Elderly Practitioner Imprisoned, His Wife Passes Away from Stress

Mr. Li Jinsheng, 73, rode his motorcycle out to the cornfields near Yinchuan Township in Tongjiang City on September 11th, 2012, to post some Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution along the roadside. He was arrested and taken to the Yinchuan Police Station, before being transferred to the Linjiang Police Station.

Mo Yafu, head of the Tongjiang City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), Lu Wenshuang from the Tongjiang Domestic Security Division and Li Bin from the Linjiang Police Station broke in to Mr. Li's house and confiscated his computer, DVD burner, Falun Gong materials, printing equipment and other personal belongings worth tens of thousands of yuan¹. Mr. Li's wife, Ms. Zhou Guilin, 65, was also arrested and taken to the Linjiang Police Station.

When Ms. Zhou's brother went to the police station to ask for Ms. Zhou and Mr. Li's release, the police released Ms. Zhou the following day, but took Mr. Li to the Tongjiang Detention Centre.

A few days later, Ms. Zhou tried to visit her husband, but was turned away by the guards at the detention centre. She then went to the police department to ask for her husband's release, and was told to talk to Mo Yafu. Ms. Zhou took her cousin and went to talk to Mo Yafu the next day. She said, “My husband is in his seventies. If something happens with him, you will shoulder the responsibility.” Mo threatened Ms. Zhou and said that he had not arrested her husband. Mo refused to release Mr. Li and told Ms. Zhou that if she did not leave, she would be arrested.

Mr. Li was sentenced to three years in prison, and was taken to Jiamusi City Prison on January 28th, 2013. His family was not notified of the trial and all proceedings were held in secret. The first time the family heard news about the trial and sentencing was when Mr. Li was able to later phone his daughter-in-law, Ms. Li Zhanying, to tell her what had happened.

When Ms. Zhou heard that her husband had been sentenced, she was so upset that an old illness recurred. She was rushed to the hospital on February 12th and passed away on February 23rd, 2013.

Mr. Li Jinsheng became a kind and healthy person after he started to practise Falun Gong. He no longer had a bad temper, his many illnesses disappeared, and he no longer looked frail. Ms. Zhou's illnesses also disappeared when she started the practice. Those who knew them in Linjiang Township considered the elderly couple very kind and considerate. Within just a few months, however, Mr. Li was in prison and Ms. Zhou had passed away as the result of persecution.

Those responsible for the persecution:

Chen Shijun, director of Tongjiang City Police Department: +86-13359765005 (Mobile)
Shen Enlin, deputy director of Tongjiang City Police Department: +86-13339542999 (Mobile)
Cai Yongjiang: +86-13339549600 (Mobile)
Mo Yafu, head of Tongjiang City 610 Office: +86-13803679778(Mobile)
Lu Wenshuang, officer from Tongjiang Domestic Security Division: +86-13846831345 (Mobile)
Zheng Chengzhang, Tongjiang City Court: +86-13349549777 (Mobile)
Zhang Shuwei, Procuratorate of Tongjiang City: +86-13803674999 (Mobile)

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.