(Minghui.org) A Kunming City, Yunnan Province, man was sentenced to four years and fined 40,000 yuan on July 31, 2020, for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Han Zhenkun, a 55-year-old former tennis player, was arrested in September 2019, while on a business trip to Jinghong City in the same province. The police targeted him after suspecting him of distributing Falun Gong informational materials.
The police searched Mr. Han’s hotel room, his car, and his residence in Kunming. Two of his laptops, a tablet, a cellphone, Falun Gong books, a Falun Gong banner, and memory cards were confiscated.
Mr. Han appeared in the Mengla County Court on July 31, 2020. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The prosecutor accused him of having Falun Gong materials and playing Falun Gong music to his staff. He also blamed Mr. Han for being a repeat offender, since he had been sentenced for practicing Falun Gong before.
Mr. Han’s lawyer argued that the Constitution guarantees freedom of belief and freedom of speech, so Mr. Han was therefore not breaking any laws by practicing his faith and talking to people about it. While the prosecutor charged him of “undermining law enforcement,” he failed to present which law’s enforcement was undermined and how.
The judge sentenced Mr. Han at the end of the trial.
Prior to his latest sentence, Mr. Han was imprisoned twice for a total of 11 years. He was forced to divorce his wife, Ms. Guo Juan, also a Falun Gong practitioner, because of the persecution. Both of his parents died in 2017 after their health declined from living in fear and enduring endless harassment, also for their faith in Falun Gong.
Related reports:
Man Faces Prosecution Again after Spending 11 Years in Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Former Yunnan Tennis Player Sentenced Once Again
After Seven Years of Unjust Imprisonment, Former Yunnan Tennis Player Arrested Again
