(Minghui.org) A Yinan County, Shandong Province resident was recently sentenced to three and a half years for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Tian Dejun, around 57, was arrested at home on May 28, 2020. The police ransacked his place and confiscated his Falun Gong books and other personal items. After two days of detention at the local police station, he was transferred to the local detention center and subjected to brainwashing. The Yinan County Court secretly sentenced Mr. Tian to 3.5 years this September and he was sent to the Shandong Province Men's Prison in recent weeks. 

Mr. Tian took up Falun Gong in 1996 at his mother’s recommendation, when he was grief stricken and had lost hope in life after his wife’s passing away from illness. Falun Gong’s teachings lit up his heart and he was able to move on. His health also improved shortly after.

Mr. Tian began to actively promote Falun Gong in his village. After people took it up one after another, they gave up many bad habits and the morality of the village was noticeably improved.

After the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong, however, Mr. Tian became a major target of the local government. Police constantly harassed and beat him, in attempts to force him to renounce his faith. 

He was arrested on September 16, 2002 and subjected to relentless torture at the Mengyin County Detention Center. He was later sentenced to eight years in Shandong Province Prison, which deeply traumatized his elderly parents and two young children. 

By the time Mr. Tian was released in 2007, his hair had turned gray and he was emaciated. 

The police continued to harass him from time to time and ordered him to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. The harassment continued during the pandemic this year, until he was arrested again.