(Minghui.org) Mr. Sun Yufeng, 74, from Taihe County, Anhui Province, was sentenced to eight years in prison in November 2014.

At the trial, Mr. Sun Yufeng reminded everyone that practicing Falun Gong was legal. “Having a personal belief is protected under the Chinese Constitution,” he said. “And, what I wrote in the article 'The Persecution My Family Suffered' is the truth. However, confiscating my personal belongings, as the police did, is illegal.”

He was arrested at home on March 7, 2014, by officers from the Taihe County Domestic Security Division. The police ransacked his home and confiscated a computer, a printer, Falun Gong books, and other personal belongings.

Mr. Sun is being held at the Taihe County Detention Center. His health has deteriorated during his detention, and he developed heart problems and other illnesses. His blood pressure reached over 200 mm Hg.

Mr. Sun said he would appeal to a higher court after the verdict was handed down. His wife then hired an attorney, who submitted a defense statement to the Fuyang City Intermediate Court.

Mr. Sun has been arrested and detained many times since the Chinese Communist Party initiated the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. He was sentenced to two years of forced labor in 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong, and to three years in prison in 2008 for handing out Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials.