Once Jailed for a Decade, 62-Year-Old Sichuan Man Secretly Sentenced to Another 5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Mr. Xu Weidong’s family learned on April 21, 2025 that he had been sentenced to five years for practicing Falun Gong. They called the trial court handling the case and were told that the ruling was issued weeks earlier, on March 25. The court refused to give the family the copy of the verdict.

Mr. Xu, a 62-year-old resident of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province and a former metallurgical engineer, is set to be admitted to prison in the last week of April 2025.

Mr. Xu was arrested at his home just after 4 p.m. on November 26, 2023. Officers from the Liucheng Police Station confiscated his computer, printer, and Falun Gong books. About three hours later, they took him and his wife, Ms. Sun Fenghua, to their police station.

The police targeted the couple because they talked to people about Falun Gong. Ms. Sun was released on December 7, 2023 but Mr. Xu was put on administration detention at the Yongsheng Detention Center. Hours later, the police escalated his detention to criminal detention on the grounds that he was a “repeat offender.” Mr. Xu previously served a ten-year prison term (May 2002 – May 2012) for intercepting TV signals to broadcast programs debunking the hate propaganda against Falun Gong.

The police submitted the case to the Wenjiang District Procuratorate on December 14, 2023. One week later, prosecutor Liu Xu issued a formal arrest warrant for Mr. Xu. Officer Huang Kai notified Ms. Sun on the phone to report to the police station to sign the warrant. Ms. Sun went but was forced to change the warrant date from December 21 to November 26, 2023 (the day of the arrest).

An officer came to the couple’s home on the night of December 23, 2023 and drove away Mr. Xu’s electric four-wheeler. The officer claimed that the four-wheeler was “evidence” and must be confiscated.

Officers Huang, Zheng Qingbo, and Ma Huajun took Mr. Xu out of the Yongsheng Detention Center back to their police station on December 25, 2023. They forced him to stand by his four-wheeler and have his pictures taken. They then submitted the “new evidence” to the procuratorate on February 21, 2024.

Prosecutor Liu indicted Mr. Xu in November 2024 and threatened to give him a heavy sentence if he refused to admit his “guilt.” Mr. Xu reiterated his innocence and refused to sign the indictment.

Ms. Sun submitted requests to the Wenjiang District Court, asking to know the legal basis for his indictment and a reevaluation of the police-supplied evidence against him. She also submitted a criminal complaint to the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. It is unclear who she listed as the defendants. The high court responded that she should file her complaint with relevant agencies directly in charge of such matters.

Ms. Sun found out about Mr. Xu’s secret prison sentence from an insider on April 21, 2025. She called the Wenjiang District Court to inquire about the details. The court only confirmed the conviction date of March 25 but refused to give her a copy of the verdict. They claimed that only the defendant was entitled to receiving a copy of the verdict.

Ms. Sun went to the Chengdu City Detention Center on April 23, 2025 but was denied visits with her husband on the grounds that his case was a “classified” case. The guards told her that Mr. Xu was set to be transferred to the Wumaping Prison in Leshan City, Sichuan Province in one week and that she had to wait three months before being allowed to visit him in prison.

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