(Minghui.org) A Guangdong resident was recently sentenced to five years in prison for practicing Falun Gong and telling people about the persecution.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body cultivation practice that has been persecuted by the communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Jiang Rongxin, 54, received the verdict ten months after his trial in the Baoan District Court in Shenzhen on December 1, 2017.
Two Years Detention and Intensive Brainwashing Despite Critical Condition Before Sentencing
Mr. Jiang's verdict came almost two years after he was arrested along with two dozen other Falun Gong practitioners across Guangdong Province on September 24, 2016. They were suspected of sending text messages to people to expose the persecution of Falun Gong.
Mr. Jiang was first detained in Huidong County Detention Center and then transferred to Jiuwei Detention Center in the Baoan District. He suffered from a heart attack and hypertension shortly after he was detained.
Although he was given proper medical attention at the time, he suffered another heart attack on October 10 and was in critical condition. Despite his family and lawyer's repeated demands for his release on medical parole, the authorities transferred him to Shenzhen No.1 Detention Center, where felons with heavy sentences are held.
Despite his condition, Mr. Jiang was subjected to intensive brainwashing every day in the detention center. It was reported that the officers would receive a 70,000-yuan bonus if he renounced Falun Gong.
The authorities also prohibited anyone from visiting him. His lawyer made five attempts to see with him in the detention center but was never allowed to.
Mr. Jiang's family hired another lawyer to represent him. When the new lawyer went to visit him in the detention center on June 12, 2017, he was told he had to show a certificate from the justice bureau in his city. After the lawyer obtained the certificate and finally met with Mr. Jiang ten days later, he was followed by plainclothes officers after he left the detention center.
Trial
After more than 14 months in detention, Mr. Jiang was tried in the Baoan District Court on December 1, 2017. Only one family member was allowed to attend.
According to his family, he appeared weak, emaciated, and pale.
The police forced him to dismiss his lawyer and accept the lawyer appointed by the government, who had him plead “guilty.”
The prosecutor asked him about his and other practitioners' involvement in setting up the device to send text messages. Instead of giving a clear “yes or no” answer, he answered most of the questions with, “I can't remember” or “Probably.”
His family suspects that the police forced him to admit guilt and provide information on other practitioners while he was in detention.
The judge adjourned the trial without announcing a verdict.
Mr. Jiang used to work at the Shenzhen Post Office. He has been subjected to repeated arrests, detention, and forced labor during the 19 years that Falun Gong has been persecuted.
