(Minghui.org) A Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province resident was sentenced to three years for speaking out about his faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Liu Jianmin is now awaiting the result of his appeal case at the Doumen District No. 2 Detention Center in Zhuhai.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Liu, a native of Handan City, Hebei Province working in Zhuhai, was arrested on November 1, 2019 after being reported for writing “Falun Dafa is good” in a public area.

After he was indicted, the Doumen District Court appointed a lawyer for him in early 2020. After Mr. Liu found out the court-appointed lawyer had been instructed to enter a guilty plea for him, he refused to be represented by the lawyer. Instead, he asked his family to hire a lawyer, who would then enter a not guilty plea. He met with his own lawyer in the detention center in April.

Mr. Liu appeared in the Doumen District Court on June 29, 2020. The witness who accused him of writing “Falun Dafa is good” said he saw Mr. Liu writing the message several times by using the “location tracking” function on his cellphone, without providing any detailed explanation of how he was able to track Mr. Liu's whereabouts.

Mr. Liu’s lawyer said that it was illegal for the witness to monitor his client’s daily activities. He demanded Mr. Liu's acquittal.

Mr. Liu’s family was recently informed by the court that he has been sentenced to three years. He has appealed the verdict at the time of writing.