Additional Name(s): 姚国付
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Han
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 4 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: December/5/2015
Date of Sentencing: December/12/2016
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Distributing Religious Materials Possession of Religious Materials Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Cult
Yao Guofu was imprisoned for distributing religious materials.
On December 5, 2015, plainclothes police officers detained Yao and his wife, Liang Xin, from their home in Nanyang municipality, Henan province.
On January 12, 2016, Yao and Liang were charged with "organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law" (Art. 300 CCL). Police reportedly confiscated several Falun Gong-related materials and electronics. The two were accused of using a virtual private network service to access and disseminate Falun Gong materials to the public.
On December 12, 2016, Yao and Liang were both sentenced to four years and six months in prison and each fined 10,000 yuan.
In March 2017, the Nanyang City Intermediate People’s Court reportedly rejected Yao and Liang's appeal.
Yao was reportedly beaten by detention center and prison authorities.
In 2020 or 2021, Yao was released.
Yao and Liang are part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.
Yao and Liang have a daughter.
Related Cases: Liang Xin
"Liang Xin and Yao Guofu" Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
"Yao Guofu" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)