Husband and Wife Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison, Their Children Suffering

Zhang Zhaolin and Zhang Liyun are a couple from Linquan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province. Because of their belief in Falun Gong, they were persecuted continuously and fled their home. They went to Jinhua City of Zhejiang Province. On October 25th, 2008, when they were distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong on the streets of Jinhua City, someone reported them to the local police, and they were arrested and detained. In July 2009, the Wucheng District Court in Jinhua City sentenced the couple to prison, one for seven years and six months and the other to seven years. They are currently detained in the Zhejiang Province No. 2 Prison and Women's Prison, respectively.

Zhang Zhaolin was born in 1965 and is a resident of Zhangguan Township, Linquan County, Anhui Province. His wife Zhang Liyun was born in 1966. The couple started to practise Falun Gong in 1998 and they benefited from the practice in many ways. After the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, they came under attack by the local authorities for refusing to renounce their belief. They were detained multiple times, sent to forced labor camps, and detained in brainwashing centers, etc. To avoid further persecution, the couple and their two children were forced to leave their home. They ended up in Jinhua City, where they collected waste to make a living.

Their daughter Zhang Jing was born in 1990. After her parents were detained, the family's burden was on her shoulders. She had to earn money to support the family and take care of her younger brother. Their son Zhang Siyu was born in 1997. He used to be a student at the Shuguang Elementary School in Jinhua, and now he has to stay at home without their parents or normal living conditions.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/11/10/212321.html