Zhang Yuzhen (张余振) — Media Profile & Archive
See the Person Profile.
This archive collects the media record of the case of Zhang Yuzhen (张余振), a 71-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Dongzhi Village, Yong’an Town, Dashiqiao City, Liaoning Province. Arrested with his wife and non-practitioner son in a November 25, 2025 police sweep following months of phone surveillance, he was tried at the Zhanqian District Court in Yingkou on July 16–17, 2026 and sentenced on August 11, 2026 to nine years in prison with a 50,000-yuan fine — criminal judgment (2026) Liao 0802 Xing Chu No. 72, the heaviest term among nine defendants. His reported term runs until November 24, 2034. The Rights Defense Network lists him as a current in-custody political prisoner (Issue 131, August 31, 2026) in its newly-sentenced nine-year group. His case is documented by the Falun Dafa Information Center, Bitter Winter, and the Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 roster in both Chinese and English editions.
Source provenance
The Falun Dafa Information Center reports detentions and prosecutions of Falun Gong practitioners; it draws on Minghui.org, a Falun Gong community publication. Its reporting is partisan: it presents detentions as persecution and reflects the Falun Gong community’s perspective. The case facts below should be read as reported by these publications, not as independently verified findings.
Bitter Winter is an independent outlet covering religious liberty in China. Its account of this case is consistent with the Falun Dafa Information Center’s on all checkable facts (dates, court, judgment number, sentence table, health timeline).
The Rights Defense Network (维权网) monthly report is a systematic roster published monthly; Issue 131 (August 31, 2026) lists reported current-custody political prisoners and prisoners of conscience grouped by sentence length. It corroborates the nine-year sentence independently.
Chronological media record
~May–November 2025 — surveillance. The Dashiqiao City Public Security Bureau monitored and tracked local practitioners’ mobile phones for roughly six months, per the Falun Dafa Information Center.
November 25, 2025 — the sweep. More than twenty officers from the criminal police brigade alone took part in a coordinated operation. Police broke into the Zhang family home in Dongzhi Village, Yong’an Town, arrested Mr. Zhang Yuzhen, his wife Gong Suyan, and their son Zhang Bo, and searched the residence. The men were held at the Dashiqiao City Detention Center; the women at the Yingkou City Detention Center.
Late December 2025 – March 2026 — formal arrest and indictment. Formal arrests followed in late December 2025; the Zhanqian District Procuratorate indicted all nine defendants around March 2026. Four family-retained lawyers argued the facts were unclear and the evidence insufficient; the procuratorate proceeded. The case was reportedly directed by the Liaoning Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
June 23–30, 2026 — hospitalization. Mr. Zhang’s health collapsed in detention: severe hypertension, cardiac problems, stroke symptoms, multiple cerebral lacunar infarctions. On June 23 police rushed him to Luhe Hospital, where he remained shackled, guarded by four officers, with no family visits. He was discharged June 30 back to the Dashiqiao Detention Center. His lawyer found him unable to walk (forced to crawl), blind in both eyes, speech slurred, extremely thin, blood pressure 170. Repeated medical-bail requests were disregarded.
July 16–17, 2026 — trial. The Zhanqian District Court tried the nine over two consecutive days; Mr. Zhang was wheeled into the courtroom. Presiding judge Gao Yue and assistant judge Xin Runhong signed the verdicts.
August 11, 2026 — sentencing. Criminal judgment (2026) Liao 0802 Xing Chu No. 72: Zhang Yuzhen — nine years + 50,000-yuan fine (term to November 24, 2034); Gong Suyan — eight years six months + 50,000; Wang Zhaomin — seven years + 40,000; Xing Dongmei — five years + 20,000; Wang Jun — two years six months + 10,000; Li Xiuying — two years + 10,000; Yang Qiang — one year six months + 10,000; Zhang Bo — one year three months + 10,000 (non-practitioner, convicted on family association alone); Xing Chun’e — six months + 5,000.
August 31, 2026 — roster classification. The Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 monthly report lists 张余振 in its newly-sentenced nine-year group; the English edition confirms “Zhang Yuzhen” in the parallel band.
Media items (with verification)
- Falun Dafa Information Center, “Nine Sentenced in Liaoning for Falun Gong, Including a Non-Practitioner Convicted Over Family Ties” — https://faluninfo.net/nine-sentenced-in-liaoning-for-falun-gong-including-a-non-practitioner-convicted-over-family-ties/ — dedicated case report: full sentence table, surveillance/arrest background, detention locations, indictment, health collapse, medical-bail refusals, term end November 24, 2034. Notes the case was reported by Minghui.org (Aug 21), Weiquanwang (Aug 23), and Bitter Winter (Aug 31). Status: VERIFIED (opened and read 2026-10-08).
- Bitter Winter, “The Falun Gong Dashiqiao Nine Verdict: Jail Terms Up to Nine Years,” by Yang Feng — https://bitterwinter.org/the-falun-gong-dashiqiao-nine-verdict-jail-terms-up-to-nine-years/ — independent corroboration of trial, judges, sentence table, Luhe Hospital stay, lawyer’s account of Mr. Zhang’s condition, wheelchair courtroom scene. Status: VERIFIED (opened and read 2026-10-08).
- 维权网, Issue 131 (Chinese edition), August 31, 2026 — independent Chinese-language media roster — places 张余振 (male, b. 1955, Dashiqiao) in the newly-sentenced nine-year group. Status: VERIFIED (local cache read 2026-10-08).
- 维权网, Issue 131 (English edition), August 31, 2026 — “Zhang Yuzhen,” nine years, “newly sentenced in this issue.” Status: VERIFIED (local cache read 2026-10-08).
What was searched and not found
- The underlying Minghui.org (Aug 21) and Weiquanwang (Aug 23) reports referenced by the Falun Dafa Information Center: NOT individually retrieved.
- The underlying court judgment text: NOT FOUND.
- PRC official narrative / state media / court notices on this case: NOT FOUND.
- Consular or diplomatic attention: none found.
- Any update on Mr. Zhang’s medical condition or prison placement after the verdict: NOT FOUND.
- Appeal status: NOT FOUND.