72-Year-Old Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Mass Texting Falun Gong Messages

(Minghui.org) The Maonan District Court in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, sentenced local resident Mr. Zhou Huajian to nine years on July 10, 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Zhou, a 72-year-old security guard, took up Falun Gong in 1997 and saw his health restored. After the persecution began two years later, he used every possible opportunity to tell the public about the goodness of Falun Gong and the illegality of the persecution. He was arrested on March 26, 2020 and has since been held at the Maoming City No. 1 Detention Center. It’s unclear when he’ll be transferred to prison. 

Arrested for Mass Texting Falun Gong Messages

On the morning of March 26, 2020, Mr. Zhou was using a mass texting device to send out Falun Gong information at the Meihuaxu Market in Meihua Town, Maonan District, when he got on the radar of the Maonan District Public Network Security Brigade and the Maoming Branch of China Mobile. The authorities pinpointed his location and the Maoning City Domestic Security Office agents soon arrived to arrest him.

At around 2:00 p.m. that day, the police brought Mr. Zhou back to his home and ransacked it. Nearly 30 officers and other personnel participated in the raid. They confiscated his printer, computer, Falun Gong books, electric bike, and more than 9,000 yuan in cash. The police later also obtained his phone records and bank account information.

Mr. Zhou was given criminal detention the next day. The Maonan District Procuratorate approved his arrest on April 26, 2020. The Maonan District Police Department and the Xiyue Police Station submitted his case to the procuratorate on May 22, 2020. Prosecutor Deng Lijin indicted him on July 17, 2020 and forwarded his case to the Maonan District Court. 

First Hearing Canceled After Lawyers Refuse to Surrender Personal Laptops

The Maonan District Court scheduled a virtual hearing of Mr. Zhou’s case for April 6, 2021, with Mr. Zhou expected to join in from the Maoning City No. 1 Detention Center and his two lawyers in the courthouse. 

Before the lawyers, Fan (alias) and Lu Tingge, entered the courthouse that day, the presiding judge, Zhou Jinfeng (no relation to Mr. Zhou), came out and asked them to turn in their laptops and cellphones. Zhou claimed that the lawyers could use the court’s laptops during the hearing. 

After the lawyers refused to comply, judge Zhou took out a notice issued by the Supreme People’s Court in 2020, stating that courts have the right to restrict the use of digital devices in major and sensitive cases. 

The lawyers asked the judge how he determined what cases were major or sensitive, but he refused to answer. 

Judge Zhou reported the incident to the court’s president Ruan Zhiqiang, who also prohibited the lawyers from using their own devices during the hearing, but refused to say whether Mr. Zhou’s case was considered major or sensitive.

Although judge Zhou later asked the court staff members to prepare for the hearing, he announced a few minutes later that it was canceled. He said the new date would be communicated with the lawyers at a later time. 

Second Hearing Ends with One Lawyer Removed from Courthouse

Judge Zhou held another virtual hearing on January 5, 2022. This time, he allowed lawyers Fan and Lu to use their own laptops on the condition that the court staff place tape over the mic and webcam on their laptops. Lawyer Lu protested the unreasonable request as there is no legal basis for such a requirement for defense attorneys. 

After consulting with Tan Wei (vice president of the court) and Ke Xuejun (director of the court’s criminal division), judge Zhou removed lawyer Lu from the courtroom. He then asked Mr. Zhou: “Now you only have one lawyer left. Do you agree to continuing with the hearing?” Mr. Zhou said no because he had hired two lawyers to defend him and should face trial with both lawyers present. 

Judge Zhou adjourned the session. He later notified Mr. Zhou around February 16, 2022 that his case was put on hold due to a local outbreak of COVID-19. 

When one of Mr. Zhou’s lawyers (it’s not clear whether it was Fan or Lu) went to the detention center to visit him on the afternoon of February 23, 2022, the receptionist’s computer had a pop-up window saying that he was no longer Mr. Zhou’s defense attorney and that any questions should be directed to the Maonan District Court. The detention center authorities then called the court for clarification. After confirming that the court didn’t issue any notice to bar the lawyer from visiting Mr. Zhou, the guards arranged the lawyer to meet with him.

Mr. Zhou told the lawyer that he had been experiencing frequent episodes of dizziness in recent months. It’s not clear whether his condition was caused by torture or other abuse in custody or whether the detention center had provided any treatment for him.

Third Hearing Followed by Prison Sentence

Judge Zhou resumed the prosecution of Mr. Zhou in 2023 and held an in-person hearing at the Maoning City No. 1 Detention Center on April 27. Lawyer Fan entered a not guilty plea for him. Lawyer Lu couldn’t attend the hearing due to a scheduling conflict.

Mr. Zhou’s daughter and another family member were the only family allowed to attend the hearing, with the rest of the seats taken by street committee workers and agents from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extra-judicial agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhou’s daughter noted that her once healthy father had become a frail old man after more than three years of detention. He used to be a strong man with a booming voice and rosy complexion, which explained why he was able to work as a security guard at his age, but now he couldn’t even hear his daughter when she called “Dad” just three feet away from him. 

He also suffered from blurred vision and had an unsteady gait. His face was puffy, and he suffered from constant dizziness. He could not think clearly, much less defend himself in court. 

The court sentenced Mr. Zhou to nine years and fined him 20,000 yuan on July 10. 

Related Reports:

73-year-old Guangdong Man Suffers Frequent Dizziness While Being Detained for His Faith

Court Cancels Hearing After Lawyers Refuse to Surrender Their Own Laptops

Man in His 70s Faces Trial for Sending Text Messages about His Faith

Maoming City, Guangdong Province: At Least 13 Falun Gong Practitioners Incarcerated for Their Faith