In June 2008, practitioner Mr. Du Ziguo was posting leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong near Baihu Township in Huangmei County, Hubei Province. Someone reported him and he was arrested by officers from the Huangmei Township Police Station and the Huangmei County Domestic Security Division. On January 14th, 2009, he was given an eight-year sentence by the Huangmei County Court. Mr. Du Ziguo appealed the verdict, but the Huanggang City Intermediate Court ignored Mr. Du's request to hire a lawyer and upheld the original sentence without ever holding a trial. Mr. Du Ziguo is now being detained at an undisclosed location.
Mr. Du Ziguo is in his 30s. He is from Xiantao City in Hubei Province. He worked for a Shanghai company doing high-tech, specialized chemistry research and development. The company thought highly of him, but due to harassment from the local police, he was forced to transfer to Huangmei County in Hubei Province to continue his work. The special chemical resin product he developed created some foreign income for the country, and the company reaped many benefits. Now that Mr. Du is being persecuted, the company has lost its technical support, production has ceased, and the employees are facing lay-offs.
On the morning of June 6th, 2008, two plain clothes officers went to Mr. Du's department. They did not show any identification, yet they inspected Mr. Du's ID, claiming they had to check his temporary residence documents. After the inspection, they made a phone call, simply saying "Yes" on the phone, and then told Mr. Du to come with them to apply for proof of temporary residence. Mr. Du told them that he would bike there, but they said no. Two more people arrived in a van and they forced Mr. Du into the vehicle. They drove to the Shansong Police Station, not the local police station.
Personnel from the Domestic Security Division were waiting for him at the station. When Mr. Du arrived, two people from the Domestic Security Division assaulted him with punches and kicks. At the same time, others went to his workplace to confiscate his computer, printer, office equipment, Falun Gong books, materials, and CDs. Later, they pressed him to tell them the combination of the office safe. The police opened the safe, took some production materials, the office seal, checks, bank drafts, and two bankbooks. The Agricultural Bank of China bankbook had over 37,000 yuan1 in it. The China Construction Bank bankbook had 700 to 800 yuan. They also took Mr. Du's debit card from a company employee and still haven't returned it.
That afternoon around 6 or 7 p.m., the police took Mr. Du to the Zhuogang Police Station. They handcuffed him to a bench. They formed three teams, two policemen to a team, and each team took turns interrogating him continuously until noon on June 8th, 2008. They only gave him a steamed bun each day and deprived him of sleep. When he became sleepy they knocked his head, pried open his eyes, or splashed his face with water. They did not tell him their names. At the beginning, local police and police from the Domestic Security Division interrogated Mr. Du together. Afterwards, only plain clothes officers from the Domestic Security Division interrogated him. They claimed that he created materials, posted photos on the Internet, and downloaded materials. They demanded to know whether he had accomplices. He replied that he did not. Afterwards, the police took him to the Huangmei County Detention Centre around noon on June 8th. They forced him to sign a detention statement.
On July 14th, the police told Mr. Du to sign an arrest warrant, but he refused. On September 11th, the Procuratorate had detention centre personnel deliver the statement of rights to him. On November 11th, two people from the Huangmei County Procuratorate Appeal Branch went to the detention centre to bring Mr. Du to the court. When Mr. Du told them that the guards had used torture to force a confession from him and that he wasn't allowed to sleep, they did not record the complaint.
On December 25th, a male judge delivered the charges against Mr. Du Ziguo without showing his ID or announcing his name or his title. The judge read the charges once and asked whether Mr. Du would hire a lawyer. Mr. Du said he would. Three to four days later, Mr. He Jinsong, a lawyer in Huangmei County, went to see Mr. Du at the detention centre.
The trial was held the morning of January 6th, 2009, at the Huangmei County Court. Before the trial, Mr. Du was not notified of the trial time or that a collegiate bench had been formed. He only realized that it was a trial when he was taken to the courthouse. The lawyer that Mr. Du had hired was unaware of the truth and he bowed to the local laws. The lawyer did not provide a serious defence and his impact was limited. Mr. Du's brother and a co worker attended the trial. During the proceedings, the judge stopped Mr. Du every time he tried to speak.
On January 14th, the Huangmei County Court sentenced Mr. Du to eight years in prison. On January 19th, he wrote an appeal statement. On March 27th, two judges from the Huanggang City Intermediate Court (one was called Zhong Xinjie) went to the detention centre to bring Mr. Du to trial. They didn't disclose their titles or say whether there would be another trial. They asked him if he would hire a lawyer and if he had any requests. Mr. Du said he would hire a lawyer and he requested a different sentence. He never heard from the court again.
On April 13th, Mr. Du's family requested that a second trial lawyer be allowed to visit the detention centre to find out the situation. The detention centre said they hadn't heard anything about a second trial. When the lawyer went to the Huanggang City Intermediate Court to submit paperwork, they told the lawyer that on March 30th, the verdict had been reached and the original ruling would be upheld. On April 14th, the Intermediate Court sent the ruling statement to the detention centre. They secretly took Mr. Du away and did not notify any family members or his employer. He is now detained at an unknown location.
Regarding Mr. Du's case, the lawyer stated, "Mr. Du Ziguo did not commit any illegal activity. The Chinese constitution grants citizens the right to have freedom of belief and freedom of speech. Mr. Du's belief in Falun Gong is a freedom of religious belief. Promoting Falun Gong and the criticism of the government are all within the scope of freedom of speech. These are the freedoms granted by the constitution. Believing in Falun Gong or promoting Falun Gong does not equal believing in a cult or promoting a cult, let alone using a cult to damage judicial establishments, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims it does. People only hear the media propagating that Falun Gong is a cult. There is no law or rule in China that decrees Falun Gong is a cult. It is the newspapers, television stations, and other media that are generating this propaganda. Newspaper propaganda is not equal to the law, it is illegal, it is not the law at all.
Organizations and people responsible for persecuting Mr. Du:
Zhuogang Police Station in Huangmei County: 86-713-3386969
Hu Xiaobin, Chief of Zhuogang Police Station
He Feixiong, former captain of the county Domestic Security Division: 86-13409981818(Mobile)
Chen Jianzhong, current captain of the county Domestic Security Division. This person is devious, cruel and merciless. He is one of the main perpetrators of the persecution.
Chen Qi, assistant to Chen Jianzhong. He persecutes good people and helps tyrants to commit crimes.
Xiang Huoji, driver. He is always the first one to abuse people and ransack homes. He enjoys supplying ideas for ways to persecute others.
Peng Lingran, officer at Zhuogang Police Station: 86-13986539333. He was directly involved in the arrest of Mr. Du Ziguo.
Sheng Jicheng, judge at Huangmei County Court: 86-713-3351029. He sentenced Mr. Du Ziguo to eight years in prison.
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/2009/4/23/199481.html
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