(Minghui.org) In April 2026, Minghui.org learned of 46 cases of Falun Gong practitioners being sentenced to prison for their faith.

The sentenced Falun Gong practitioners are from 13 provinces or centrally-controlled municipalities. Hunan reported the most cases (12), followed by Shandong (ten), Heilongjiang (six), Sichuan (Five) and Liaoning (three). Jilin and Hubei each had two cases. The remaining six regions—Chongqing, Guizhou, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Henan—each reported one case.

Thirty-eight of the practitioners were sentenced to less than five years, and five were given five or more years (with the longest term being 8 years). The prison terms of three practitioners were unclear.

Information about the ages at the time of sentencing is available for 36 practitioners, including three in their 40s, seven in their 50s, 18 in their 60s, and eight in their 70s.

In addition to the newly confirmed sentencing cases, a 94-year-old incapacitated man was jailed to serve a 3-year prison term given in 2021; and a 79-year-old former math teacher was also taken to prison, to serve a four-year term handed down in August 2025, while her husband, also 79, is still serving a four-year term for his shared faith in Falun Gong.

Selected cases are presented below.

Heavy Term for Speaking Out

Jilin Man Sentenced to 7.5 Years for Posting Information About Falun Gong on WeChat

Mr. Leng Zhenhui, of Qianguo County, Jilin Province, was arrested on October 10, 2025, after the police flagged him for mentioning Falun Gong while chatting with someone on WeChat (a social media platform). They located him through his cell phone and seized him in Changtuozi Village. Several villagers tried to stop the police but were unsuccessful. His home was also ransacked.

Mr. Leng was indicted by the Qianguo County Procuratorate in January 2026 and tried by the Qianguo County Court on February 5, 2026. The judge sentenced him to 7.5 years at an unknown time. He has appealed the verdict.

According to insiders, WeChat is conducting content analysis of both private and public messages and imposing comprehensive automated censorship of any message, image, or video that contains “sensitive” or “censored” information. Because every WeChat account is linked to the user’s cell phone number or ID, the police can track the user and retrieve their account information. The authorities also ordered Internet service providers to keep records of their customers’ online activities for at least six months.

Sentencing of the Elderly and Disabled

Double Amputee Secretly Sentenced to Prison

Ms. Zhang Aimin, who has had both of her legs amputated, is serving time in the Tenth Division of the Jilin Province Women’s Prison, according to a Falun Gong practitioner who was recently released from the prison after serving a wrongful term for her faith.

Ms. Zhang, a 64-year-old former railway worker in Jilin City, Jilin Province, was arrested on April 14, 2025, after officers from the Changyi District Police Department and the Minzhu Police Station broke the lock on her security door with an electric drill. She was likely released on bail that night, but details about her prison sentence, including the length of her prison sentence, remain unclear.

Two Shandong Women in Their 70s Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Falun Gong

Two women in Pingdu City, Shandong Province were sentenced to prison on April 2, 2026, for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang Yuemei was sentenced to 20 months and fined 8,000 yuan. Ms. Yu Hongzhi was given 16 months and fined 5,000 yuan. Ms. Zhang appealed the sentence.

Ms. Zhang and Ms. Yu, both in their 70s, were arrested on June 3, 2025, after police spotted them putting up posters about Falun Gong. They were taken to the Pudong Detention Center the next day.

The Zhugou Town Police Station submitted both women’s cases to the Pingdu City Procuratorate on August 26, 2025. They were indicted on September 26, 2025, and stood trial at the Pingdu City Court on November 12, 2025. Both were convicted on April 2, 2026.

Group Sentencing

Hengyang City, Hunan Province: 11 Sentenced to 2-8 Years

Eleven Falun Gong practitioners in Hengyang City, Hunan Province were sentenced to up to eight years on December 31, 2025.

The practitioners were arrested around April 2024 and indicted on September 30, 2024. They stood trial in the Zhengxiang District Court on April 15, 2025, and were convicted on December 31 that year.

The prosecution evidence against Mr. Zhou Zixian, 70, Mr. Deng Kunhe, 52, Ms. Yin Chaoqun, 59, Mr. Cao Chenhui, 42, and Ms. Jiang Zhen, 40, were the fact that they worked together to produce audio- and video-files to submit to Zhengjian.org (a website run by Falun Gong practitioners outside of China). More specially, Mr. Zhou organized the production, Ms. Yin and Mr. Deng produced the files, Mr. Cao provided technical support, and Ms. Jiang offered a place for them to discuss their experiences.

The other six sentenced practitioners were implicated because they had contact with the first five practitioners. There was also additional evidence against Ms. Hu Xiaoyun, 60, and Ms. Wang Yuanxiu, 71, including: 1) they were caught reading Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong), 2) they distributed 33 copies of Zhengjian.org (a periodical) near a middle school on March 17-18, 2024, 3) they both had Falun Gong materials at home, and 4) Ms. Hu was previously sentenced to one year for practicing Falun Gong and was thus deemed a “repeat offender.”

Ms. Tang Hengyan’s verdict cited another piece of evidence, which stated that the 61-year-old woman compiled Falun Gong materials around 2018 that were “threats to undermine the police and judicial system.”

The practitioners’ lawyers demanded their acquittal during the trial because no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and it is legal to submit Falun Gong themed files to Zhengjian.org or distribute Falun Gong informational materials. The prosecutors recommended heavy sentences, and the judges convicted all of the practitioners.

Jinan City, Shandong Province: Married Couple Sentenced, Four Others Facing Trial, and 13 More Facing Indictment

A married couple in Jinn City, Shandong Province, were both sentenced to prison on April 15, 2026, for their faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Liu Ruping, 65, was given three and a half years. His wife, Ms. Zhang Chenglan, 62, received three years.

The couple were arrested on September 29, 2025, during a police sweep targeting over 40 Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Liu, a lawyer by training, and Ms. Zhang stood trial in the Changqing District Court on March 13, 2026, and were convicted on April 15.

Besides the couple, four other practitioners arrested during the police sweep in September 2025 are also set to stand trial between April 30 and May 22, 2026.

Another 13 practitioners are facing indictment after being issued formal arrest warrants.

Sentenced by Out-of-State Courts

Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Eight Months By Jilin Court

The Meihekou City Court in Jilin Province sentenced a 51-year-old resident of Qingyuan County, Liaoning Province, to eight months in mid-March 2026.

Ms. Xin Kui went to nearby Shancheng Town in Meihekou City on November 22, 2025, to distribute informational materials exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution of her faith, Falun Gong. She was arrested by officers from the Shancheng Town Police Station and held at the Meihekou City Detention Center.

Ms. Xin’s two lawyers went to the Meihekou City Police Department on November 27 and 28, 2025, but they were not allowed to visit her. They then went to the detention center, the Meihekou City Procuratorate, and the appeals office, but their visitation requests were denied again.

The lawyers and Ms. Xin’s family returned to the procuratorate on December 22, 2025, but the receptionist refused to accept their application to represent her. They then went to the detention center and had a guard pass their letter to Ms. Xin. Ms. Xin was indicted a few days later.

On February 6, 2026, Ms. Xin’s family learned from the lawyers that her case was now with the Meihekou City Court. Her daughter called judge Wang Xue that day to say that she planned to serve as her mother’s non-lawyer defender. She mailed her defender application and requested a review of the case file. She later went to the courthouse but was told Wang was not in.

Wang held a secret hearing of Ms. Xin’s case on February 28, 2026, without notifying her lawyers or family. Her daughter called Wang on March 6, 2026, asking about her mother’s case. Wang hung up hastily.

Ms. Xin’s family received a copy of her verdict in mid-March 2026.

Heilongjiang Man Sentenced to Prison in Jiangsu Province

A man in Jidong County, Heilongjiang Province was recently sentenced to 15 months in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province.

Mr. Han Wei was initially arrested on March 28, 2024, because he used his brother Mr. Han Chao’s cell phone to recharge his phone card on WeChat, a social media platform (which has payment functions), and the phone card was used to send multi-media (text, videos, and audios) messages about Falun Gong.

The Nantong City Police Department, which has been using big data to monitor online activities, discovered the brothers’ phone activities. They traveled 1,600 miles to Jidong County and arrested Mr. Han Chao, who does not practice Falun Gong, on March 13, 2024. They took him to Nantong and admitted him to a local detention center on criminal charges the next day. His wife was so traumatized by his arrest that she suffered a relapse of her heart condition and had to be hospitalized.

The Nantong police waited outside Mr. Han Wei’s home for days before arresting him on March 28, 2024. They took him to Nantong on March 30, 2024.

Mr. Han Chao and Mr. Han Wei were released on bail on April 10 and April 30, 2024, respectively. The Nantong police lifted Mr. Han Chao’s bail conditions in mid-April 2025, but submitted Mr. Han Wei’s case to the Chongchuan District Procuratorate in Nantong City.

The Chongchuan District Court notified Mr. Han Wei on July 12, 2025, to pick up his indictment issued by prosecutor Zhang Yong. He went there to get his indictment and subpoena. He was allowed to return to Heilongjiang and remain on bail awaiting his trial scheduled for August 6, 2025.

At the end of July 2025, Mr. Han called prosecutor Zhang, requesting a postponement of his trial because his father, nearly 90, had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. He was told to mail his father’s medical records to them, which he did. But he was arrested on the morning of August 1, 2025, when he went to the Dongfeng Police Station in Jidong County as ordered. Officer Ye Yang from the Tongzhou District Police Department in Nantong City said that judge Sun Taiyong issued an order on July 25 to take him back into custody at the Nantong City Detention Center.

Mr. Han was initially scheduled to appear in the Chongchuan District Court in Nantong City on August 6, but judge Sun notified his lawyer on August 3, saying that the lawyer was not allowed to represent him in court.

Mr. Han hired a new lawyer, who went to Nantong on August 5, only to be told that the hearing scheduled for the next day had been canceled.

Judge Sun notified the lawyer on September 4 that a new hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. on September 25 at the courtroom-in-residence at the Nantong City Detention Center. He called the lawyer again on September 8 to say that he might change the hearing on September 25 to a “pre-trial conference,” which was later canceled again.

A hearing was finally held at the detention center on December 1, 2025. When Mr. Han was testifying in his own defense, judge Sun suddenly adjourned the hearing. He held another session on December 16. Mr. Han maintained that he didn’t violate any law in practicing his faith.

Judge Sun announced on March 26, 2026, that Mr. Han was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He has appealed with the Nantong City Intermediate Court.

Repeatedly Targeted

Son Drowned During Her Labor Camp Term, Hubei Woman Targeted Again for Her Faith

Ms. Chen Jinxiu, a 67-year-old resident of Jiayu County, Hubei Province, was arrested on April 2, 2025, by the police and neighborhood committee personnel. She was first taken to the Jiayu County Detention Center and then to the Xianning Jitang Rheumatology Hospital.

The Jiayu County Court held a hearing of Ms. Chen’s case on May 28, 2025, without announcing a verdict. Shortly after, she was taken to the Wuzhong Psychiatric Hospital, even though she was not mentally ill. Afterwards, her family lost contact with her. They repeatedly went to the local police station to inquire about her whereabouts or case, but the police refused to update them.

At the end of 2025, two prison guards contacted Ms. Chen’s younger sister to ask a few things about her. They revealed that she had been sentenced to three and a half years, but refused to tell the family where she is currently detained.

Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Chen has been repeatedly targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Her husband divorced her. Her son drowned on July 29, 2001, while she was serving an 18-month labor camp term. She was repeatedly arrested and held at various brainwashing centers. Following an arrest in 2015, she was sentenced to three years.

After 14 Years Behind Bars, Heilongjiang Woman Given Third Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong

Ms. An Jingtao, around 60 and of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to four years and eight months in April 2026. She was arrested on May 10, 2025, during a police sweep of over 20 local Falun Gong practitioners. All of the practitioners were taken to the Qiqihar 39 Hospital for blood draws and other physical exams. Except for a few who were deemed unfit for detention, the majority, including Ms. An, were taken to the Qiqihar City Detention Center.

Ms. An was released on a one-year bail in June 2025, after paying a 10,000-yuan bail bond. The police arrested her again on December 15, 2025, and held her in the same detention center. She stood trial on March 20, 2026, and was not allowed to speak at all.

It is unclear whether Ms. An has been admitted to prison. Prior to this latest round of persecution, she was imprisoned twice for practicing Falun Gong. She served five years from June 2000 to June 2005. After another arrest on March 30, 2006, Ms. An was given nine years. She endured brutal torture at both the Qiqihar City First Detention Center and the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.

Related Reports:

Reported in March 2026: 43 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith

Reported in February 2026: 31 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith

Reported in January 2026: 41 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith