Dong Zhikun and Geng Shuhua from Yunnan Forestry College Secretly Sentenced to Prison

On November 25th, 2009, relatives of Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Dong Zhikuan and Ms. Geng Shuhua went to the Kunming Intermediate Court to demand information about their family members. Both practitioners worked at Yunnan Forestry College and have been detained in Panlong No. 1 Detention Centre since March 1st, 2009. Their families have not been allowed to visit them.

Kunming Intermediate officers held secret hearings in September, 2009, to sentence Dong Zhikun and Geng Shuhua to prison. Their families received no prior notice of the hearings. After the proceedings, the families were notified about the sentences but received no information with respect to the verdicts. Mr. Dong was sentenced to three years in the No. 1 Prison of Yunnan Province. Ms. Geng was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in the Longpan No. 1 Detention Centre.

On October 20th, 2009, the families of Mr. Dong and Ms. Geng asked National Security officers from the Kunming Panlong Sub-Security Office where their relatives had been sent. They were told that Mr. Dong and Ms. Geng were appealing to a higher court and that the families could not meet with them until final judgments were rendered in three months.

Mr. Dong and Ms. Geng were reported to police on February 28th, 2009, because they were distributing Falun Gong DVDs. They were arrested and taken to Shuanglong Police Station. At around 1:00 a.m. the following morning, their homes were searched. They were later relocated to the No. 1 Detention Centre of Panlong District in Kunming City.

Officers from the Longpan District Headquarters in Kunming announced the arrest of Dong Zhikun and Geng Shuhua on March 27th, 2009. Their families received the arrest notification card the same day. Mr. Dong's wife and Ms. Geng's sister brought a legal action before the administrator of Longpan District Headquarters, seeking the release of Mr. Deng and Ms. Geng. Mr. Dong's wife and Ms. Geng's sister were subsequently summoned by National Security officers to Longpan District Headquarters. The officers asked them if they had sent their complaint to the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net) or taken any other actions to call attention to possible human rights abuses.

Dong Zhikun was an instructor at the Forestry College of Yunnan Province. Before practising Falun Gong, he frequently had health problems and often was unable to teach. After he started practising Falun Gong in April 1995, his illnesses vanished. He started to regain his strength, and his headaches, stomach aches and insomnia disappeared. Mr. Dong believes in the principles of Falun Gong and consequently, many of the problems in his life were resolved. After cultivating Falun Gong, he worked very diligently and never pursued self interest. He was happy to do any task that his supervisor asked of him, and his performance at work was consistently praised. He received the "Excellent Student Instructor" recognition at the college.

On July 20th, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) commenced a campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. A great many Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to prison, forced labour camps and detention centres, only because they said, "Falun Gong is good." On April 16th, 2000, while visiting a friend, Mr. Dong Zhikun was suddenly arrested for "disturbing social safety," and detained for fifteen days. After his release, the president of the college further persecuted him by lowering his salary two levels.

On the morning of November 25th, 2003, four college officials summoned Mr. Dong and told him that they had received a document from the provincial office that revoked his license to teach. But Mr. Dong's students gathered signatures on a petition demanding his reinstatement as their head instructor.

The authorities ordered that Mr. Dong remain available for questioning on sensitive dates. He was also required to brief the authorities on any travel plans he had for the holidays, and have them approved.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/11/29/213507.html