(Minghui.org) A Linghai City, Liaoning Province, man was recently admitted to Jinzhou Prison to serve a 1.5-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhang Deguo
Mr. Zhang Deguo, 74, was arrested on December 5, 2023 by Shishan Town Police Station officers when he went there to distribute informational materials about Falun Gong. The police raided his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and other personal items. He was held at the Linghai City Detention Center.
When Mr. Zhang’s son applied to be his non-lawyer family defender, the procuratorate and court denied his request, claiming that he couldn’t prove his relationship to Mr. Zhang.
The family was unable to hire a lawyer for Mr. Zhang, so they were left in the dark regarding the status of his case. His son only confirmed recently that Mr. Zhang had been transferred to Jinzhou Prison, but he knows nothing about his indictment, trial, sentencing, or when he was transferred to prison.
Prior to this latest sentence, Mr. Zhang had already served two labor camp terms and been brutally tortured. His wife Ms. Li Jinqiu, his son Mr. Zhang Lei and his daughter-in-law Ms. Zhao Xiaochun and her mother Ms. He Yuxiang have all been persecuted for their shared faith.
Just months before Mr. Zhang’s own arrest, his wife, 73, was seized by the police on July 31, 2023, for distributing Falun Gong materials at a community fair. She was sentenced to four years with an 8,000-yuan fine on November 13, 2023.
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Family of Five Persecuted in Linghai City, Liaoning Province
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