Ms. Cao Junfeng of Weifang City in Shandong Province Has Been Sentenced to a Nine-Year Term

Name: Cao Junfeng
Gender: Female
Age: 54
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown

Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 9th, 2008
Most recent place of detention:
City: Weifang
Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Imprisonment, "Re-education" through labour, Physical Constraint, Sleep Deprivation and Extortion

At 8:30 a.m. on October 18th, 2009, Judge Mu Aiping and judicial officers Lu Baoqing and Li Hong of the court of Hanting District in Weifang City, Shandong Province, presided over a trial against Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Cao Junfeng. She was sentenced to a nine-year term just for following Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. As there is a 10-day appeal period, Ms. Cao Junfeng was detained in the Weifang City Detention Centre until October 28th, 2009.

This miscarriage of justice caused great pain to Ms. Cao's daughter. In September 2008, Ms. Cao's only daughter married. Her mother was unable to attend the wedding because she was detained in a prison despite being innocent of wrongdoing. The guards even refused a family visit between Ms. Cao and her daughter. The day after the marriage ceremony, officers from the Domestic Security Division of Weifang City ransacked Ms. Cao's home.

Ms. Cao Junfeng is 54 years old. She has been imprisoned for one year and three months, since July 9th, 2008. Before Ms. Cao practised Falun Gong, she suffered greatly from gastrointestinal illnesses. She was very weak and could not do usual household chores. After Ms. Cao practised Falun Gong, she became healthy and full of energy. Most importantly, she has decided to live by the principles Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. She resolved to become a better person and people around her agree that she is a good person.

On July 9th, 2008, at 6 a.m., officers of the Domestic Security Division of Weifang City broke into Ms. Cao's home and arrested her, ransacked her home, and took her to the Weifang Detention Centre. Her husband was frightened and suffered a heart attack.

The guards at the detention centre cruelly tortured her and her health deteriorated within one month after her arrest. She vomited often and there was blood in her stool. Ms. Cao's family members were prevented from visiting her.

On August 10th, officers from the Domestic Security Division of Weifang City took Ms. Cao to Wangcui Forced Labour Camp of Shangdong Province, despite her bad physical condition. In the forced labour camp, Ms. Cao was inhumanly persecuted. Her health turned for the worse and she vomited and lost more blood. Fellow prisoners did not like to be close to her.

In September 2008, despite Ms. Cao's bad health condition, the Domestic Security Division of Weifang transferred her to the Shouguang Detention Centre. In October 2008, Ms. Cao went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

From September 2008 to May 2009, Ms. Cao Junfeng suffered under different torture methods, including the iron chair. She was also deprived of sleep for more than 20 days. She became disoriented and physically very weak. Then, she was transferred to the Xinkang Prison Hospital in Jinan City, where she was held for one month.

In November 2008, Ms. Cao was taken to the General Hospital of Shandong Province, which is in actuality a prison. Officially it is a treatment centre, but unofficially it is a place to torture practitioners. She was detained behind two iron doors and two to three inmates monitored her around the clock. Later, Ms. Cao was taken to Changle Detention Centre.

Ms. Cao Junfeng's younger sister, Ms. Cao Junping, also a practitioner, was arrested by the Domestic Security Division of Weifang Public Security Bureau on July 29th. By the end of 2008, Ms. Cao's two brothers, one sister-in-law and a good friend had been arrested. Officers extorted 10,000 yuan¹ from each of them. They also had to present a "guarantor" to be released. The police even threatened that if they told anyone they would be arrested again.

In February 2009, the Domestic Security Division of Weifang extorted 28,000 yuan from Ms. Cao's husband and daughter. In addition, the police forbade them to hire a defence attorney for Ms. Cao.

The Hanting District Court of Weifang City tried Ms. Cao Junfeng again on July 31st, 2009, and then again on October 18th, sentencing her to a nine-year term.

Those involved in this persecution are: Hanting District Court of Weifang City, Weifang Procuratorate, Kuiwen Procuratorate, Hanting Procuratorate, Kuiwen District Domestic Security Division.

This victimisation for following the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is an injustice and has caused great suffering to Ms. Cao Junfeng's family.

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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/10/31/211483.html