Five Dafa Practitioners from Hubei Province Unjustly Receive Severe Sentences

Five Falun Dafa practitioners from Hubei Province, including Ms. Pan Juying, Mr. Zhou Qing and Mr. Chen Guoqing, were given severe sentences by Xiaonan District Court in Xiaogan City. On that day the court, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), did not reconvene after a break and ended hastily. The court quietly announced the sentences several days later. The chief justice Ms. Tu Zimin and judge Tang Shan did not allow the practitioners to defend themselves. More details follow:

On July 5th 2005, officials of the First Criminal Court of Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province interrogated five Dafa practitioners, Ms. Pan Juying, Mr. Zhou Qing, Mr. Chen Guoqing, Mr. Chen Ming, and Ms. Bao Huarong. They had been arrested on July 8th 2004. Pan Juying was protesting persecution by staging a hunger strike at that time. She was extremely feeble and was carried to the court. Her face was very pale, her voice was weak and she constantly vomited.

When asked why he renounced everything that he said and wrote in the brainwashing class, Chen Guoqing answered, "What I said and wrote in Tangxunhu brainwashing class in Wuhan City is shameful. I believe Falun Dafa is a righteous practice, Falun Dafa is great, and I have not committed any crime!" Chen Guoqing was previously sentenced to two years in a labour camp.

In his final statement, Zhou Qing said, "Your accusations can not be used as proof of a crime. What I have done has not caused any harm to society. The first time, I went to Beijing to appeal and I was arrested and detained for three months before I even spoke a word. Please tell me, which law have I broken? The second time, the school official deceived me and took me into a small dark room. The president of the school detained me for one month without authorisation. I do not know which law I broke. The third time, I was taken to Tangxunhu brainwashing class in Wuhan City, where I was so badly persecuted that my whole body suffered from paralysis. I do not know which law I broke there either. There isn't any item in the constitution which states that practising Falun Gong is illegal."

Before he finished, judge Tang Shan interrupted him and did not allow him to continue. Tang Shan then announced a five-minute break. The court did not reconvene and ended hastily. No sentences were given at that time.

After about three days, the court from Xiaonan District suddenly announced the sentence: Pan Juying was sentenced to seven years in jail, Zhou Qing was sentenced to four years in jail, Chen Guoqing was sentenced to five years in jail; Chen Ming and Bao Huarong had accepted the brainwashing and abandoned Falun Gong, and they were both sentenced to three years in jail, and probation for five years and three years respectively.

Zhou Qing was an outstanding physics teacher from No. 1 High School, Jingshan County, Hubei Province. He was detained many times. He was arrested by police from Xiaogan in July 2004 and was severely persecuted at the Xiaogan detention centre, which had caused paralysis in his legs, muscular atrophy and a speech impediment. In this condition, he was taken to the provincial brainwashing class and persecuted until he was near death. He was injected with unknown drugs during that period. He was bailed out by his family and waited for the trial. Police from Xiaogan arrested him again on June 22nd 2005 before he had completely recovered.

Pan Juying was from Anlu City, Hubei Province. Police officers again took her from her home to the public security bureau of Anlu City on August 9th 2000. She was denied sleep for six days. Both her hands were handcuffed and both her feet were bound with rope. Police froze her with ice and burned her face with a lighter. They hung her on the hook of an electrical fan on the ceiling with only one foot touching the ground. On the afternoon of August 11th officer Chen Xinyun put two snakes on her body and put her left hand into a bag containing poisonous snakes, and then put her feet into the bag. Pan Juying was arrested for the 15th time on July 8th 2004.

We call on the international community to extend a helping hand to stop this cruel persecution of Dafa practitioners in Mainland China.

Court of Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City: 86-712-2466407
Chen Xinyun, vice director of security department, Anlu City: 86-13647128335(Mobile); 86-712-5232480(Home); 86-712-5233628(Office)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/7/20/106554.html