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Sichuan Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for His Faith

January 24, 2017 |   By a Minghui correspondent in Sichuan Province

(Minghui.org) A Bazhong City resident was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Wu Yinghao was resting at home on August 27, 2015 when police broke in and arrested him. He was tried on December 6, 2016. His lawyer, Mr. Tang Tianhao, has entered a not guilty plea for him.

Mr. Tang argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that his client should never have been prosecuted for practicing and promoting his faith.

The prosecutor cited Mr. Wu’s lawsuit against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin as evidence against him. Mr. Wu testified to how Falun Gong had returned him to health and taught him to be a decent person. He argued that Jiang had violated the law when he ordered the persecution of Falun Gong without any legal basis.

The prosecution evidence also included Falun Gong materials confiscated from Mr. Wu’s home. Mr. Tang argued that those items were Mr. Wu’s lawful possessions and posed no threat to anyone or society at large, let alone undermine law enforcement.

The judge delivered a guilty verdict against Mr. Wu on January 12, 2017. Mr. Wu is appealing his case to Bazhong City Intermediate Court, while being detained at Bazhong City Detention Center.

Background

In 1999 Jiang Zemin, then head of the CCP, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.

The persecution has killed countless Falun Gong practitioners during the past 16 years. Many have been murdered for their organs. Others have been imprisoned and tortured for their belief. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of this brutal persecution.

Under Jiang's direction, the CCP established an extralegal security force, the 610 Office, on June 10, 1999. This organization overrides the police and judicial system. The 610 Office carries out Jiang's directive to eradicate Falun Gong: ruin practitioners' reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.

Jiang stepped down as head of the CCP in 2002, but he has exerted much power from the shadows through a network of officials he put in place.

Chinese law now allows citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.

Related Report:Sichuan Province: Police Harass and Arrest Practitioners Who Filed Criminal Complaints Against Former Dictator Jiang Zemin