Seventeen-Year-Old Boy Traumatised by Police Harassment and Becomes Severely Ill

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Deng Linfeng from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested with her son by officers from the Jiamusi Railroad Police Department on February 26th, 2008. Her son was threatened by the police many times, and they even occupied his home. After these traumatic incidents, the boy developed a severe illness. On June 18th, the Jiamusi City Railroad Court tried Ms. Deng.

Deng Linfeng, 42 years old, lives in the Anqing Community District in Jiamusi City. On February 26th, at about 3 p.m., she and her 17-year-old son went through the security check before entering the rail station. The security staff found the leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong she was carrying and reported her to the police. The police from the Jiamusi Railroad Police Department arrested her and forced her and her child, who was terrified, to lead the police to their home. The police then started occupying her home. They threatened Ms. Deng and demanded she give information about other Falun Gong practitioners. When she refused, the police detained her in the Jiamusi Railroad Detention Centre.

The next day, the police went back to Ms. Deng's home and took her son's computer. A few days later, they summoned him to the police department and forced him to reveal information about his mother's fellow practitioners.

After the trauma of seeing his mother arrested, having their house occupied and computer stolen, and being repeatedly threatened by the police, the 17-year-old became seriously ill. Jiamusi City Hospital personnel examined him but were unable to help and immediately transferred him to the Beijing Army Hospital. After an expert consultation, he was diagnosed with a very severe illness that could be life-threatening. The recommended medical treatment was very expensive, and within two weeks the family had already spent more than 70,000 yuan¹, but the child's condition still did not improve.

The family's financial situation is quite tight, and all the money for the preliminary treatment was borrowed from relatives and friends. The family could not afford more medical treatment and had take the boy home. His father needed to go out to work to make money, and he needed his mother to take care of him. The father went to the police department and pleaded with the police to release Ms. Deng so that she could take care of their child. The police not only refused to release her, they also worked with the procuratorate to sentence her.

The Olympic Games is approaching, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners with the excuse of "guaranteeing the safety of the Games." Within just one month, dozens of practitioners were arrested in Heilongjiang Province. Some were detained and tortured so severely that they were unable to take care of themselves. Most of the practitioners were sentenced to forced labour. On May 23rd, the Jiamusi City Suburban Court held a trial to accuse Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Ma Duo. On June 6th, the court told his family that he had been sentenced to three years. Mr. Ma and his family did not agree with the unjust sentence and appealed to a higher level court.

On June 11th, the Jiansanjiang Farm Court in Heilongjiang Province secretly tried practitioners Tian Baoyu, Shi Mengwen, Chen Dong, Sun Yan (female), and Yu Fengxian (female) without telling their families. Another practitioner got the information from an insider and hired a lawyer for the five practitioners. When the lawyer arrived at the court at 3 p.m., he was informed that the trial was the next day. The lawyer asked the court to postpone the trial. The court not only did not agree to postpone the trial but also did not want the lawyer to appear in court to defend the practitioners. The lawyer pointed out the court's action already broke the law. Finally the court had to let the lawyer defend the practitioners, but the lawyer had very limited time to review the case documents. The second day, more than 30 of the practitioners' family members attended the trial, and the total number attending the trial was close to 100. During the trial, the lawyer pointed out that the court had actually broken the law itself and had committed several serious legal breaches. He also pleaded innocence for one of the practitioners. Because the practitioners all refused to accept the trial, and the lawyer acted justly in defending the practitioners, the court finally had to finish the trial hastily.

On June 16th, the Tangyuan County Court tried practitioner Mr. Li Haishan. Li Haishan is a member of the Society of Musicians in Heilongjiang Province, a member of the Writers Association in Jiamusi City, and a member of the Musicians Association in Jiamusi City. He currently works at the Tangyuan County Cultural Centre. On March 5th, the deputy political commissar of the Tangyuan County Police Department, Zhou Jingzhe; the captain of the Tangyuan County National Security Team, Zhou Tiegang; and other police officers broke into Mr. Li's home and arrested him. The police also took away his personal computer, printer, and other personal belongings.

We ask for help from human rights organizations, the national media, and all just people around the world. Please pay serious attention to CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners based on "guaranteeing the safety of the Olympic Games."

Telephones numbers of the personnel involved:

Jiamusi City Politics and Law Committee Party Secretary Qu Zhenyuan: 8223490 (Office), 8661798 (Home), 13946455777 (Mobile)
Jiamusi City Politics and Law Committee Deputy Party Secretary Liu Yan: 8667533 (Office), 8227116 (Home), 13304549777(Mobile)
Jiamusi City Railroad Court Chief Justice Wang Jinheng: 0454-8922018 (Office), 0454-8305818 (Home), 13904544218 (Mobile)
Jiamusi City Railroad Court Deputy Chief Justice in charge of the criminal court Cao Zhenting: 0454-8922028 (Office), 0454-8922098 (Home), 13904544228 (Mobile)

Note

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

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/6/18/180470.html