Four Older Practitioners Sentenced to Prison in Jiaohe City

Four practitioners from Jiaohe City, Jilin Province, were sentenced to prison and taken to the Jilin Province Women's Prison in mid-September 2012. Currently they are detained in the “education” division of the prison. Their families have not been allowed to visit them.

The practitioners include: Ms. Li Shumei, 71, sentenced to 4.5 years;
Ms. Li Xuehua, 55, sentenced to 5 years; Ms. Wang Xiulian, in her 50s, sentenced to 3.5 years; and Ms. Ding Yubin, 53, sentenced to sentenced to 3.5 years.

Following their arrest, the 4 women were incarcerated in the Jilin City Detention Centre for 9 months. Their families were not informed of their arrest or detention. The families were likewise not informed about the impending trial, held by the Jiaohe City Court, or the issued verdicts. They were also not notified of the practitioners' transfer to the Jilin Province Women's Prison.

Details of the case

On the night of December 23rd, 2011, Ms. Li Shumei, Ms. Li Xuehua, Ms. Wang Xiulian and Ms. Ding Yubin took a taxi to Houliu Village in Baishishan to distribute informational materials about Falun Gong. They were arrested by officers from the Baishishan Police Station in Jiaohe City and taken to the Domestic Security Division of the Jiaohe Police Department.

The homes of the relatives of Ms. Li Shumei and Ms. Wang Xiulian were also ransacked. The home of an old lady by the name of Ms. Wang, who was being cared for by Ms. Li Xuehua, was also searched. The police confiscated many items, including Falun Gong books.

The 4 practitioners were interrogated through torture by the police, including officers Bai Mingku and Sun Jiaqing. On December 24th, the day following their arrest, they were taken to the Jiaohe City Hospital for a physical examination. On December 25th, they were sent to the Xiaobaishan Detention Centre in Dalanqi Township, Jilin City.

Subsequently, they were incarcerated in the Jilin City Detention Centre for 9 months, during which the police would not allow their families to visit them. The families only got phone calls from the police asking them to bring money. However, the police would not tell the families anything about the 4 practitioners. It is known that the 4 practitioners were forced to do intensive hard labour.

The police attempted to put the 4 practitioners on trial. However, their case was rejected many times due to a lack of evidence. Guo Bucai and Guo Benjin, directors of the Baishishan Police Station, then faked the evidence to frame the practitioners and re-submitted the case to Li Jianjun, Yang Chengyou and Liu Shaoming in the Jiaohe City Procuratorate. Jia Ligui from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Jiaohe City Police Department was also involved. Once the case was accepted, the 4 practitioners were sentenced to prison.

In mid-September 2012, Ms. Li Shumei's daughter received a phone call from the Jilin Province Women's Prison, telling her to deliver money to her mother in the prison. The daughter hurried there with the money. After numerous requests, authorities finally reluctantly allowed her to see her mother.