Mr. Liu Wangquan Imprisoned for Five Years--Deyang Prison Authorities Deny Visitation Rights

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Wangquan from Weiyuan, Sichuan Province was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in 2003. As of today, he has been held in Deyang Prison for five years. During his imprisonment, Mr. Liu's family has been allowed to visit him only once. The prison authorities have denied him all other family visits. The family's request to deliver some warm clothes to Mr. Liu for the winter was also denied. His current situation is unknown, and no one knows if Mr. Liu is still alive.

Mr. Liu has been detained twice by the regime's agents. The first time was in 2000 when Mr. Liu went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and he was then subjected to three years of forced labour. After being released, Mr. Liu remained steadfast in his belief. The police arrested him again and sentenced him to eight years in prison.

Mr. Liu's parents are nearly 90 years old, and he is their only child. They have been worrying about their son, and have been living with grief during the past five years.

Mr. Liu's wife tried to visit him in November 2008. She arrived at Deyang Prison and requested to visit her husband and pass him some winter clothes. She went to see the head of the ward where her husband was held, and visited related departments. As a result, she was allowed to visit her husband, but unexpectedly the guard of the Tenth Team, where Mr. Liu was held, unreasonably denied her permission to visit her husband at the last moment, using the excuse that Mr. Liu refused to be "transformed¹," so no visitation was allowed. The guard also refused to let her deliver the winter clothes to her husband. Thus, Mr. Liu's wife had no choice but to leave the prison without seeing her husband.

Why does a guard have such authority? Even true criminals are allowed visits from their families, which is a basic human right, but a good man who cultivates Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is denied family visits.

In 2008, officials of Deyang Prison added three new guard posts. Anyone who wants to enter for any reason must go through three cross-examinations. Falun Gong practitioners in particular have been subjected to strict surveillance. The prison authorities create all kinds of difficulties if families of practitioners come to visit. The practitioners' families have to present approved letters from the local 610 Office², police stations and residential committees, and the letters must state clearly that the visitors are not Falun Gong practitioners, otherwise their visitation will be denied.

Note

1. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

2. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/12/9/191343.html