(Minghui.org) Mr. Yan Wencheng, 67, in Yishui County, Shandong Province, was sentenced to three years in prison for his faith, Falun Gong, around July 20, 2023, the 24th anniversary of the persecution of this spiritual and meditation discipline by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Mr. Yan Wencheng was arrested by officers from the Chengbei Police Station on February 7, 2023. They confiscated his laptop, Falun Gong books, and table calendars.
While interrogating Mr. Yan at the police station, the police videotaped the whole session and said they were simply following orders given by the county government's CCP secretary. They promised they would not make his life difficult and released him two hours later.
Mr. Yan, however, was arrested again just a few days later, this time by agents from the Chengjiao Police Station and the Yishui County Domestic Security Office. The officers took him to the Yishui County Detention Center, where he may still be held.
The Yishui County Procuratorate indicted Mr. Yan and the Yishui County Court held a hearing on his case in June 2023, without notifying his family.
Mr. Yan’s loved ones learned from an insider that he was sentenced to three years on July 20. He is now appealing the wrongful conviction for practicing his faith.
This is not the first time that Mr. Yan has been targeted for his faith. He was previously twice given forced labor terms totaling four and a half years, in 2007 and 2012. His younger daughter was given one year of forced labor in 2005 simply because she did not know where he was when she was questioned by police as to his whereabouts. She was still a minor at the time. The police also beat her and injured her collarbone.
Earlier Persecution
The Wujiawa Village officials abducted all local Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Yan, on July 20, 1999, the day the persecution officially started. The practitioners were held at the village government building for 15 days, during which time they were forced to read newspapers and watch TV programs that slandered Falun Gong and its founder. They were also ordered to renounce Falun Gong.
The officials released the practitioners after fining each of them 600 yuan, but they ordered them to report to the village government every day and get permission if they needed to leave their homes. The monitoring and harassment intensified whenever a “sensitive date” came up, such as July 20 or other anniversaries related to Falun Gong. The practitioners received phone calls from, or unexpected visits by officials or police.
In August 2001, Li Hongwei, director of the Yishui County General Political Office, and several people from the Wujiawa Office deceived Mr. Yan into going to the brainwashing center in Fengjia Village, Yishui Town. He was held there for one month and six days and fined 2,500 yuan. Several days after he was released, he was again taken to a government office and interrogated for a day. The officials released him the next day after failing to find a reason to detain him.
Younger Daughter Given One Year of Forced Labor in 2005
On September 4, 2005, Niu Yong from the Wujiawa Office and Wang Hongliang, commander of the People’s Militia, went to harass Mr. Yan. He urged them to stop persecuting law-abiding citizens like him. In response, they called in more people to harass him.
Nearly thirty agents soon arrived in about eight cars, including Sun Jianxun (secretary of the Yishui County Political and Legal Affairs Committee), Chen Xilong (chief of the Yishui County Police Department), Li Jianping and Zhang Qiguo from the Yishui County Domestic Security Office, and Wang Lei (chief of the local police station).
They raided Mr. Yan’s home but did not find anything they wanted. They then went to ransack his other residence and used a metal bar to pry open the door. They confiscated a computer, a projector, and 30,000 yuan in cash.
Mr. Yan and his wife were forced to live away from home after this incident. Their middle-school-age son was forced to drop out of school. When the police could not find the couple they arrested their two daughters and two nephews.
Mr. Yan’s older daughter, who was nursing her baby, and his younger nephew were later released on bail. His older nephew was detained for one month.
Mr. Yan’s younger daughter, who was not yet 18, was held at a detention center for 34 days, during which time the police once interrogated her for more than 30 hours straight. They ordered her to reveal her father’s whereabouts. She did not know where he was so officer Chen Xilong gave her one year of forced labor for “disturbing the social order.”
Three Years of Forced Labor Follow Arrest in 2007
At 6:00 a.m. on May 2, 2007, Mr. Yan was arrested right outside his home, by more than twelve officers who were waiting. The officers included Wang Jianjun from the Wujiawa Office, Zhang Hua from the Beijiao Police Station, and Li Yuyou from the Yishui County Domestic Security Office. They had been searching for Mr. Yan after he fled home in 2005. They went to his home to catch him when they learned he planned to return that morning.
The police next raided his home and confiscated two computers, a printer, an MP3 player, 600 yuan in cash, and some other valuables. They also beat Mr. Yan’s younger daughter and seized her cell phone.
In order to find more money, the police even searched every pillow and comforter. One officer complained, “We’ve raided this home too many times to find any more money!”
On May 3, 2007, Li Yuyou, Xie Fugui, and a few other officers interrogated Mr. Yan using torture. They beat him so badly that he passed out. They sent him to the county hospital but took him away as soon as he regained consciousness three hours later.
The police drove him straight to a labor camp but he was denied admission due to his health. Officer Chen Xilong used his connections to get Mr. Yan detained for 37 more days (than is legally permissible) in a police station and then had him admitted to the labor camp to serve a three-year term.
Mr. Yan’s son and two daughters went to the Domestic Security office to ask about their father and that the 30,000 yuan which was confiscated in 2005 be returned. Song Wei and Li Yuyou beat and cursed the three children. Mr. Yan’s younger daughter sustained injuries to her collarbone, which had been previously injured by police when she was arrested in 2005.
Li shouted, “We decide whom the 30,000 yuan belongs to. If you keep pushing my button, I’ll never return the money to you!” It is unclear even today whether the money has ever been returned.
Sentenced to 18 Months of Forced Labor in 2012
Xue Hao of the Beijiao Police Station led a group of officers and arrested Mr. Yan on November 7, 2012. Xue yelled, “I’ve already sent my aunt and sister-in-law to labor camps for practicing Falun Gong. Do you think I’d hesitate to give you forced labor?”
Mr. Yan was admitted to the Shandong Province Second Labor Camp (located in Zhangqiu City) on November 29, 2012. It is unclear whether he served the full 18-month term or whether he was transferred to another facility, since China’s forced labor camp system was abolished in 2013.
Related Report:
Mr. Yan Wencheng and His Family from Yishui County, Shandong Province Have Long Been Persecuted
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