Two Heilongjiang Men Sentenced to Prison with Heavy Fines for Practicing Falun Gong

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Aug. 31, 2023 | By a Minghui correspondent in Heilongjiang Province, China

(Minghui.org) Two residents of Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province were sentenced to prison and given heavy fines on June 7, 2023 for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Bai Hongyou was sentenced to six years and three months and fined 100,000 yuan. Mr. Zhu Deshan, a 56-year-old former teacher, received two years and ten months and was fined 50,000 yuan.

Arrests

Officers from the Yilan County Domestic Security Office, Dongcheng Police Station, and Guanyue Police Station came to Mr. Zhu’s home at 7 a.m. on October 23, 2022. They deceived his wife into opening the door by claiming to be representatives from the power company. Two officers restrained his wife, while the others ransacked their home. When they were done the police went to Mr. Zhu’s workplace and arrested him.

The same group of officers next went to Mr. Bai’s home. He lived by himself and did odd jobs to make a living. While the police were ransacking his home, his sister came from the countryside to bring him some vegetables. She was terrified when she saw the police, dropped the vegetables, and quickly left.

Both Mr. Zhu and Mr. Bai were taken to the Yilan County Detention Center, where they still remain.

Mr. Zhu’s wife repeatedly went to the Yilan County Domestic Security Office, seeking his release. The director rejected her request with the excuse that Mr. Zhu had not renounced Falun Gong.

First Hearing Halted After Mr. Zhu Has Medical Episode

Mr. Zhu and Mr. Bai were brought to the Yilan County Court on May 8, 2023.

Mr. Zhu was emaciated after being detained for more than six months. It took tremendous effort for him to just walk to his seat. He was pale and had difficulty breathing. As he stood in front of his seat, he closed his eyes, and his body began to twitch. He wept and shouted. Two bailiffs hurried over and caught him as he collapsed.

After Mr. Zhu was taken to the county hospital for resuscitation, the judge adjourned the hearing.

Mr. Zhu’s wife said that she was very concerned about his health. She recalled that one month after he started to practice Falun Gong in October 1996, his severe heart condition, gastritis, and rheumatism that had bothered him since middle school, all disappeared. He has been very healthy for the past two decades, but developed an unknown medical condition after being incarcerated for just six months.

She and the lawyer submitted an application to have Mr. Zhu released for treatment. They have not received a response.

Second Hearing Suddenly Changed from In-person to Virtual

The court held a second hearing on May 25, 2023. Six of Mr. Bai’s and Mr. Zhu’s family members came to attend the trial, but clerk Tang Zihe refused to let them all in. He said only two family members of each practitioner were allowed inside the courtroom.

After the two practitioners’ lawyers and family members finally sat down for the hearing, they noticed that Mr. Zhu and Mr. Bai were not there. The judge announced that the originally scheduled in-person session would now be held remotely, with Mr. Zhu and Mr. Bai joining from the detention center. He said that Mr. Zhu was still in poor health.

Both practitioners’ lawyers and family members objected to the judge’s sudden change without any advance notice. They requested that Mr. Zhu and Mr. Bai be brought to the courtroom for an in-person hearing or that the hearing be postponed to a later date when Mr. Zhu got better.

The judge refused their request and said that if the lawyers left the courtroom he had his own court-appointed lawyers on standby to represent the practitioners. The lawyers had no choice but to agree to the virtual hearing. Mr. Bai and Mr. Zhu were then connected remotely to the courtroom. They both said they objected to the virtual hearing.

The judge ordered the hearing to keep going. Prosecutor Zhao Changpu who charged Mr. Bai and Mr. Zhu was not present, neither in person nor virtually. The judge did not conduct any cross-examination of the prosecution evidence as required by law. He instead kept interrupting the practitioners and their lawyers while they presented their defense statements.