CCP Doubles Length of Jail Sentences for Falun Gong Practitioners: Study

In China, individuals holding a spiritual belief centred on compassion can face sentences twice as long as those convicted of picking fights and provoking trouble, according to a recent study. The latest report by human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders found that the Chinese regime continues to justify its arrests and lengthy sentences for Falun Gong practitioners using the contentious Article 300 under China’s Criminal Law. Although the law is also applied to other persecuted religious organizations in China, the NGO noted that the majority of recorded Article 300 cases involved Falun Gong practitioners. From 2008 to 2020, the average jail sentence under Article 300 was just over five years, more than double the 2.3-year average for the “crime” of picking quarrels and provoking trouble under Article 293, a common charge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses against human rights defenders, according to the report....