My Seventy-Year-Old Mother Sentenced to a Twelve-Year Prison Term and in Critical Condition

Name: Gao Deyu
Gender: Female
Age: 70
Address: Residential District of No. 3 Division, Liangshan County Construction Company, Sichuan Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 26th, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Longquanyi Women's Prison
City: Chengdu
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Forced injections/drug administration, beatings, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion, home ransacked, detention

My mother, 70, was sentenced to a 12-year prison term for practising Falun Gong and is currently in critical condition.

During the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ms. Gao Deyu, my mother, didn't renounce the practice. She was sentenced to a 12-year prison term on September 14th, 2010 by the Xichang City Court. She was transferred from the Liangshan Detention Centre to the Longquanyi Women's Prison on April 10th. Two days later she was in critical condition. Apparently, she did not meet the "four requirements" when she was taken there, as her blood pressure was far too high. Within a few days of staying at the Jintang Prison Hospital, one of her teeth was knocked out. Her hands, arms, legs, and thighs were bruised as a result of beatings, and they extorted 5,000 yuan¹ from her family.

Her health continues to deteriorate and her life is in danger.

My Mother Was in Very Good Health and Very Kind

My mother suffered from severe rheumatism, hepatitis B, and other diseases before practising Falun Gong. Every time when her illnesses recurred, she had to be hospitalised and our family would have to go into heavy debt to pay her hospital bills.

My mother began to practise Falun Gong in 1997. Within several months her illnesses disappeared without medication. Having restored her health, she was diligent in practising the Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and became a good person. Her health and moral standards improved significantly, and I witnessed the changes in her.

For example, one day when my mother and I went shopping, she was knocked down by a motorbike on our way home. It was very serious and she had a large lump on her thigh. The motorist was startled and asked my mother if she was hurt and if she needed to go to the hospital. My mother got up slowly and said, "Young man, please ride slowly and don't make any trouble like this any more. I am all right. You can go now." The young man dared not leave. Mother said, "Young man, you can go now. I am a Falun Gong practitioner. Falun Gong teaches people to be kind so I will not make trouble for you."

When she said this, I could see the light of compassion in her eyes. The young man said with tears in his eyes, "Ma'am, you are great! I've really met a good person today. I am lucky to meet you, a Falun Gong practitioner. If I hit someone else I would be in big trouble. Several months of my salary would be spent on the treatments and the hospital. You know, it's really not easy to earn a living."

My Mother Tortured

Police officers from the State Security Bureau, with Luo Yi and Wang Yongrong in charge, ransacked my home without showing any legal documents on February 13th, 2004. They arrested my mother and held her at the Liangshan Detention Centre. That was the sixth time she was detained.

In the detention centre, my mother went on a hunger strike to protest. Nine days later she became extremely weak. Luo Yi and other officials began to force-feed her. On February 16th, she reported severe pain in her chest, suffered from bleeding of the oesophagus, and felt dizzy. She was dying. Liu, head of the detention centre, phoned Luo Yi from the State Security Bureau three times, asking him to come and get my mother. Luo Yi was afraid that she would die, and called in medical personnel from the city hospital to look at her.

My Mother Retells What Happened

"When I was dying, Guard Liu phoned the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and said that the force-feeding of Ms. Gao Deyu had to be stopped, as it was life threatening. Zhang Guangrong from the 610 Office said, 'Go ahead with the force-feeding. If anything happens, I will take full responsibility.' After having received the order from above, the guard ordered the doctors to take me outside the cell. Then, four or five people held me to the floor and inserted a finger-thick tube into my left nostril. I lost consciousness at some point because of the excruciating pain. They poured something into my throat, likely some kind of medicine. Afterwards, the feeding tube was covered with blood. I lost consciousness for seven days, and when I came to, I had acute pain in my chest and stomach. There was blood in my stool and a very strong smell of medicine. My mouth and nose were bleeding and I was unable to get out of bed. I could not take care of myself and the prison inmates in my cell had to look after me.”

“At the time, Luo Yi, Wang Yongrong, and Qie Jun from the State Security Division refused to release me.”
We demanded to see my mother. My father couldn't recognise her, and her hair had turned grey. She had difficulty walking and needed to be supported. My father was in tears. He questioned Qie Jun and his men, “Do you still have feelings after torturing a 70-year-old lady like this? She is older than your mother. What do you have to say for yourselves?” The police and guards stayed silent.

Even when my mother was dying, the State Security Bureau insisted that she be sentenced to prison. She was sentenced to a three-year prison term, to be deferred for four years .

Sentenced to a Twelve-Year Prison Term

My mother was talking to people about Falun Gong on September 26th, 2009, when she was arrested and held by the State Security Bureau. My father, 77, couldn't take care of himself and fell ill because of sorrow and anxiety.

Our family hired a lawyer and asked him to visit my mother. He submitted all the necessary legal documentation, but the request was pushed around between the case officers and the legal department. It eventually reached the hands of Wang Yaohui, deputy head of the police department. He refused the request with the excuse that the case was classified and politically sensitive. The lawyer informed him that according to Chinese Attorney Law and Criminal Law, the lawyer had the right to meet with his client. Wang ignored the lawyer. Then our lawyer reported the matter to the City Political and Judicial Commission. Liu, the Deputy Head of the Commission, said, "Don't talk about the law to me. We do not obey the law!"

My mother and three other practitioners were sentenced together by the Xichang City Court. The police, the Procuratorate, and the court tried to heighten the seriousness of the case in order to frame the practitioners. The prosecutor had bound Falun Gong materials and books into a single document to use as “evidence”. But when our lawyer asked the court to present evidence and asked for witnesses to be present in court, the judge refused his requests. The lawyer then accused the prosecution of not having sufficient evidence. Despite our best efforts, the Xichang City Court sentenced my mother to a twelve-year prison term. She and three other practitioners filed an appeal with the Liangshan County Intermediate Court, but this was rejected on March 16th, 2011.

After consultation, I learned that under current Chinese law, my mother's actions were legal. Not only were her actions beneficial to others, but they should be encouraged. Truth be told, persecuting Falun Gong is the real crime.

On Mother's Day, my mother could not be with us because she was imprisoned. However, our hearts are always with her. We believe that heaven will protect the compassionate and that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will meet with karmic retribution. We firmly believe that my mother, who is firm in her righteous faith, will be reunited with us.

The following is a list of the main individuals and organisations who have participated in the persecution of Ms. Gao Deyu:

Tai Gangyi, Chen Lian and Sha Zongquan, State Security Division, Xichang Police Department
Yuan Quan and Yang Jun, Xichang City Procuratorate
Liu Yong, presiding judge of the No. 1 Criminal Court; Yang Bo and Li Yu, judges; and Zhang Xinghu, secretary of Xichang City Court
Chen Qi, director of the Xichang City 610 Office
Li Jun, Ji Xiaohong, Tang Jian, and Shuai Nanyang, Liangshan Intermediate 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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/5/8/240323.html