(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Xiaoming, a former employee of a piano company, was sentenced to three years in prison without a trial. His family received notice of the sentence on January 20, 2016. Mr. Li is held in Dongling Prison in Shenyang.

His latest ordeal started last June, when he was arrested for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. He was released on bail days later due to lack of evidence.

While out on bail, he was deceived into going to the local detention center and never returned home. Four months later, his family was notified that he had been sentenced to three years and transferred to prison.

This was the second time Mr. Li has been targeted for practicing Falun Gong. In 2000, he was sent to a forced labor camp for one and half years under similar circumstances.

Freezing Torture

Mr. Li was taken to prison in the depth of winter. Guards poured icy water all over him, and repeated the torture for 40 days. He lost significant weight and looked very sick.

Torture illustration: Doused with ice water

His family members saw that Mr. Li was the only prisoner wearing a hat, worrying that he had suffered some kind of head injury. Their conversations were closely monitored, and visitation was interrupted when guards learned that another member of the family also practices Falun Gong.

Abused in Detention

On June 12, 2015, a villager from Weiziyu Village, Dashiqiao City, reported that Mr. Li Xiaoming was distributing Falun Gong materials. Shortly thereafter, a group of about twenty Domestic Security officers ransacked his home and confiscated Falun Gong materials and other personal items.

Mr. Li was taken to Dashiqiao Detention Center, where he was deprived of sleep and not allowed to use the restroom.

He was released on bail on June 28, 2015 due to lack of evidence.

Sentenced Without Trial

On September 28, 2015, a group of Dashiqiao Domestic Security officers suddenly appeared at Mr. Li's house. They told him to accompany them to verify some documents, but they ended up locking him up in Dashiqiao Detention Center.

On January 20, 2016, his family received a call from the detention center, notifying them that Li Xiaoming had been sentenced to three years in prison.

His family believes that the authorities violated the law by detaining Mr. Li under false pretenses and sentencing him with no court appearance, no legal proceedings, and no family present.