Sisters Ms. Zhang Hongying, Ms. Zhang Jiashuang and Ms. Lu Tao Persecuted in Miyi County, Sichuan Province

1. Introduction

Ms. Lu Tao, 36, was born in Miyi County, Sichuan Province. She was an employee of the Panzhihua Hotel in Sichuan Province. In 2000, she was fired from her job for being a practitioner of Falun Gong. She moved back to Miyi County and has been living there since.

Ms. Zhang Hongying, 39, was born in Miyi County. She had lived in Guabang Township, Miyi County. In 2006, she moved to Panlian Town, Miyi County.

Ms. Zhang Jiashuang, 37, sister of Ms. Zhang Hongying, was born in Miyi County. She lives in Panlian Town, Miyi County.

2. Persecution - Arrest, Detention and Family Members Suffering from Persecution

On November 2nd, 2006, the police from the Deshi Police Station in Panzhihua City arrested Ms. Zhang Hongying, Ms. Zhang Jiashuang and Ms. Lu Tao when they were distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The three practitioners were tied up together and hung up from the window bars with their feet in the air for three days. During that time, the police pulled their hair and slammed their heads against the wall.

On November 5th, the three practitioners were transferred to the Miyi County Detention Centre. During the transfer, the police covered their heads with black plastic bags and sent them to a secret place near the Miyi County Train Station. They interrogated the three female practitioners and tried to find out the source of the Falun Gong materials. Ms. Zhang Hongying and Ms. Lu were forced to hug a big tree the entire night. They suffered from the extreme cold. After the three practitioners arrived at the detention centre, police officers from the Miyi County State Security Division and the Panzhihua City State Security Division, Yang Zihua, Li Xuesong, Zhou Lin and Xu Xin hung them up from 9 a.m. to bedtime. They were tortured this way for 4 consecutive days. Their hands were deformed afterwards.

Family members of the three practitioners were also persecuted. On November 5th, Yang Zihua and Zhou Lin deceived Ms. Gao Longying, the mother of the two Zhang sisters. They took her to the police station and hung her from the window bar. When she cried "Falun Gong is good," they took her down and stuffed her mouth with rags. When they tried to hang her up again, Ms. Gao resisted strongly with her hands by holding her arms tight to her chest. The police forcibly tried to straighten her arms and broke them. On November 6th, Ms. Gao was sent to the Miyi County Chinese Medicine Hospital.

On November 12th, six people, including the police and the officials from the local residential committees, broke into the home of Ms. Lu Tao's father, Mr. Lu Xiangui. They entered through the screen window. They covered Mr. Lu's head with a plastic bag and took him to a place near the Miyi County Train Station. He was handcuffed to a stool for the night and interrogated on the whereabouts of his computer and printer. After he told them, the police ransacked the place and confiscated two notebook computers, a printer and other personal belongings. Then they released him.

From November 2006 to the end of 2007, the pension of Ms. Lu Tao's mother was stopped. Ms. Jiang Yilan's pension amounted to 1,800 yuan¹ per month. When Ms. Jiang received her pension again, it was only 300 yuan each month.

On February 12th, 2007, Zhou Lin deceived Ms. Lu's mother. He had her come to the police department, where the police interrogated her while blowing air on her with an electric fan. They dragged her by her handcuffs after handcuffing her.

On March 5th, 2007, Ms. Lu Tao's brother, Mr. Lu Bo and his wife Ms. Qiao Juyue went to the Miyi County Procuratorate to inquire about Ms. Lu's case. They ran into Zhou Lin. Zhou Lin pushed Mr. Lu to the ground and handcuffed him. Both Mr. Lu and Ms. Qiao were forcibly taken to the Panlian Town Police Station for interrogation. Mr. Lu was released afterwards, but Ms. Qiao was transferred to the Miyi County Detention Centre around 5 p.m. the same day. Later she was transferred again to the Dongpo District Detention Centre in Meidong City, Sichuan Province. She was released a month later.

On May 10th, 2007, Ms. Lu Tao's husband, Mr. Wang Jian, who was forced to leave home to avoid persecution after Ms. Lu's arrest, was arrested and sent to the Miyi County Detention Centre the same day. He was released three months later after the police extorted 500 "yuan" from him.

3. Sentence

On July 17th, 2007, the Miyi County Court announced the sentences of Ms. Lu Tao, Ms. Zhang Hongying and Ms. Zhang Jiashuang in the Miyi County Detention Centre. Ms. Lu Tao was sentenced to 5 years in prison, Ms. Zhang Hongying was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison and Ms. Zhang Jiashuang was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Judge Zhou Kangqiong handed them the sentence letters to sign but they all refused.

The family members of the three practitioners went to many government agencies. Eventually, they found that the three practitioners were detained at the Longquanyi Prison in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province (also called Chengdu City Women's Prison). Ms. Lu is detained in the Second Division and Ms. Zhang Hongying and Ms. Zhang Jiashuang are detained in the Second Division. They were not allowed to make any phone calls or write letters. Their parents cannot visit them without a letter from the local police station. However, the local police refused to give a consent letter to the parents, who are practitioners. Their parents were not able to visit them.

From November 2nd, 2006 to May 2009, Ms. Lu Tao, Ms. Zhang Hongying and Ms. Zhang Jiashuang have been detained for 2 years and 7 months, including 10 months in the Miyi County Detention Centre. At present, they are detained in the Chengdu City Women's 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/2009/5/25/201478.html