Husband and Wife Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith

(Minghui.org) A married couple in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, were recently sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

After a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Geng Jianfen distributing informational materials about Falun Gong on February 24, 2021, the police ransacked her home and arrested her a few days later.

She was first given two weeks of detention. When the detention expired on March 19, the police told her husband, Mr. Yu Zhong, to go to the Shixi Police Station to pick her up. When he did, he was arrested. The police claimed that they arrested him as part of their efforts to “maintain social stability,” given the upcoming Chinese Communist Party’s centennial anniversary in July.

The couple stood trial in the Bincheng District Court on August 16, 2021. Ms. Geng was sentenced to four years with a 40,000-yuan fine. Mr. Yu was given three years and fined 30,000 yuan.

Another local practitioner, Ms. Zhao Xiuzhen, who was arrested on April 11, 2021, was sentenced to seven months by the same court.

All three practitioners have appealed to the Binzhou City Intermediate Court.

Prior to the couple’s latest arrests and sentencing, in July 2020, they were arrested in the nationwide “Zero-out” campaign, aimed at forcing them to renounce Falun Gong. Because they stayed firm in their faith, the police forced them to pay 20,000 yuan each in bail bonds before releasing them.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Binzhou City Intermediate Court: [phone], [phone]Cao (曹), head of the Binzhou District Domestic Security Office: [phone]Lin Donghai (林东海), head of the Binzhou District Domestic Security Office: [phone], [phone]Zhang (张), officer, Shixi Police Station: [phone]Jiang (姜), officer, Shixi Police Station: [phone]Wang Tigong (王体功), president of the Bincheng District Procuratorate: [phone]Wang (王), judge, the Bincheng District Court: [phone]