(Minghui.org) A resident in Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province was sentenced in late 2020 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Liu Haikang, 67, was arrested at home on July 31, 2020. A few officers held him and his wife, Ms. Sun Chunhuan, down on the sofa, while others ransacked their place. The couple's Falun Gong books and printouts, laptop, media player, cellphone, and thumb drives were confiscated.
The police claimed that they found Falun Gong materials on the hood of a police car on July 22. After going through the surveillance video, they confirmed that it was Mr. Liu who distributed the materials.
The police issued the criminal detention notice for Mr. Liu on August 1 and took him to the Beian City Detention Center on August 19.
Mr. Liu was tried through video conference on November 12 and sentenced to four years. He has appealed the verdict.
The authorities kept Mr. Liu’s family in the dark about his trial and sentencing. They waited until two weeks later, on November 28, to inform his son that he had been sentenced. On that afternoon, the police brought his son to the detention center and asked his son to persuade him to renounce Falun Gong. The police said that if he complied, the intermediate court would reduce his term by one year. Mr. Liu refused to sign anything and was determined to uphold his faith.
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