(Minghui.org) A 50-year-old man in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, was sentenced to a year and a half with a 1,000-yuan fine on August 17, 2023, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Bai Yanbin is currently serving time at the Chifeng City Fourth Prison. His sentencing stemmed from his arrest on February 10, 2023, after the police spotted him distributing Falun Gong informational materials from their surveillance cameras.
The arresting officers from the Harqin Banner Domestic Security Office confiscated his computer, motorcycle, more than 10,000 yuan in cash, and other valuables. They took him to the Jinshan Town Detention Center and released him on a 3,000-yuan bail on February 23. He was ordered to report to the Jinshan Town Police Station once a week.
The Harqin Banner Procuratorate indicted Mr. Bai on June 12 and moved his case to the Harqin Banner Court. The Harqin Banner Police Department called him on June 19 and ordered him to come sign his case document. When he showed up, he arrested and taken to the Harqin Banner Detention Center.
The Harqin Banner Court tried and convicted Mr. Bai on August 17. Judge Xu Yanlong presided over the trial and judges Yu Wenjia and Chen Wenping were also present.
Past Persecution
Mr. Bai credits Falun Gong for curing his stomach ulcer, migraines, calcium deficiency, and stuttering. He also became much kinder and more considerate after he took up Falun Gong in 1998. His wife started to practice after they got married.
After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Mr. Bai held firm to his faith and was repeatedly targeted. He was arrested in December 2012 by officer Luo Long from the Wangyefu Police Station. The police restrained him in an iron chair for extended periods of time and later gave him 15 days of detention.
Wangyefu Police Station officers arrested Mr. Luo again on December 5, 2013, while he was distributing calendars with messages about Falun Gong. They raided his home and held him in a local detention center for 26 days.
Mr. Bai was arrested around 5 a.m. on April 11, 2017, while doing the Falun Gong exercises at a local plaza. Hours later, more than two dozen officers from the Harqin Banner Domestic Security Office raided his home and confiscated his computer, cell phone, and more than 300 yuan in banknotes with Falun Gong messages printed on them (as a way to raise awareness of the persecution). They took him to the Jinshan Town Detention Center and submitted his case to the Chifeng City Protectorate, which declined to issue a formal arrest warrant. He was released on May 12, 2017.
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