Cases of Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced in Houma City, Shanxi Province, in 2010

There were five police arrests related to Falun Gong, involving six people in Houma City, Shanxi Province, in 2010. Four were sentenced. Mr. Zhang Guangjun was sentenced to a five-year prison term, Mr. Wang Baoshan to four and a half years, Mr. Li Huaiyu to three years, and Mr. Lu Haixing to five years. Mr. Zuo Xiaodong is still detained. Mr. Chen Kui, a non-practitioner, was sent to a forced labour camp.

Mr. Zhang Guangjun, employed at the Houma Copper Smelter Factory of the Zhongtiaoshan Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. in Hengqu County, Shanxi Province, was arrested by police during working hours. This was his third arrest. He had previously been sent to a forced labour camp for three years the first time and was sentenced to a three-year prison term the second time. His wife could not bear the pressure and divorced him. This time he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment. Due to Mr. Zhang’s strong righteous thoughts, the police were unable to send him to prison. He is currently being held at the Houma Detention Centre.

Non-practitioner Chen Kui was sentenced to one year of forced labour because Mr. Zhang Guangjun’s computer and printer were in his home. He is now being held in the Houma Detention Centre.

While Mr. Wang Baoshan was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong on the evening of May 3rd, 2010, he was arrested and is currently being held at the Houma Detention Centre. This was his second persecution experience. He was followed in 2006 and called upon by Zhao Jianlin, instigated by Jing Jiangang, the Luxi Police Station head. Mr. Wang was then detained and his computer, printer, MP3 player, and mobile phone were confiscated. This time he was covertly sentenced to four and a half years of imprisonment without any hearing. The police had to try twice before they were able to send him to Jinzhong Prison.

Practitioner Ms. Li Huaiyu received an invitation from non-practitioner Zhi Jun on March 20th, 2010, and went to his home to teach him the Falun Gong exercises. Zhi Jun’s son reported Ms. Li. Local police arrested Ms. Li, and Houma Political Security section agents ransacked her house. They took her computer. She is now in the Houma Detention Centre. She was previously sentenced to three years of imprisonment with five years of probation some time after July 1999. This time the family hired a lawyer to defend her. There was no verdict at the trial. Instead, she was notified at the detention centre of the three-year prison sentence. The family appealed and obtained a commutation of the sentence. She is currently in the Houma Detention Centre.

Houma City police arrested Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Lu Haixing on the evening of July 25th, 2010. There were two trials in November and December, both inconclusive. However, in January 2011 he was notified at the detention centre of a five-year prison sentence. A judge said, “Lu Haixing is too stubborn. His family and children are not worthy of sympathy. He needs to be heavily sentenced.” Mr. Lu is currently in the Houma Detention Centre.

While Mr. Zuo Xiaodong was distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution in Quwo County on September 1st, 2010, he was reported and arrested. At 5:00 p.m. on the day of his arrest, Liu Xurui from the Quwo County Domestic Security Team, Wang Jixian with the Houma City Domestic Security Team deputy head, and five agents broke into Mr. Zuo’s home. They confiscated his computer, printer, Falun Gong books, leaflets, more than 400 yuan¹ in cash, a DVD, and two MP3 players. Mr. Zuo’s case was submitted to the court in early December. The family was afraid the court would try in in secret, so they went to inquire about it almost every day. They were told that there wouldn’t be a hearing prior to the Chinese New Year. Mr. Zuo is currently at the Quwo Detention Centre.

Liu Xurui, an evildoing police officer with Quwo County Domestic Security, has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners since 1999. Two other officers, Wang Jixian and Zhao Jianlin, also participated in these persecution incidents in Houma.

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/2011/1/31/235588.html