Amid allegations of legal irregularities, two men were sentenced to prison for keeping books from the banned Falun Gong movement in their homes, receiving sentences of seven and seven and a half years, respectively.

Sun Wentian and Guo Changsuo, two Falun Gong practitioners from Yakeshi City in Inner Mongolia, were sentenced after a questionable trial. These sentences, which involve spending over seven years in a Chinese prison simply for practicing one’s faith, highlight the alarming reality of religious persecution in China. Such verdicts are becoming so common that they barely attract global attention.

Sun and Guo were among a group of six Falun Gong practitioners whose homes were raided by Yakeshi City police on April 8 and 19, 2023. Authorities claimed to have found “several” Falun Gong books in their residences. However, no list of the books was provided, and police argued that the number of books suggested the practitioners intended to distribute them, leading to harsher penalties.

While four women were prosecuted separately, Sun and Guo were tried together in Yakeshi City court and received their sentences on September 23, 2024. It was evident that their defense was not taken seriously, so much so that even the Hulunbuir Intermediate Court reluctantly agreed with the defendants and called for a retrial.

Despite this, the retrial ended with the original sentences upheld. The defendants appealed again, but this time the Hulunbuir Intermediate Court did not hold a public hearing. Instead, it decided in chambers on September 23, 2024, to reject the appeal.

This post is based on the information from the magazine “Bitter Winter”.