(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhao Jiyuan, a resident in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on July 10, 2019 and recently sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. He had previously been sentenced to 7 years by the same court that meted out the new sentence, also for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress the practice in July 1999, many practitioners have been detained, imprisoned, and tortured.

Cancer-Stricken Man Completely Recovered

Mr. Zhao, 65, is a former employee of Shenyang Fourth Construction Company. He began to experience difficulty eating and drinking in 1998 and was diagnosed with late stage gastric cancer. He became emaciated and weighed about 90 pounds.

In December 1998, he heard about Falun Gong and, after listening to Master Li’s audio lecture for an hour, he was surprised to be able to eat again. The next day, he was able to do household chores and returned to work.

Having turned from a terminally ill patient to a healthy person overnight, Mr. Zhao became determined to practice Falun Gong and told everyone he met that the practice gave him a second life.

Tortured During 7-Year Imprisonment

After the persecution of Falun Gong began, Mr. Zhao went to Beijing twice to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested each time. After being taken back to Shenyang in December 1999, he was kept at Longshan Labor Camp and was not released until June 2000.

On February 27, 2001, officers from Zhulin Police Station arrested Ms. Zhao as he was putting up banners reading “Falun Dafa is good.” Heping Court sentenced him to 7 years in Shenyang Second Prison on February 10, 2002.

The prison guards tortured Mr. Zhao in many different ways, including beating him, restraining him with handcuffs and shackles (see illustration below), and shocking him with electric batons. Mr. Zhao was released on February 26, 2008. 

Torture illustration: Handcuffed and shackled

Latest Arrest Followed by Second Prison Term

In the name of celebrating the CCP’s 70th anniversary, the Shenyang Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) ordered the local police to arrest over 20 Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Zhao and his wife, Ms. Li Xiujie, on July 10, 2019.

PLAC is an extrajudicial agency tasked with persecuting Falun Gong and given the power to override the judicial system.

The police ransacked Mr. Zhao's home and confiscated his computers, printers, and Falun Gong books. His wife was taken to Shenyang Detention Center and released on August 2. Mr. Zhao has been kept at Heping Detention Center, where he was beaten.

During his trial at Heping Court on December 10, 2019, Mr. Zhao defended his belief as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong. He asked to be acquitted.

The judge threatened Mr. Zhao's son after the court hearing, “If he [Mr. Zhao] admits guilt, I'll give him three years. Otherwise, it would be 7 to 10 years.”

Mr. Zhao refused to comply and received seven and half years. He has appealed this case to Shenyang Intermediate Court.

Key Responsible Agencies:

Heping Court: +86-24-83212368Heping Procuratorate: +86-24-23381939Heping Detention Center: +86-24-23759627