Having Been Jailed for Nine Years and Widowed in the Persecution of Falun Gong, 78-Year-Old Gansu Man Gets Nearly Four More Years

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June 2, 2024 | By a Minghui correspondent in Gansu Province, China

(Minghui.org) A 78-year-old resident of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, was sentenced to a three-year and eight-month prison term in early April 2024 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Chen Deguang was most recently arrested on March 20, 2023, by officers from the Shiwan Police Station. The Chengguan District Court convicted him in early April 2024. It is unclear when he was indicted or tried. His detention location also remains to be investigated.

Mr. Chen Deguang

This was not the first time that Mr. Chen, a retiree of the now-defunct No. 4 Metallurgical Construction Co., has been targeted for his faith. He and his wife, Ms. Sheng Chunmei, also a Falun Gong practitioner, were repeatedly arrested over the years. In particular, both were sentenced to nine years following their arrests in July 2011.

Ms. Sheng’s health deteriorated as a result of being tortured at the Gansu Province Women’s Prison. She suffered gallbladder infection, hypertension, and diabetes. The prison didn’t release her until she was on the verge of death. She passed away on October 12, 2017, seven weeks after her release. She was 65 years old.

Mr. Chen was also subjected to horrific torture at the Lanzhou Prison. See the first report below for details of his suffering. After being released on July 6, 2020, he found out that his pension had been unlawfully revoked since 2012 (the second year into his imprisonment). Not only did the authorities refuse to reinstate his pension, the local social security bureau also asked his daughter to pass on the message that he had to return the pension issued to him between July 2011 (when he was arrested) and 2012 (when the pension stopped). It was unclear whether he complied.

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