Sixteen Practitioners Detained at Hebei Province Women's Prison

The following information relates to 16 practitioners from Shijiazhuang City, unless otherwise stated, who have been arrested and are now detained at Hebei Province Women's Prison.

1. Ms. Yu Jingxia lives in North Bolin District, Shijiazhuang. Her husband, Mr. Zhang Lingjiang, is also a practitioner, and they both follow the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance as their guiding principles in everyday life.

In order to expose the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) crimes against Falun Gong, Mr. Zhang and several other practitioners rented a house and used it to print leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang was arrested at the house on September 28th, 2001, and was sentenced to twelve years in July 2003. He is now detained in the 3rd Division of the No.1 Hebei Prison in Baoding City.

The police also tried to find Ms. Yu, forcing her to become homeless. She was arrested by officers from the Xinhua Police Station at around 3 p.m. on January 19th, 2004, when she went to a clothes shop to visit her relatives. Ms. Yu was detained at the No.2 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. She went on a hunger strike to protest her persecution. As a result, she became extremely weak and was released on medical grounds. She lived at home, but was constantly monitored by the police. On the morning of April 29th, 2004, officers from the Xinhua Police Station arrested Ms. Yu again and took her back to the No. 2 Detention Centre. She was sentenced to ten years in prison.

When Ms. Yu was arrested, her younger sister had to look after her 14-year old daughter Ms. Zhang Lu. Officers from the Xinhua Police Station and the Shigangdajie Police Station went to Ms. Zhang's school to harass her and forced her to stop going to school for a year. Her school records were also lost, and she could not go back to the same school. With the help of a friend, she was later able to go to a different school in Shijiazhuang.

Every time Ms. Zhang went to visit her parents, the guards told her lies to try to damage her relationship with her parents. She had to endure a tremendous amount of pressure at such a young age.

Ms. Yu is now detained at the No.3 Division at Hebei Women's Prison. She has insisted on protesting against the persecution by going on a hunger strikes, and has suffered brutal beatings and violent brainwashing sessions. She has been tortured to near death several times, but still refuses to give up her belief. The guards have ordered four inmates to monitor Ms. Yu 24 hours a day.

2. Ms. Li Xiumin, 51, was a college teacher at the Hebei Science and Technology College and was an honoured employee for four consecutive years. When she was young, she was frail and had many illnesses. After starting the practice of Falun Gong in 1995, all of her illnesses disappeared.

Since the persecution began in July 1999, Ms. Li has been sentenced to over four years in a forced labour camp. She has suffered brutal torture and has endured extreme mental pressure.

When Ms. Li was arrested and tortured on May 23rd, 2007, the retinas in her eyes were severely damaged and her facial nerves shook uncontrollably. She also developed a benign tumour in her uterus. Officials from the Shijiazhuang District Court sentenced Ms. Li to five years in October 2007. She was detained in the sick-and-elderly group at Hebei Women's Prison in February 2008, where her illnesses became worse. She had blood coming from her lower body, and her eyes were so bad that she could not see a person standing right in front of her.

Since July 19th, 2007, Ms. Li's elderly parents have tried to request that she be released on medical grounds. They visited various law enforcement agencies such as the police station, Procuratorate, and the courts, but they all tried to shirk responsibility. Ms. Li's parents were told that they would not allow an attorney to be involved and refused their request. Her father become ill and was bedridden, while her mother, Ms. Li Xiangzhi, went to visit all kinds of government offices to help her, but had no success. She later had a heart attack. Ms. Li Xiangzhi lost consciousness and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment on July 29th, 2008. When she was released, Zhao Hongying, Ms. Li Xiumin's cousin, had to take care of her.

A group of police officers broke into their home and arrested Zhao Hongying in May, 2009. They found DVDs of Shen Yun Performing Arts shows and sentenced her to one year and three months in Hebei Women's Forced Labour Camp.

Ms. Li Xiangzhi passed away on June 11th, 2009. Her family members went to Hebei Women's Prison to ask if they would allow Ms. Li to see her mom one last time. The prison authorities refused her family's request.

3. Ms. Wang Sanying is an employee at Youfu Hospital in Shijiazhuang. She and her husband have a son, but because her husband was laid off, she had to support the family financially. Ms. Wang used to suffer from gynaecological diseases, dizziness, fatigue and arthritis. She became short-tempered because of her illnesses and often argued with people. When she began to practise Falun Gong in 1997, all of her illnesses disappeared. She also became calmer and stopped having conflicts with others.

Ms. Wang was arrested on the afternoon of June 3rd, 2008, when she was told to leave work and go home. She was then arrested by officers from the local police station and the National Security Bureau. The police had harassed Ms. Wang several days earlier, and told her that during the Olympic Games the authorities would be very strict on Falun Gong practitioners. Her home was ransacked, and her cash and bank deposit receipts were confiscated. She was later detained at the No.2 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre.

On September 18th, 2008, the Xinhua Procuratorate transferred Ms. Wang's case to the Xinhua District Court in Shijiazhuang. An open trial was held at Xinhua Court on October 31st, 2008, to hear Ms. Wang's case. Two lawyers defended her in court. The lawyers' defence was well organised, reasonable and convincing. The prosecution and the judge were left speechless. After the court hearing, nearly forty of Ms. Wang's relatives and friends signed a letter requesting that the court release Ms. Wang and acquit her.

The judge from the Xinhua Court contacted the Intermediate People's Court on January 20th, 2009, and sentenced Ms. Wang to four years in prison. The court decision was announced on January 21st. Ms. Wang was sent to Hebei Women's Prison on April 2nd, 2009.

4. & 5. Ms. Liu Shuqin and Ms. Wang Bo are mother and daughter. Ms. Liu is an employee at the Changan sub-branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank in Shijiazhuang, and Ms. Wang was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music for her outstanding accomplishments on the piano. Ms. Wang's father, Mr. Wang Xinzhong, works at the Shijiazhuang Rail Road sub-depot.

The whole family has been repeatedly arrested, fined, detained, their home ransacked, and sent to forced labour camps and brainwashing centres because of their belief. On July 27th, 2006, they were arrested again by the police from Shijiazhuang. Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang were sentenced to four and five years respectively. On June 15th, 2007, Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang were sent to Hebei Women's Prison, and Mr. Wang was sent to Jidong Prison.

6. Ms. Lu Shufen was reported to the authorities on the afternoon of November 14th, 2007, when she was seen talking to people about Falun Gong in Luan County, Shijiazhuang. She was later arrested by officers from the Luan 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and the Chengguan Police Station, and was held at the Luan Detention Centre. Around May, 2008, Ms. Lu was sentenced to seven years.

Ms. Lu went on a hunger strike for over a month and became extremely weak. On August 10th, 2008, she was taken to Hebei Women's Prison.

7. Ms. Lu Shu'e is over 60 years old and from Luan County. Before practising Falun Gong she suffered from many illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis. All her illnesses disappeared when she started practising, and she became a healthy person.

Ms. Lu was sentenced to four years in 2001, and was released in 2005. She was then reported to the authorities when she was seen talking to people about Falun Gong on July 31st, 2008. She was arrested by officers from the Qiandazhang Police Station in Zhao County, and was detained at Zhao Detention Centre. On October 20th, personnel from the Zhao Public Security Bureau sentenced her to four years in prison.

When Ms. Lu and her family appealed, the city court decided to uphold the original decision. Ms. Lu protested her persecution and went on a hunger strike for over two weeks, and became extremely weak. She was transferred to the Hebei Women's Prison on January 4th, 2009.

8. Ms. Qie Lili, 32, was an outstanding teacher at Xili Elementary School in Shijiazhuang. Since the persecution started she has been detained seven times, totalling four and a half years, and was forced to become homeless for a total of three years. She has had nearly 20,000 yuan¹ extorted from her, and had countless personal belongings confiscated. Her mother tried to appeal for justice and was detained for nearly one year. Her father became very fearful of harassment from the police.

At around 4:30 p.m on August 1st, 2008, Ms. Qie was arrested by Zhang Xianli, a policeman from the Shijiazhuang National Security Bureau, while she was having a meeting with some of her clients. Ms. Qie was sentenced to four years in prison on May 12th, 2009, and later submitted an appeal to the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court. Ms. Qie was transferred to Hebei Women's Prison on August 17th, 2009.

9. Ms. Qian Mei, over 40 years old, used to be a teacher at the No.2 School on Nanxiao Street. In November 2000, she was sentenced to three years in a forced labour camp. While she was talking to people about Falun Gong on May 22nd, 2008, and helping them to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party, she was reported to the authorities. The police followed her to her new work unit at the No.1 Nursery School in Shijiazhuang and arrested her. Officers from the Xinshi Police Station in Shijiazhuang ransacked her home, and confiscated over a dozen Falun Dafa books and her child's computer. Ms. Qian was detained at the No.1 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. She was transferred to Hebei Women's Prison on July 2nd, 2009.

10. Ms. Sun Li, over 50 years old, is a former employee of the Diamond Group. She lives with her mother Ms. Gao Yunwei, who is nearly 80 years old, in apartment 4-1-101 of the Agricultural Research Institute on the North Huaibei Road.

Ms. Sun was arrested on September 6th, 2005, when police found her in possession of materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. A trial was held in the Yuhua District Court on February 28th, 2006, where she was defended by her husband, Mr. Pan Peida, as no lawyer dared to defend her because she is a Falun Gong practitioner. Mr. Pan told the court that there is nothing wrong with believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and explained how his wife had become a healthy person after practising Falun Gong. The court heard how Ms. Sun had printed materials Falun Gong and made some CDs, which is protected by the Constitution and was done under the protection of freedom of belief and freedom of speech. Ms. Sun also told the court about the persecution and appealed for a stop to the persecution of fellow practitioners.

Ms. Sun was then sentenced to five and a half years in prison. When she appealed to the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court, she also went on a hunger strike. Her family members also demanded her release. This action forced the court officials to hold a re-trial. A 2nd hearing was held in Yuhua Court on May 12th, 2006, while Ms. Sun and her family continued to appeal to the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court. On July 19th, 2006, the court upheld the original verdict and Ms. Sun was sent to Hebei Women's Prison.

11. Ms. Liu Runling, 46, is a former employee at the Yuji Daily Chemical Co., Ltd. She began to practise cultivation in 1996. Her husband, Mr. Yang, used to work at China Youth Daily, and started to practise Falun Gong in 1995.

In order to avoid persecution, Ms. Liu and her husband were forced to become homeless on September 29th, 2000. They were arrested in the Kaida District in Shijiazhuang on September 28th, 2001, and were both sentenced to 11 years in prison on September 9th, 2002. Ms. Liu was taken to the Hebei Women's Prison. Mr. Yang was detained at the No.11 Division of the Shijiazhuang North Suburban Prison (formerly the Hebei No.4 Prison), where he was often locked in solitary confinement, force-fed, physically tortured and deprived of sleep for long periods of time. Such brutal treatment led Mr. Yang to contract tuberculosis and spinal necrosis, which left him paralysed. He died on January 26th, 2006, at the age of 40.

Ms. Yang Wenjing was only 11 years old when her parents were arrested. When Mr. Yang passed away, Ms. Yang was sixteen and would not go to the prison to visit her mother. She also refused to have any relatives take care of her. At such a young age, she stopped going to school and began working to support herself.

Mr. Yang's parents, Ms. Liu's parents-in-law, Yang Gentian and Cui Fugui are all over 70 years old and need others to take care of them.

12. Ms. Wang Yunman is around 55, and was an employee at the Shijiazhuang Plastics Factory. After practising Falun Gong, her ailments, including heart disease, chest tightness and insomnia, disappeared. She has been to Beijing to appeal against the persecution four times and has been detained 11 times. Ms. Wang has also been on a hunger strike six times.

In August 2001, Ms. Wang was arrested and detained at the No.2 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. She then went on a hunger strike for several months, and was refused permission for medical parole, which resulted in her nearly dying. Ms. Wang was secretly sentenced to 10 years on September 9th, 2002, and was sent to the Women's Team in Taihang Prison, Hebei Province on May 19th, 2003. She was later transferred to Hebei Women's Prison.

13. Ms. Zhang Li, over 40 years old, is from Xinji in Hebei. She was sentenced to ten years in prison in November 2001, and was detained at Taihang Prison. She was later transferred to Hebei Women's Prison.

14. Ms. Han Dongmei, over 50 years old, lives in apartment 503, Unit 2, No. 2 Building in Beijinma District. In the evening of May 10, 2004, under orders from the Yuhua District 610 Office and the Shijiazhuang police, officers from the Yudong Police Department arrested her and ransacked her home. Ms. Han was detained at the No.2 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. On September 17th, 2004, the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court sentenced Ms. Han to 7 years in prison. She was detained at Taihang Prison and was later transferred to Hebei Women's Prison.

15. Ms. Yang Jianmei, around 55, was an employee of the East Bridge Department of the Drainage Company in Shijiazhuang. She was detained when she went to appeal for Falun Gong after July 20th, 1999. She was sentenced to 12 years and taken to Hebei Women's Prison in 2000, because she printed Falun Gong informational materials.

16. Ms. Du Yanfang from apartment 302, Unit 3, Building No. 40 in North Jinma District, had many illnesses that disappeared when she started to practise Falun Gong. In the morning of May 14th, 2004, under orders from the Yuhua 610 Office and the Shijiazhuang police, officers from the Yudong Police Department arrested Ms. Du and ransacked her home. She was detained at the No.2 Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. On September 17th, 2004, Ms. Du was sentenced to seven years by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court.

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/2010/11/29/233062.html