(Minghui.org) A 70-year-old man in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province was sentenced to four years with a 10,000-yuan fine on October 18, 2023, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
This is not the first time that Mr. Zhang Yutang has been targeted for his faith. He was previously given two years of forced labor in 1999 and thrice sentenced (receiving three years in 2003, five months in 2012, and 5.5 years in 2014). He was brutally tortured each time. For details of his past persecution, see the related reports at the end of this article. His local government stopped his pension (a bit over 100 yuan each month) in early 2022, and he struggled to make ends meet.
Mr. Zhang Yutang
Latest Arrest
Mr. Zhang went to visit his daughter on the afternoon of April 21, 2023 and was arrested by officers from the Mishan City Domestic Security Office as soon as he left her home close to 6 p.m.
The police then broke into two groups, with one group taking Mr. Zhang to their office and another group heading to his home. They used the key confiscated from him and opened the door when his wife refused to let them in.
Gao Yuan, the local grid manager, accompanied the police. [China’s grid-style social management system involves dividing each county into smaller zones (or grids) and tasking grid managers with monitoring citizens and reporting suspicious activities to local governments on a regular basis.]
Mr. Zhang’s wife demanded to know the police’s identities and one officer said his name was Hua Jian. He appeared to be a head as he directed two officers to videotape everywhere in the home. Mr. Zhang’s wife asked if they had any search warrant and one officer flashed a piece of paper in front of her. He put it away without allowing her to read what was on it.
The police spent nearly one hour searching Mr. Zhang’s home. His wife noted that the police confiscated three copies of Zhuan Falun (main teaching of Falun Gong), three loudspeakers, around 20 envelopes, flash drives, and other personal belongings. She also saw the police seize something wrapped in paper from underneath a bed but was not allowed to examine it. As she was made to stay in one room during the raid, she had no idea what other things the police had seized from her home. The police didn’t give her a chance to tally the confiscated items or produce a list of confiscated items as required by law.
Mr. Zhang was given criminal detention the next day and taken to the Mishan City Detention Center. The police submitted his case to the Mishan City Procuratorate, which soon indicted him.
Trial
The Mishan City Court held a hearing of Mr. Zhang’s case on October 12, 2023. Judge Ling Zuobin presided over the trial. Judges Lin Chunhong and Lan Xinling, as well as clerk Liu Yang, were also present.
Prosecutor Li Lanlan said that the police-supplied evidence included surveillance videos showing someone who looked like Mr. Zhang mailed out letters at three local post offices. The letters were seized and determined to contain Falun Gong information.
Postal workers Ma Zhanxin of Xuanyu Post Office, Ji Xiuhong of Second Post Office, and Liu Guihong of Chengxi Post Office, as well as the aforementioned grid manager Gao, were listed as prosecution witnesses. None of them was present in court to accept cross-examination though.
Mr. Zhang’s lawyer argued that there was no concrete evidence proving that the man in the videos was indeed his client. As such, the videos should be inadmissible.
Mr. Zhang also testified against the police and the procuratorate for arresting and indicting him without any legal basis. Prosecutor Li insisted that he broke the law. Mr. Zhang requested that Li be recused from the trial. Judge Ling then ordered a brief break. After the session resumed, Li was still present but stopped saying Mr. Zhang was guilty.
Judge Ling convicted Mr. Zhang on October 18. It is unclear when he will be transferred to prison.
Related reports:
Heilongjiang Man Continuously Harassed After Serving 5.5 Years in Prison for His Faith
Heilongjiang Man Unable to Walk after Years of Imprisonment and Torture for His Faith
Falun Gong Practitioners Brutally Persecuted at Tailai Prison
Tailai Prison Intensifies Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners
Imprisoned Man in Dire Condition, Denied Medical Parole
New Evidence Indicates Falun Gong Defendants May Have Been Drugged During Trials
Court Suspected of Drugging Defendants During Trial
Judge Halts Practitioners' Trial after Legal Procedures Violated
Judge Obstructs Defense by Blocking Access to Case Files
Heilongjiang Province: Attorneys Arrested for Seeking to Meet with Clients
Several Recent Large-scale Arrests of Practitioners in Mudanjiang City; Three Attorneys Arrested
Two Practitioners Secretly Tried Without Legal Representation; Court Denies Trial Ever Took Place
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