Illegal Detention and Imprisonment

  • Shijiazhuang Senior Engineer Mr. Song Aichang Appeals His Unjust Sentence

    Mr. Song Aichang, 48, is a senior engineer with the Thirteenth Institute of the China Electronic Technology Group in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. At noon on June 22nd, 2007, he was arrested near his home. He has so far been detained for one year and four months, which exceeds the maximum time he can legally be held by 10.5 months. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities in Shijiazhuang have tried him for a third time. Because the evidence against him was seriously inadequate, he was supposed to have been released. However, the court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. Mr. Song has appealed.
  • The Persecution of Ms. Yu Liqiu and Her Husband, Mr. Dong Yufeng from Jilin Province

    On September 12th, 2008, Ms. Yu Liqiu and Mr. Dong Yufeng went to Xiaosiping Township to distribute Falun Gong materials. They were arrested and incarcerated in the Dongfeng County Detention Centre. On September 19th, Liaoyuan City 610 Office personnel went to Mr. Dong and Ms. Yu's residence and confiscated their child's computer. After their arrest on September 12th, the two practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards physically assaulted them and threatened to force-feed them with hot pepper juice and salt liquid. The guards still do not allow any family visits. Their current situations are unknown. Their family received a notice saying that their cases have been transferred to the courts.
  • Recent Updates on Practitioners Detained in the Shenzhen City Detention Centre

    At about 6 a.m. on January 21st, 2008, Ms. Qian Huarui, 65, was arrested while doing the Falun Gong exercises at home. She has been held in the detention centre ever since and is now in poor health. She has high blood pressure, and her hair has turned grey. Mr. Xiao Feng, Ms. Qian Huarui's husband, is about 70 years old. He is a senior engineer. He has been detained at the detention centre and his current situation is unknown. Yantian Police Station is directly involved in persecuting him.
  • Third Arrest for Mr. Zhai Wenbin--Sentenced to Forced Labour in Handan City

    In 2008, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that it would beef up security during the Olympic Games. Actually, increasing security was simply an excuse for intensifying the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Zhai Wenbin, a practitioner, was arrested for the third time and is being tortured in Handan Forced Labour Camp. His family didn't receive any information about him for over two months, and they are not allowed to visit him.
  • Ms. Qiao Huarong Tried by the Chinese Communist Party-Controlled Court in Jizhou City, Hebei Province

    Practitioner Ms. Qiao Huarong, was tried in a court controlled by the Chinese Communist Party in Jizhou City, Hebei Province on November 4th, 2008. At 8:30 a.m., security was tightened in the Jizhous Court, as if protection was needed from a formidable enemy. The guards at the entrance checked everyone carefully, and everyone entering the courthouse had to produce an identification card. Outside the courtroom itself, apart from having to show personal identification, anyone entering had to produce a summons and submit to a body search. The lawyer retained by Ms. Qiao's family to defend her was initially not allowed to enter the courtroom. It was not until the trial was just about to start that the lawyer was finally allowed to enter, due to the family's adamant demands.
  • A Kind-Hearted Falun Gong Practitioner is Arrested in Shenyang City--Her Whereabouts Unknown

    47-year-old Ms. Wang Shuxian is a very kind person and she has a happy family of three. On September 23rd, 2008, Ms. Wang was arrested by police officers in Shenyang City when she was telling people the facts about Falun Gong. In the Nanta Police Station, Ms. Wang was brutally beaten by the guards. The police then transferred her to the Shenyang City Detention Centre. It has been over a month since Ms. Wang's family has heard any information about her.
  • Shanghai Police Set Up Barriers and Checkpoints Outside Courthouse during Trials of Falun Gong Practitioners

    On October 21st, 2008, Shanghai Xuhui District Court held trials for Mr. Liu Peng, Ms. Zhang Xumei, and Ms. Zheng Yan. Mr. Liu's lawyer defended him. This is the first time the lawyer defended Falun Gong practitioners in the Shanghai area. The Shanghai authorities were afraid of people protesting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, so they dispatched police to set up barriers and checkpoints outside the courthouse. There were more than 30 uniformed police officers in the vicinity of the courtroom. In addition, a lot of plain clothes officers walked around keeping an eye on pedestrians and vehicles. There were even plain clothes officers sitting inside tea houses at the corner. One insider said, "There are more than 80 police officers in the area, patrolling on foot and in vehicles."
  • Ms. Li Fengyun and Her Husband Arrested and Savagely Beaten by Police in Jilin Province

    Police arrested Ms. Li Fengyun and her husband, Mr. Shen Quanhui when a farmer reported them for distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution near Toudao Town. Back at the station, Ms. Li and her husband were put in separate rooms where they were monitored and interrogated. When the officers asked Ms. Li her name and address, she did not tell them. As a result, they savagely beat her, then handcuffed her behind her back, pulled her hair, slapped her face, and beat and kicked her. They also forced her to stand still for hours, not allowing her to fall asleep. Officer Zhang ruthlessly kicked Ms. Li in the stomach, causing her to collapse on the ground, unable to get up. She also heard piercing screams and sounds of vomiting coming from a nearby room where her husband was detained.
  • The Persecution of Married Couple Mr. Liu Ruping and Ms. Zhang Chenglan

    Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Liu Ruping and his wife Zhang Chenglan were arrested on the afternoon of August 12th, 2008. Going downstairs Liu Ruping shouted, "The police are arresting me!" One officer immediately attacked his face with pepper spray, making him cry, cough uncontrollably and making his nose run. The agents took Ms. Zhang Chenglan to Jinan City Detention Centre and then she was sentenced to 18 months forced labour. Mr. Liu was released from Jinan Detention Centre on September 28th.
  • Ten Year Old Locked In Iron Cage for Giving Falun Gong Brochure

    A 10-year old girl, Cheng Siyang, in southern China’s Sichuan province was slapped by police and shut in an iron cage for giving her teacher a Falun Gong brochure. Police later ransacked her home. Both of her parents were arrested on August 7th. According to a classmate, Siyang had told her about the benefits of Falun Gong, and how it taught people to be kind. She had also told her friend that it was wrong for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to persecute Falun Gong. Siyang returned to school on August 11th, with bruises all over her body.
  • Falun Gong Practitioners Face Show Trial in China

    On October 30th, the case of two Falun Gong practitioners Liu Jinglu and Sun Lixiang was brought before a court in the city of Jixi in Heilongjiang Province. The couple is married and has a 6-year-old son. They were arrested on June 2nd in Taiping County while handing out fliers that detailed the persecution of Falun Gong. Most Falun Gong practitioners arrested in China are denied due process, sent to labour camps without trial. When a case does go through the judicial process, it is mostly for show. In many cases Falun Gong adherents are not allowed legal representation; in cases where they may be allowed representation, they often have trouble finding an lawyer. Lawyers in China have been disbarred, threatened, and even tortured for trying to defend Falun Gong practitioners. As a result many of them are unwilling to be involved in these cases.
  • Innocent Women from Hebei Province Sentenced

    On October 30th, 2008, Li County Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Committee members, 610 Office personnel, and Baoding City Court in Hebei Province put Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Cui Xiaoxian, Ms. Cui Shumei, and Ms. Feng Wenzhen on trial. They did not allow the defendants to speak to their lawyers or allow the lawyers to defend the practitioners. CCP personnel sentenced Ms. Feng to six years, Ms. Cui Xiaoxian to three years, and Ms. Cui Shumei to three years. Their families are preparing to appeal.
  • Ms. Kuang Xiaochun Detained in Several Brainwashing Centres

    On the evening of September 27th, 2007, the Shengdengshi Police in Chenghua District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province gathered more than a dozen officers and broke into Ms. Kuang Xiaochun's home in the employee dormitories of Wuyuan Powder Metallurgy Co. Ltd. in Shengdengsi. They detained Ms. Kuang and took her to the Shengdengsi Police Station because she is a Falun Gong practitioner. The police then ransacked her home and confiscated a dozen Falun Gong books, her mobile phone and other personal items.
  • Eight Falun Gong Practitioners from Jiaohe City Imprisoned

    Eight Falun Gong practitioners from Jiaohe City were given prison sentences after being detained without legal procedures for over half a year by the local police and the State Security group. On September 24th and October 12th, 2008, the practitioners were sent to Gongzhuling Prison in Siping City and Heizuizi Women's Prison in Changchun City. The Heizuizi Prison forced or pressured inmates to "watch over" Falun Gong practitioners, and not allow them to walk or talk freely. When Zhang Min met her family members, three or four prisoners were "watching over" her, telling her not to say too much and urging her to finish the meeting sooner rather than later. After only a few days in the prison, Zhang Min became skinny and weak. Her family suspected that she had been deprived of sleep.
  • Ms. Xu Yan and Her Husband Tortured by Police from Huailai County, Hebei Province

    On July 9th, 2008, police ransacked the home of Mr. Ni Jinxing, his wife Ms. Xu Yan and arrested them. At the police station, Mr. Ni saw his wife locked into a cage and sitting on the ground. It was cold and he took off his coat and tried to hand it to his wife, but the police prevented him from doing so. They took him to a cell and started to interrogate him, but to no avail. After quite a long time, they got tired and shackled his hands to a metal chair, known as the "tiger bench". Ms. Xu was sentenced to one year of forced labour.