Illegal Detention and Imprisonment

  • Cang County Court in Hebei Province and Secretly Sentences 70-year-old Practitioner and Prevents Attorney from Appealing

    Seventy-year-old farmer Mr. Sun Yuqiang was detained for over four months for practising Falun Gong. Cang County Court tried Mr. Sun secretly on May 7th. The court did not notify the practitioner's family, did not allow the practitioner to hire a defence attorney, and did not announce the time and location of the trial. The trial was just a formality and lasted only 20 minutes. Mr. Sun was sentenced to three years in prison. The verdict indicated that it was a “public" trial, but in actuality, there were no family members or civilians present. The court kept it secret from the public, only informing the CCP judicial system.
  • Court Secretly Sentences Nurse to Eight Years; Distraught Family Members Have Appealed

    In January, family members of Song Yingjie, 43, learned that she had been arrested by the police nine months earlier, and last September, a court secretly sentenced her to eight years of imprisonment. Her family members became angry and hired a lawyer to appeal the case. In the meantime, Ms. Song went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
  • Detention and Imprisonment Suffered by Mr. Xu Xudong from Hubei Province

    Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xu Xudong was arrested on February 26th, 2013 and detained in Hubei Province Law Enforcement Education Centre (aka Banqiao Brainwashing Centre). Upon arrival at the brainwashing centre, guards injected Mr. Xu with an unknown substance. He was later assaulted by several people. In an attempt to get him to renounce his belief, guards forced Mr. Xu to watch videos slandering Falun Gong every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Police also verbally abused his elderly father and teenager daughter in front of him.
  • Previously Beaten and Locked in Iron Cage, Ms. Zhang Li Arrested Again

    Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Li, from Mudanjiang City, was arrested by police on May 13th, 2013. She is currently incarcerated at the Mudanjiang No. 2 Detention Centre. This is the fourth time she has been arrested and detained for her faith. Ms. Zhang has been subjected to relentless persecution since 1999, when the communist regime launched a brutal campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. She was detained in a forced labour camp twice and later sent to the Heilongjiang Prison, where she was brutally tortured and locked in an iron cage.
  • Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Chen Kaiyu Tried in Court

    Ms. Chen Kaiyu is a Falun Gong practitioner in her 50s from Huaihua City, Hunan. After having been detained for six months, she was put on trial at the Hecheng District Court on April 11th, 2013. Her lawyer made a plea of innocence and asked for her acquittal. The process of the trial was heavily watched by police and 610 Office personnel (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), as well as surveillance cameras. Ms. Chen was arrested by officers from the Hutian Police Station, a branch of the Hecheng Police Station on October 20th, 2012 and then detained at the Huaihua Detention Centre.
  • Recent Mass Arrest of Practitioners from Heilongjiang Province Spotlights the Chinese Communist Party’s Ruthlessness

    Banners reading “Falun Gong is Good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good” appeared on the road from Yilan County to Fangzheng County on the morning of January 1st, 2013. Governor Wang Xiankui of Heilongjiang Province happened to be travelling through the area that day, and he was furious upon seeing the banners in his province. Fearing for the security of his position, he ordered an investigation to find out the source of the banners. Within three months, more than 50 practitioners had either been arrested or gone missing.
  • Jixi City 610 Office Continues to Detain Falun Gong Practitioners After Prison Terms End

    Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, in the Jixi City area of Heilongjiang Province, more than 400 Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested, detained, put in forced labour camps, or sentenced to prison. At least 23 practitioners have died as a result of persecution. In many cases, when practitioners' labour camp or prison sentences have been completed, instead of releasing them, the Jixi 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) transfers them to brainwashing centres, where the persecution then continues.
  • Two Women Detained for Two Weeks for Practising Falun Gong

    Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Mo Huiping and Ms. Luo Xinping from Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were arrested in Wuzhong City and detained for two weeks. Ms. Mo Huiping, 37, had previously been arrested after being ambushed by police in 2001. She was subsequently sentenced to three years in a forced labour camp. In 2004, she was once again sentenced to another three and a half years in prison. Her sister and brother-in-law were also both persecuted for practising Falun Gong.
  • Why Does Shenyang Court Try to Conduct Secret Trials?

    The Shenyang City Shengbei New District Court tried four Falun Gong practitioners under the direction of the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), on January 17th, 2013. The practitioners denied the criminal charges during during the trial. They argued that Falun Gong is legal and requested a release with a not-guilty verdict. They refuted Judge Wang Xu's accusations one by one. The judge stopped Ms. Niu when she tried to describe how she was tortured. The trial came to a hasty end within a couple of hours.
  • Many Mudanjiang Falun Gong Practitioners Sent to Forced Labour Camp

    The Mudanjiang police followed, monitored and videotaped Falun Gong practitioners when they talked to people about Falun Gong, distributed Falun Gong materials and shared their experiences. Then the police arrested the practitioners and searched their homes. On November 2nd, 2012, the police arrested dozens of Falun Gong practitioners from their homes or work places.
  • Mr. Du Xiangzhong Arrested Again after Years of Severe Persecution

    Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Du Xiangzhong was arrested on January 4th, 2013 while he was talking to people about Falun Gong in Ju County, Rizhao City. Over the 10-plus years of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Du, 48, was imprisoned and beaten multiple times, and twice taken to a forced labour camp. In addition, he has been extorted for over 30,000 yuan.
  • Five Falun Gong Practitioners from Ningxiang Arrested

    On December 21st, 2012, police arrested Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Dong Chao, Ms. Zhu Chuxia and a practitioner surnamed Yao as they passed Guangming Village, Wangcheng County. The three practitioners were beaten by the police. Afterwards, Yao and Mr. Dong were sent to the Wangcheng Detention Centre. Ms. Zhu's whereabouts are unknown. After being detained for several days, Yao still had clearly visible blood marks about the mouth. Mr. Dong's front teeth were missing due to being beaten. He looked old and withered. He talked in a low voice and had no energy.
  • Former Russian Programme Host at Heilongjiang Province TV Station Given Second Four-year Prison Term

    Former Russian programme host and reporter for a Heilongjiang Province TV Station, practitioner Zhao Xidong, was arrested on December 31st, 2011 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities and was recently sentenced to four years in prison. His wife has filed an appeal to Judge Yu Li of the Nangang District Court, Harbin City. In January 2000, Mr. Zhao was fired from his post for practising Falun Gong. On June 27th, 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison and sent to Daqing Prison. He suffered inhuman treatment while he was imprisoned.
  • Ms. Miao Fengling, 54, from Tianjin Arrested, Family Members Persecuted under Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Implication Policy

    On December 17th, 2012, police broke into Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Miao Fengling's apartment building and arrested her. The officers also took her husband and daughter with them and didn't release them until 4:00 a.m. the next day. Ms. Miao was then sent to the Heping District Detention Centre. Ms. Miao's family has been implicated and persecuted because she practises Falun Gong. Her husband lost his job, and the authorities even harassed her younger sister, who is a sales manager, at her workplace. Other family members have also been directly persecuted.
  • Mr. Xie Guichen and Ms. Tan Chengxiang from Jilin Province Unjustly Sentenced to Long Prison Terms

    Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Xie Guichen and Ms. Tan Chengxiang were arrested on July 30th, 2012, for distributing Shen Yun Performing Arts [a New York based world-class traditional Chinese cultural show] DVDs. They were detained for about six months. Mr. Xie was so badly tortured that he had to be sent to a hospital for treatment. The police forbade the practitioners' families from visiting them. Their families recently learned that Mr. Xie had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and Ms. Tan to 8 years.