Gezhenbao Police Station to seek her release, yet the officers said they were not involved in her arrest. The family then checked with seven nearby police stations and got the same answer. They later confirmed that it was officers from the Hongqi Town Police Station who arrested both Ms. Wang and Mr. Liu. They took the two practitioners to the Dalian City Detention Center.

Officer Han Shengjin from the Hongqi Town Police Station interrogated Ms. Wang at the detention center several times. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to make her admit she also hung up Falun Gong banners. While it is completely legal to put up such banners, she was home on May 10, 2024 and denied the allegation. Han then tried to get her to say she made the banners when she was never involved in producing banners. Despite the lack of evidence, she was indicted together with Mr. Liu by the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate in December 2024.

The Ganjingzi District Court held an in-person hearing on January 9, 2025, before switching to a virtual session on March 14, 2025. In both hearings, the police and the prosecutor alleged that Ms. Wang made banners for Mr. Liu to hang up. Both of them denied doing anything wrong but were convicted in late April 2025.

Ms. Wang, a widow, worked hard to pay for her younger son’s college and her mortgage, as well as supporting her nearly 80-year-old father. With her in detention, they struggle to get by.

71-Year-Old Hubei Woman Sentenced to 3 Years for Raising Awareness of Persecution of Falun Gong

Ms. Liu Guihua, a 71-year-old retiree in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to three years for exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong.

Ms. Liu’s wrongful conviction stemmed from her arrest in late 2023 after a surveillance camera recorded her distributing Falun Gong informational materials in a residential area. The police looked at the videos and identified her. They raided her home and took her to the Erzhigou Detention Center.

After Ms. Liu was released on bail one month later, she was ordered to report to the Xincun Police Station every month. Officer Xiao Hongwei was in charge of monitoring her.

Ms. Liu was taken back into custody on July 10, 2024 and held at the Erzhigou Detention Center. The police said they were following up on her 2023 arrest. The Jiang’an District Procuratorate indicted her and the Jiang’an District Court sentenced her at an unknown date.

Following Ms. Liu’s arrest, her husband, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, was left to fend for himself. The couple’s daughter who is busy caring for her two young children on top of working a full-time job, struggles to find time to care for her father.

Court Reverses Decision to Allow 84-Year-Old Ailing Woman to Serve Time at Home, She Is Now Jailed and Denied Medical Parole

Ms. Liu Faqun, 84, from Gulin County, Sichuan Province, was sent to prison on May 13, 2025 to serve a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Liu was arrested on November 24, 2022 for passing out information about Falun Gong. She was released on bail that day but the police repeatedly attempted to take her back into custody. The Gulin County Court sentenced her to four years and fined her 30,000 yuan on December 25, 2024. She was initially allowed to serve time outside of prison but the local justice bureau issued an opinion around March 2025 alleging that she “posed harm to society” and must be imprisoned, even though she suffered from high blood pressure and other serious medical conditions.

The police went to Ms. Liu’s home on May 9, 2025 and told her, “Even if we have to call an ambulance, we are carrying out the court order to take you into custody!” They put her in the Luzhou City Detention Center that day and transferred her to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison on May 13. Her medical parole has been denied.

73-Year-Old Woman Sentenced to Five Years

Ms. Li Shoulan, 73, and a retired railroad employee from Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, divides her time between her hometown and Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, where her daughter works. She was arrested in Ankang City at the end of 2023 and her family hasn’t receive any updates about her since. It wasn’t until late May 2025 that Minghui.org confirmed her prison sentence of five years. She was transferred to prison but it’s not clear which one.

Since the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party in 1999, Ms. Li has been constantly harassed by the authorities. Her parents, children, neighbors and friends were also implicated. The fear and mental distress took a toll on her husband’s health, eventually leading to his death. Her 93-year-old mother trembles in fear when she sees police.

On February 22, 2023, just months before Ms. Li’s latest arrest, she was arrested in Ankang and detained for ten days. The police suspected her of mailing a letter to Wang Hao, the mayor of Ankang, urging him not to persecute Falun Gong. The police even ransacked her in-law’s home and harassed her grandchild’s after-school tutor, ordering him to report any suspicious activities he saw the child’s family engaged in.

The police tried to examine Ms. Li’s eyes while she was detained. They brought in an eye exam instrument to shine a bright light in her eyes as one person pried open her upper eyelid and another pulled down her lower one. They apparently did not know how to operate the instrument and spent several hours on it until it broke. Ms. Li was released 12 days later. Her eyes still hurt more than two months after the incident. She was arrested again months later and secretly sentenced to prison.

Once Incarcerated and Tortured for Three Years, 66-Year-Old Man Gets Another Four Years

Mr. Liu Rongpin, a 66-year-old Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, resident was arrested at home around 8 p.m. on September 11, 2024, after the police pried open his door. He appeared in the Hailun City Court on March 28, 2025, and was sentenced to four years with a 10,000-yuan fine. The prosecution evidence included twelve Falun Gong booklets and several Falun Gong books confiscated from his home. The presiding judge, Han Gaohui, accused him of being a “repeat offender” because of his previous prison sentence for practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Liu started to prepare for the appeal with the Suihua City Intermediate Court on April 7, 2025. His case was accepted by the court on April 28 and a judge surnamed Wang was assigned to it. When his family contacted the judge and demanded a re-trial, the judge said he would consider it after the long Labor Day (May 1) weekend. The family called the judge right after the holiday, only to be told that he had already ruled to uphold his original verdict.

This isn’t the first time that Mr. Liu has been targeted for his faith. He was previously arrested on April 21, 2017, while visiting his daughter in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. A person reported him for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was sentenced to three years and suffered relentless torture at the Suzhou Prison. He was released on July 13, 2021.

Additional Sentencing Cases

Jilin Woman Sentenced to 1.5 Years for Raising Awareness about the Persecution of Falun Gong

Ms. Yao Yan, a Jilin City, Jilin Province, resident was sentenced to one and a half years around March 2025 for exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. She is currently serving time at the Jilin Province Women’s Prison, located in the capital city of Changchun.

Ms. Yao was arrested on April 25, 2023, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in a residential area. The police raided her home the next day and confiscated her ID, several pendants, 15-yuan paper currency printed with Falun Gong messages, and a ream of copy paper. That afternoon, the police ordered Ms. Yao to sign a bail form. She refused, but was still released on bail.

Two police officers took Ms. Yao to the Chuanying District Procuratorate on May 18, 2023. She was sent back home at around 5 p.m. In order to avoid further persecution, Ms. Yao went into hiding. The police notified her family in July 2023 that she had been put on the wanted list.

The police broke into Ms. Yao’s home after 7 p.m. on April 17, 2024, by hiring a locksmith. They demanded to know Ms. Yao’s whereabouts. Her husband replied that she had not returned home for a month. Captain He then searched Ms. Yao’s son’s personal cell phone before demanding to see his business phone as well. He said his business phone was in his shop.

The three officers searched every inch of the home, including under the bed and the shoe cabinet. They threatened to send Ms. Yao to jail if her son refused to reveal her whereabouts. He showed Ms. Yao’s son the information about her on their online wanted list and said she could be arrested anywhere.

Ms. Yao’s husband condemned the police for harassing law-abiding citizens. One officer replied, “You have a Falun Gong [practitioner] in your family and you still complain about us staying at your home?”

Ms. Yao was arrested on the morning of September 8, 2024 and taken to the Jilin City Detention Center the next day. Her family learned of her prison sentence in May 2025.

Shanxi Man Sentenced to Probation, Fired by His Workplace

Mr. Liu Jinsheng, 50, from Anze County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, was sentenced to three years with four years probation in December 2024. His appeal was rejected on February 26, 2025.

Mr. Liu, a former employee of the Anze County Power Company, was arrested on July 4, 2023. He was released on bail that evening, but was placed under close surveillance. The police called him on October 25, 2023 and deceived him into going to the police department, by telling him they were going to close his case. Because he still refused to cooperate with the police, they gave him a two-week administrative detention the next day. Two weeks later, they took him to a brainwashing center, where more than ten staffers worked on him specifically. He was released on bail a month later.

The police submitted Mr. Liu’s case to the Huozhou City Procuratorate on January 17, 2024. The prosecutor indicted him on April 18, 2024. The Huozhou City Court held a close-door hearing of Mr. Liu’s case in September 2024, with only the court staffers and his lawyer present. The judge announced on December 25, 2024 to sentence Mr. Liu to three years with a four-year probation and a 5,000-yuan fine. He appealed with the Linfen City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold his original verdict on February 26, 2025, without holding a hearing.

In April 2025, the Anze County Power Company was forced to fire Mr. Liu. He is now being closely monitored by the local police and the Justice Bureau, and is not allowed to go out of town.

Heilongjiang Man Beaten by the Police and Sentenced to 5.5 Years

Mr. Yang Chuanhou and his wife, Ms. Song Hongwei, from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, have been repeatedly targeted for practicing Falun Gong. They were arrested one week apart in October 2018. Mr. Yang was later sentenced to two years and Ms. Song to one year and a half. They were both brutally tortured while in custody.

Ms. Song was arrested again in September 2022 and sentenced to six years. While Mr. Yang escaped the arrest, he was put on the police wanted list.

Mr. Yang was arrested in Harbin City on September 29, 2024. The police beat him, causing multiple injuries to his head and body. He had burning pain in his chest and couldn’t turn his body when he slept. The police also impounded his car. After he was released 15 days later, his younger brother went to the police department to demand Mr. Yang’s car be returned. The police said Mr. Yang had to make the request in person.

The police returned the car when Mr. Yang went to the police department on October 23, 2024, but they arrested him on the spot and put him in criminal detention. He was sentenced to 5.5 years on May 9, 2025.

Heilongjiang Man Given Second Prison Term, Force-Fed in Custody

Mr. Tong Mingyu, 43, from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to five years and three months on February 27, 2025. His appeal has been rejected by the Harbin City Intermediate Court.

Mr. Tong is now held at the Shuangcheng District Detention Center and is subjected to daily force-feeding. He started the hunger strike the day of his arrest on November 20, 2024, when he paid a visit to another Falun Gong practitioner.

An officer called Mr. Tong’s mother and claimed to be a delivery worker and that he needed to confirm the address of the home she shared with her son. The elderly woman believed the officer and gave him the information. The police soon arrived and raided the home.

Mr. Tong was tried by the Daoli District Court on February 13, 2025 and sentenced to five years and three months on February 27.

Mr. Tong was previously arrested on June 25, 2017, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. He started a hunger strike right after his arrest and was force fed, which continued after he was sentenced to 3.5 years in February 2018.

When Mr. Tong’s mother was allowed to visit him on August 17, 2019, he was in a vegetative state, unable to move or talk. His eyes were closed. A feeding tube was in his nose. She asked him if he was in pain. He didn’t respond, but tears came out of his eyes.

Xiong Dehui, the head of the prison administration office, refused to release Mr. Tong on medical parole and told his desperate mother, “We won’t grant him medical parole even if he dies. We’re following the rules, and [he’s denied parole because] he refuses to give up practicing Falun Gong and went on a hunger strike.”

Mr. Tong was released December 21, 2020. It took him two years to fully recover. He managed to find a low-income job to get by, only to be arrested and sentenced again.

Related Reports:

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