(Minghui.org) A Wuhan City, Hubei Province resident was sentenced to 21 months for his faith in Falun Gong in early May 2020. He has filed an appeal with Wuhan City Intermediate Court.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhang Xuqing, 49, was arrested on the evening of April 25, 2019 after being reported for spreading information about Falun Gong the day before. The police ransacked his home shortly after his arrest, and also searched his workplace and confiscated his work computer on April 29.
While Mr. Zhang was held in detention, the authorities denied him family visits and intimidated his wife.
Mr. Zhang was indicted by the Wuchang District Procuratorate on August 8. He was tried by the Wuchang District Court on November 22. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him.
When the prosecutor was reading the indictment, Mr. Zhang noticed that it was different from the version he read in October, and the number of Falun Gong related materials included in the prosecution evidence against him was increased without any explanation.
The Wuchang District Court announced the verdict against him in early May 2020, about one month after the city was reopened during the coronavirus epidemic.
In the past two decades of persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Zhang has been arrested several times for upholding his faith. After his latest arrest, his elderly parents often cry and his daughter worries about him so much that she couldn’t concentrate with her studies.
