(Minghui.org) A 74-year-old man in Tanghe County, Henan Province was secretly sentenced to a lengthy term for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Chen Xinnian and his wife, Ms. Peng Tao, were arrested on February 16, 2019 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police ransacked their home and confiscated their Falun Gong books and MP3 audio player.

Mr. Chen was held at the Tanghe County Detention Center, and Ms. Peng was kept at the Nanyang City Detention Center. Ms. Peng experienced some heart condition while in custody and was later released.

Her family was informed in early 2021 that Mr. Chen had been sentenced to a seven-year prison term and transferred to the Zhengzhou Prison, but they have received no notification from the prison.

The Zhengzhou Prison, also known as Xinmi Prison, is notorious for its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Most of the imprisoned practitioners are beaten, tortured, and forced to watch propaganda videos attacking Falun Gong. Some have been persecuted to death by the guards. It was reported that more than one thousand practitioners have been detained there for not renouncing their faith.