(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old resident of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison and a 5,000-yuan fine for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Liu Guohua, an elevator technician at the Wulian Commercial Plaza, was arrested at work at 9:00 a.m. on March 6, 2024, by a group of plainclothes officers from the Dadongmen Police Station and the Dadong District Domestic Security Division. They raided his office without showing their IDs or a search warrant, and confiscated the Falun Gong books and informational materials he had there.

Six plainclothes officers took Mr. Liu to his home at noon for a raid. They confiscated more than 800 magazines, dozens of table calendars and DVDs, cellphones, bank cards, and his ID. No search warrant was shown, nor was he issued a list of the confiscated items as required by the law. His family later sought the return of the confiscated cellphones, bank cards, and ID. The police rejected the request on the grounds that Mr. Liu’s case was still pending. The officer in charge of the case also claimed that they had not confiscated the family’s bank cards.

Mr. Liu was interrogated at the Dadongmen Police Station for 12 hours. The police twisted one of his hands behind his back and cuffed it to the other hand, which was pulled over his shoulder. They kept him cuffed like this during the marathon interrogation session.

Mr. Liu’s case was submitted to the Dadong District Procuratorate on March 29, 2024, and he was soon issued a formal arrest warrant. The police then moved him to the Dadong District Detention Center. He was indicted on June 28, 2024.

The indictment indicated that the police had been monitoring him for a long time. Tipster Shao Yang was quoted as reporting the following two incidents: 1.) Mr. Liu hopped into a taxi outside a department store located at 1 Xiaodong Road in Dadong District at 2:55 p.m. on January 7, 2024. He talked to the driver Liu Jinbao about Falun Gong and paid the fare using banknotes imprinted with Falun Gong messages. After getting off outside the 463 Hospital at 46 Xiaoheyan Road in Dadong District, he went to nearby Wanquan Park to distribute calendars bearing Falun Gong information. 2.) Mr. Liu took a taxi again at 7:30 a.m. on March 6, 2024, this time on Jiumen Road in Dadong District. He again talked to the driver, Han Chun, about Falun Gong.

It is unclear when Mr. Liu stood trial or was convicted.