(Minghui.org) A resident of Jiangbei District, Chongqing was secretly tried and sentenced to three years in prison for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

Mr. Huang Jimeng, a divorcee who lived alone, suddenly went missing in early 2017. It took his brother, sister, and friends several months to find out he had been arrested for his faith. They proceeded to hire a lawyer to defend his constitutional right to freedom of belief, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.

The lawyer went to the local court in early July to file an application to represent Mr. Huang and was shocked to learn that his client had been secretly tried one month earlier.

The court initially rejected the lawyer’s request to meet with Mr. Huang, but relented upon the lawyer’s protest.

Mr. Huang told the lawyer that several agents broke in his home one night in February and confiscated all his Falun Gong books and informational materials. He was ordered to face judge in June, but none of his family members were notified of the hearing.

The lawyer learned recently that Mr. Huang was convicted in August and sent to Yongchuan Prison in December 2017.