(Minghui.org) A 64-year-old native of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to three years in October 2024 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Xie Mingguang was arrested at his temporary residence in Lichuan City in the same province on February 8, 2024, two days before the Chinese New Year and after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police followed him home and deceived him into opening the door at 7 p.m. by pretending to be property management personnel. They searched his place and confiscated a large number of personal items.

Officers of the Lichuan City Police Department called Mr. Xie’s wife the next day, saying that they were detaining him at a local lockup for 15 days and that he would be released on February 24.

On February 23, Mr. Xie’s wife was summoned to the lockup and ordered to sign his criminal detention notice. He was then transferred to the Lichuan City Detention Center, instead of being released the next day as scheduled.

The Lichuan City Police Department submitted Mr. Xie’s case to the Lichuan City Procuratorate in early May 2024. Prosecutor Hu Jialiu soon indicted him.

Mr. Xie appeared in the Lichuan City Court on August 22. His lawyer and family defender entered a not guilty plea for him. They argued that no law criminalizes Falun Gong in China and that it’s his constitutional right to practice Falun Gong and tell people about it. Two months later, the presiding judge, Gong Xiujuan, sentenced him to three years, and his family received his verdict on October 16, 2024.

Mr. Xie used to work as a train conductor and later founded the Tianfu Food Company after being laid off by the railway bureau. He took up Falun Gong in July 2001, only to be arrested three months later on October 2, 2001 for talking to people about it. He was sentenced to three years and suffered brutal torture at the Qinduankou Prison. His family was forced to shut down the company during his prison term, resulting in tremendous financial loss.