Falun Gong Practitioner Suffers Permanent Nervous System Damage from Forced Administration of Drugs in Prison

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:

Name: Dong Yanfa

Gender: Male

Age: 55

Address: Jilin, Jilin Province

Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 18th, 2009

Most Recent Place of Detention: Siping Shiling Prison

City: Ji'an

Province: Jilin

Persecution Suffered : Forced injections/drug administration, imprisonment, fired from workplace, home ransacked, detention

This is a summary of the injustice suffered by Mr. Dong Yanfa from Ji'an City, Jilin Province as a Chinese citizen, who has upheld his constitutional right to freedom of belief.

Mr. Dong Yanfa, 55, used to suffer from heart disease, tonsillitis and gastritis, but he became completely healthy after practising Falun Gong for two months. He was known to previously have a bad temper and constantly fight with his wife, but he improved his temper and his relationship with his wife as the result of Falun Gong's teachings based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

“It was Falun Gong that has transformed me,” he said. “It has given me a second lease on life. Words cannot express my gratitude!”

In July 1999 the Chinese Communist regime violated the country's own constitution and deprived its people the freedom of faith by launching the brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Dong was since arrested and detained in the Ji'an City Detention Centre five times for persevering in practising Falun Gong.

Mr. Dong was put in a detention centre for the third time on April 27th, 2001. Two police officers forced an unknown drug into his nose on April 29th. He lost all feeling in his lower body and even lost the ability to speak in the afternoon. He was sent to a hospital the next day and told that he was seriously ill. The drug had damaged his central nervous system. He now has limited use of his body and to this day he continues to suffer from the damage caused by the drugs.

Mr. Dong was arrested again without any warrant on November 25th, 2005 when he was out grocery shopping. After he was put in the detention centre, the officers used his key to enter his home and confiscate two copies of the Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun.

Mr. Dong was arrested again on April 12th, 2009 after a group of police officers broke into and ransacked his home that evening. They took a new desktop computer, a Toshiba notebook computer, a new printer, a CD-ROM burner and many other personal items.

While he was incarcerated in Ji'an City Detention Centre, he was released on bail twice for medical treatment because of his rapidly deteriorating health.

Mr. Dong's arrest was approved on May 18th, 2009, and he was released on bail awaiting trial on May 19th. The prosecutor filed charges on June 4th and had him tried on June 25th. He was sent to a detention centre on June 25th and notified that he had been found guilty of being in possession of computer equipment. He was sentenced to four years in prison. The prosecution and the verdict were in direct violation of China's own constitution, which guarantees freedom of belief.

Mr. Dong was diagnosed with a stroke at the Central Hospital in Tonghua City on August 19th, 2009. Despite the diagnosis, he was still sent to Siping Shiling Prison.

He was diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension in prison. The prison doctor decided that he needed a medical bail-out, but the request was denied by the warden. The deputy warden asked Mr. Dong to renounce Falun Gong in writing in exchange for medical bail. He refused.

The prison eventually agreed to let Mr. Dong out on bail because of his alarming health condition. However, the local police refused to sign the bail document, so Dong was kept in prison. When his 80-year-old mother went to the police chief, begging him to sign the bail document, he pushed and beat the elderly lady.

Mr. Dong survived. He has been released, but he has become disabled. He is unable to work and has been fired from his job. His family is now in a financial crisis. His son faces discrimination as the son of a Falun Gong practitioner and is unable to find anyone willing to date or marry him. Mr. Dong's older brother's heart disease deteriorated when he was sentenced to prison. His older brother passed away in 2010.