(Minghui.org) A group of undercover police from the Jianping County Police Department in Liaoning Province entered and ransacked Mr. Zhao Hongli's home without a warrant, because he practices Falun Gong.
Falun Gong is a Buddha-school cultivation practice that was banned by the Chinese Communist regime in July 1999 in violation of its own Constitution that guarantees Chinese citizens freedom of spiritual belief.
Mr. Zhao is being held in the Jianping County Detention Center. It is rumored that the authorities are getting ready to put him on trial and sentence him for practicing Falun Gong.
Before practicing Falun Gong, he had fallen into a sinful lifestyle. Afterwards, his life turned around and he became a good person.
He was arrested and sentenced to an eight-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong in 2003. He went on a hunger strike in prison to protest the violation of his constitutional right of belief. However, he had to serve his full term for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
After he was released, Mr. Zhao rented an apartment to protect his wife and child from police harassment. He had many health problems from the abuse he suffered in prison. On the days he feels better he works odd jobs and his wife also took on odd jobs to make ends meet. Nevertheless, officers often threaten his parents because they want information about him.
Is the Chinese legal system authorized to arrest and prosecute people for their spiritual faith in Falun Gong? Article 36 of China's Constitution clearly states that all Chinese citizens are guaranteed freedom of belief.
China's Public Security Bureau uses its "internal notice 39," which lists 14 evil cults, as legal grounds for arresting Falun Gong practitioners. However, no internal documents or notices from any government agency can or should be used to establish criminal offense. Also, notice 39 does not name Falun Gong among the 14 evil cults. In other words, China's justice system clearly lacks the authority and has no legal grounds to deprive its citizens of their faith in Falun Gong, let alone taking punitive actions against practitioners.