(Minghui.org) A 53-year-old single father in Zhongwei City, Ningxia Autonomous Region lost his appeal against a second prison sentence for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. You Haijun, a former engineering vehicle driver, was arrested on May 6, 2021 and sentenced to five years with a 10,000-yuan fine on April 13, 2023. In the appeal he filed with the Zhongwei City Intermediate Court, he reiterated that the police-supplied prosecution evidence, including 51 Falun Gong booklets, 88 electronic Falun Gong books, 39 audio files, and 8 pictures found in his cell phones, failed to prove he had broken any law as those items were his lawful assets and didn’t cause harm to any individual or society at large.
Mr. You also emphasized that he should never have been prosecuted for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of belief. The previous 3.5-year prison term imposed on him in 2014 was unconstitutional, as was the new 5-year sentence.
The Zhongwei City Intermediate Court ruled on June 26, 2023 to reject Mr. You’s appeal without holding a hearing.
Taking up Falun Gong
Mr. You’s wife divorced him less than a year after their daughter was born. The baby girl, You Qing, frequently fell ill. She developed epilepsy when she was three. Every time she had an epileptic seizure, she would foam at the mouth and lose consciousness.
Mr. You sought many treatments for his daughter, but none had any effect on her. In 2004, when she was four, he heard about Falun Gong’s health benefits and taught her the exercises. Three days later, the child stopped having seizures and recovered. Mr. You also started to practice Falun Gong himself and his asthma disappeared as well.
Teen Daughter Intimidated by Police and Whipped by Teacher Before Father’s First Prison Sentence
Officer Liu Yong of the Zhonging County Domestic Security and several agents from the Zhongwei City Police Department broke into Mr. You’s home on September 15, 2013 and arrested him and his guest, Mr. Ding Qian, also a Falun Gong practitioner.
In order to frame Mr. You, Liu led other officers to harass his then 13-year-old daughter at her school, Huangbin Elementary School, many times. The teen was so terrified that she shook uncontrollably and became mute temporarily. She, however, refused to reveal any information about her father.
Liu then ordered her math teacher, Chen Xiuling, to “teach her a lesson.” Chen whipped the teen on the head with a teaching baton repeatedly until it broke. All the other kids were terrified.
Mr. You and Mr. Ding appeared in court on April 3, 2014 and were both sentenced on May 30 that year. Mr. Ding was given 3 years and Mr. You 3.5 years.
Mr. You was released on November 5, 2016.
Second Prison Sentence
On May 16, 2021, Mr. You was stopped by the police near a middle school. The police arrested him after finding 39 copies of Falun Gong booklets and two cell phones in the storage compartment of his motorcycle. The police also accused him of distributing another 12 Falun Gong booklets found in the nearby neighborhood. A total of 51 booklets, 88 electronic Falun Gong books, 39 audio files, and 8 pictures found in his cell phones were submitted by the police as prosecution evidence.
Mr. You was put on criminal detention a day after his arrest, which was formally approved by the Zhongning County Procuratorate on May 31. The Shapotou District Procuratorate indicted him on August 25, 2021 and forwarded his case to the Shapotou District Court.
During the hearing on March 31, 2023, Mr. You’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him. His daughter appeared in court as his family defender.
Mr. You’s lawyer argued that the prosecution evidence submitted by the police couldn’t support the charge that Mr. You “undermined law enforcement with a cult organization,” which is the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. He said that no law identifies Falun Gong as a cult. The fact that the General Administration of Press and Publication lifted the ban on Falun Gong literature in 2011 meant that his client didn’t violate any law in possessing or distributing Falun Gong materials.
Mr. You testified in his own defense and maintained his innocence in practicing Falun Gong and distributing Falun Gong materials.
Mr. You also testified that Zhou Xu, the director of the Zhongning County Domestic Security Office, interrogated him at the local detention center and ordered him to sign a case document. Zhou became incensed as Mr. You refused to sign it. Zhou threatened him, “Don’t think about getting out of here alive if you don’t sign it. There are so many wrongful cases in China. I don’t mind adding another one. It won’t matter to anyone if you die.”
Mr. You’s family present at the hearing was shocked to learn that Zhou had made such threats. Zhou, who also attended the hearing, immediately left the courtroom.
The prosecutor recommended a heavy sentence on the grounds that Mr. You was a “repeat offender,” citing the 3.5-year term given to him by the Zhongning County Court on May 30, 2014, also for practicing Falun Gong.
The judge announced on April 13, 2023 that Mr. You was sentenced to five years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Mr. You appealed the verdict immediately after being convicted.
In the verdict, the judge said that two specific documents the defense lawyer brought up during the hearing were irrelevant to this case and had illegitimate sources, and were inadmissible. The two documents included the cult list published by the Ministry of Public Security in 2000 that didn’t include Falun Gong, as well as the notice issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication in 2011 that repealed its ban on the publication of Falun Gong books.
The detention center originally allowed Mr. You’s family to visit him on April 29, but reversed their decision two days before the visit. Mr. You is still being held at the Zhongwei City Detention Center at the time of writing. His family has vowed to continue seeking justice for him.
Related Reports:
Single Father Given Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong
Daughter of Abused Practitioner Beaten in School, Sues Jiang Zemin
Two Ningxia Province Practitioners Remain Illegally Detained
Award-winning Music Teacher Mr. Ding Fadong and His Friend Mr. You Haijun Illegally Tried
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