Mr. Liu Zhaofu Arrested and Sentenced to Jilin Prison

Mr. Liu Zhaofu's wife Ms. Shi Xiuzhen, from Jiaohe City in Jilin Province, was arrested at home by officers from Xinzhan Police Station in Jiaohe on March 18th, 2008. Mr. Liu managed to escape and had to leave home to avoid persecution. Ms. Shi was tortured and sentenced to six years in Jilin Province Women's Prison. Police ransacked their home several times in an attempt to find Mr. Liu's whereabouts.

Officers from Jiaohe Police Department contacted a relative of Mr. Liu on September 22nd, 2011 and told them that if he returned home, he would only need to pay a fine and then he could go back to work. The relative called Mr. Liu's mobile phone while the police were there. When Mr. Liu returned home, he was arrested and taken to Jiaohe Detention Centre. He was not allowed to see his family or hire a lawyer to represent him.

Officials at the detention centre eventually notified Mr. Liu's family on April 10th, 2012 and told them that they could visit him. During the visit, Mr. Liu said that the police secretly took him to the Jiaohe Court on February 23rd and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was transferred to Jilin Prison on May 20th. His family has still not received any documentation from the police or the court regarding his arrest, detention or the verdict from the trial.

Mr. Liu's mother, in her late 70s, was left unattended after Ms. Shi was arrested, and Mr. Liu was forced to leave home. She had no income and could barely afford to live. In addition, police harassed her many times and demanded to know Mr. Liu's whereabouts. She became severely ill and was hospitalized several times. She became sick again at the beginning of 2009 and soon passed away.