(Minghui.org) A Jingmen City, Hubei Province, resident, stood trial on December 27, 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Pei Hong, around 50, was arrested in Shayang County (which is under the administration of Jingmen City) in late June 2023, while distributing Falun Gong informational materials there. The arresting officers from the Shenji Police Station took him to the Jingmei City Detention Center. His family learned that he appeared in the Shayang County Court on December 27, 2023, but knows nothing else about his indictment or trial.
This is not the first time that Mr. Pei has been targeted for his faith. He was previously given two years of forced labor and one year in prison. Prior to his latest arrest, he had just been released from prison on June 26, 2022.
Past Persecution
Mr. Pei landed a job at the Sinopec Jingmen Petroleum Branch after graduating college in 1996 with a major in petrochemical engineering. He started practicing Falun Gong not long afterwards and soon saw his health improve. He also learned to be a better person and a more conscientious worker by following Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Given Two Years of Forced Labor in January 2000
After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, Mr. Pei held firm to his faith and became a target. He went to Beijing in November 1999 to appeal for Falun Gong and was taken back by security guards at his company and officers from the Jingmen City Police Department. They held him in an abandoned room at a technical school affiliated with his company before moving him to the Jingmen City Detention Center on December 31, 1999. He was given two years of forced labor on January 15, 2000 and admitted to the Shayang Labor Camp on the same day.
Mr. Pei was forced to do hard labor without pay at the labor camp. The tasks included digging fish ponds, fishing, carrying soil, digging lotus roots, transplanting trees, erecting telephone poles outside, building a water reservoir, doing farm work, and digging trenches. He had to complete his work quota or else face severe torture. He once reported that the trench-digging job was especially hard for him as it required fast speed and he struggled to keep up.
The labor camp established a “strict management team” in March 2001 to specifically target steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Pei was moved to the new team, where he was forced to sing pro-CCP songs and do military drills every day. He was also forced to eat outside under the scorching sun. At night, he was forced to jump up and down or squat motionlessly for long periods of time.
After Mr. Pei was released, the police continued to harass him. Unable to bear the pressure from the persecution, his wife divorced him. His family lived in fear.
Held in Brainwashing Center Twice
Mr. Pei was held at the Banqiao Brainwashing Center in Wuhan (capital city of Hubei Province) for one month in 2004. He was taken there again on May 13, 2008 for more than 40 days.
At work, his manager often put him on night shifts and gave him difficult tasks to do. Mr. Pei never complained and still tried to cover dangerous tasks for his colleagues. Around 2019, his company assigned him to work for a business partner, Yingde Gas Company. He worked hard and had good scores in various technical exams, which won him praise from his supervisor.
Secretly Sentenced to One Year Following Arrest in 2021
Mr. Pei distributed Falun Gong informational materials before going to work at the Yingde Gas Company on June 29, 2021. He was reported to the Duodao District Police Station, which soon dispatched officers to seize him at work later that day. No coworker was around to witness the arrest.
The police never notified Mr. Pei’s employer or family of his arrest or whereabouts. After losing contact with him for about half a month, his family, who lived out of town, reported him missing. They managed to find out one month later that he was held at the Jingmen City Detention Center. They went there but were denied visits with him. A guard claimed that they must apply “very strict” management to people like Mr. Pei. His loved ones were only allowed to deliver clothes and make cash deposits for him.
When Mr. Pei’s family went to the Duodao District Police Station to inquire about his case, the police refused to provide any details, but only accused him of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization” and “endangering state power.”
The police never notified Mr. Pei’s family of his formal arrest and subsequent indictment. The Duodao District Court didn’t even inform his lawyer of his trial.
Mr. Pei was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan in early November 2021 and admitted to the Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang County. On his scheduled date of release, June 28, 2022, the prison did not allow his family to pick him up, but handed him over to his local 610 Office on the grounds that Falun Gong cases like his were special. He was held at the 610 Office for an unknown amount of time before being allowed to go home.
Related report:
Hubei Man Detained Incommunicado, Faces Prosecution for His Faith
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