(Minghui.org) A 65-year-old resident of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province was sentenced to six years in prison for raising awareness about his spiritual belief in Falun Gong, which has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Liu Wansheng’s sentencing came less than six months after his arrest on April 23, 2020 for talking to people about Falun Gong at a bus station. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his belongings.
On the second day of Mr. Liu’s arrest, his father went to seek his release, but to no avail. Three days later, the man in his 80s went to the local police station again. The police said to him, “This is different from last time. This time, we are going to submit his case to the procuratorate.”
The “last time” mentioned by the police was about Mr. Liu’s earlier arrest in January 2019, also for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police released him soon afterwards without seeking prosecution.
Mr. Liu’s latest arrest and the prosecution he was facing dealt a heavy blow to his father, who soon passed away in deep anguish.
After the police submitted Mr. Liu’s case, the Linghe District Procuratorate approved his arrest in late April and soon indicted him. He was tried through a video conference by the Linghai City Court inside the Jinzhou City Detention Center on September 4, before being sentenced to six years and fined 10,000 yuan on September 30.
The Linghai District Procuratorate and Linghai District Court are now designated to handle all Falun Gong cases in the Jinzhou region.
Prior to Mr. Liu’s latest conviction, he has been repeatedly arrested since the onset of the persecution and served three years of forced labor between 2004 and 2007. He was subjected to many horrific forms of torture in custody, including having his arms cuffed behind his back, restrained in the bed in a spread-eagle position and deprived of sleep, as well as long hours of sitting still on a small stool and forced feeding.
The guards also tied up his legs in a double-cross position, handcuffed his hands behind his back, put an earphone on his head and played high volume propaganda smearing Falun Gong to him. The guards often extended the torture for hours, and occasionally punched his legs or hit his head.
To seek justice for Mr. Liu after his latest arrest, his son wrote to the prosecutor and judge, detailing the positive changes in his father from practicing Falun Gong and the family’s suffering in the past two decades. He urged the authorities to release his father.
Mr. Liu’s son wrote,
“My mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1995. Our family spent a fortune to seek medical treatments for her, but she didn’t see much improvement. She later took up Falun Gong at other people’s recommendation and completely recovered soon after.
“At that time, my father also suffered from poor health. Especially with his irregular heartbeat, he was unable to sleep at night. Upon seeing my mother’s changes, he also learned Falun Gong. For the many years that followed, both of them enjoyed good health and didn’t need to see the doctor. I’m really grateful for Falun Gong from the bottom of my heart.
“Although I don’t practice Falun Gong myself, I’m really impressed to see how Falun Gong changed my father into a better person. He stopped taking advantage of others in doing business. He became honest and was always ready to help others. He often taught me to be a good person as well.
“Since the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, I have not lived one day in peace. For the past twenty years, my father and mother have been arrested one after another. That’s why I’m so sick of instant noodles now, because I’ve eaten too many of them during the years when both my parents were serving labor camp terms. I was also traumatized by witnessing the police ransacking my home so many times. Whenever I see police cars on the street, I'm frozen with fear.
“Now my father is arrested again. I don’t understand why the police have to arrest them, as they didn’t do anything wrong. Didn’t the Constitution say spiritual freedom is one’s basic right, as well as the freedom of speech, publication and assembly?
“The law was created to punish people who commit crimes, but not to control one’s thoughts. One doesn’t commit a crime for thinking about or talking about something. My father was arrested for talking with people. But how did his words undermine law enforcement or cause harm to society or any individual? Which law was undermined by him?
“When I read my father’s indictment, I was outraged to see the incense burner and several bundles of incense confiscated from him were also included as prosecution evidence against him.
“My father is approaching 70 now. He has already suffered years of persecution and torture, I don’t want anything unfortunate to happen to him again. As his son, I must seek justice for him. Please release my father.”