Mr. Tian Yongjian Sentenced to Prison, Family Visits Denied Repeatedly

Mr. Tian Yongjian from Qingdao City, Shandong Province, was secretly sentenced by the local courts and sent to Shandong Province Prison. The court did not inform his family of his trial and refused to give them a copy of the verdict. The prison blacklisted him and, as a result, his family members could not visit him.

Arrest, Secret Trial without a Lawyer or Family Present

On August 1st, 2009, Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Tian and Mr. Fan Yanqi were arrested. Police officers confiscated 1,200 yuan¹ and a mobile phone from them.

Without informing his family, officials immediately took Mr. Tian to Jimo City Detention Centre. Not knowing his whereabouts and worrying about his safety, his family started to search for him. On the afternoon of September 29th, 2009, they finally discovered that he was being held in the Jimo City Detention Centre. Center authorities told them, “Tian Yongjian was sentenced to eight years in prison. However, he disagreed with the verdict and has verbally appealed.” His wife asked to visit him but was not allowed to. She was told that she could mail him money and daily supplies.

Mr. Tian's family hired a lawyer from Beijing to defend him. On October 16th, Qingdao City Intermediate Court secretly tried him again and upheld the original verdict. Neither his family members nor his lawyer were informed of his trial.

Courts Refuse to Give a Copy of the Verdict

On October 10th, 2009, Mr. Tian's family and his lawyer went to Jimo City Court to request a copy of the verdict. Judge Sun of the Criminal Court pushed the lawyer and made them all leave.

They then went to Qingdao City Intermediate Court to get the verdict. The Chief Justice, Lu Yan, told them that all the documents had been taken by Jimo City Court and that they should go back and request the documents from them.

They visited Jimo City Court on October 9th, 12th, 16th, 23rd, November 10th, and December 4th, 2009. Those in charge of Mr. Tian's case, including Zhao Dezhi, and others, treated them rudely. Zhao Dezhi was transferred to Hushan Town, Jimo City, in 2010.

Mr. Tian's family still have not obtained a copy of the verdict from either Jimo City Court or Qingdao City Intermediate Court.

Mr. Tian Secretly Transferred to Prison; His Name Blacklisted

On October 17th, 2009, when Mr. Tian's wife delivered money and daily necessities to Jimo City Detention Centre, she was told that the original verdict had been upheld and that he had been transferred to Jinan City. However, his exact location was unknown. On November 24th, 2009, she finally found that he was being held in Shandong Province Prison. She went there immediately and asked one of the employees how he was. He replied, “Tian Yongjian is on a blacklist. We don't have his information in our computer.”

Mr. Tian Persecuted in Jimo City Detention Centre

When the lawyer met with Mr. Tian in Jimo City Detention Centre, he was on a hunger strike to protest his treatment. The guards had already force-fed him and had left the feeding tube in his nose with the other end hanging from one of his ears. He was very weak and unkempt, and his beard was almost as long as his hair.

Family Worries for Mr. Tian's Safety

Mr. Tian's wife read a report about how, in June 2009 in Shandong Province, Falun Gong practitioner Lu Zhen from Mengyin County was beaten to death by Xie Xiaogang, Cai Wenjie, and Li Dapeng. Mr. Tian's wife got worried and went to Shandong Province to ask to visit with her husband. She said to one of the employees, “His family, relatives, and friends are all worrying about him. It's not easy to get here. Could you let me talk to him by internal phone?” The worker replied, “He is still breathing. If he wasn't, we would have called you already.”

The worker also mentioned that the people imprisoned there had no freedom and were denied all their constitutional rights.

She said, “I read some leaflets about Falun Gong that said five or six Falun Gong practitioners from Mengyin County died soon after they arrived here.”

Before she could finish, the worker closed the small window through which they were talking. She opened it up, then closed it again, saying, “I'm busy.”

On January 11th, 2010, Mr. Tian called his family to tell them that he was allowed a visit on January 20th. Family members were told that his marriage certificate, personal ID, and a mask should be prepared for the visit. On January 20th, his wife met him on the second floor of the prison. He looked pale and heavier than before. The fact that he had gained considerable weight while in prison raised questions for Mr. Tian's wife, but she could not get any answers.

Mr. Tian's Wife Requests Nine Visits Over a Three-Year Period But Only Allowed One Visit

Over the past three years, Mr. Tian's wife asked many times to visit her husband, a constitutional right given to all family members. However, she was allowed only one visit and was not allowed to speak to him during that visit.

Around 8:40 a.m. on June 21st, 2010, Mr. Tian's wife arrived at the visiting room of Shandong Province Prison. Around 10:20 a.m., the assistant warden of the prison, Chen Yan, came and said, “You have to answer three questions to visit him. First, what's your opinion about Falun Gong? Second, what's your opinion about Mr. Tian's eight-year sentence? Third, are you a Falun Gong practitioner?”

Mr. Tian's wife replied, “Falun Gong teaches people to be good following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It improves people's morals and is very effective in healing illness. Practitioners don't tell lies, are compassionate and tolerant, and never attack others. If everyone could follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, all of society would benefit. There would be no more crime.” She continued and asked him to remember that Falun Gong is good. The assistant warden ultimately said she was not allowed to visit her husband.

She did not give up and said, “All of [Mr. Tian's] family members are worrying about him. It's really not easy for me to come here. Your denial is unreasonable.” After a while, Chen relented and let her visit. When Mr. Tian's wife finally saw her husband, she saw that, among other things, his eyes had turned red, but she could not learn what had happened to him in the prison.

On July 21st, 2010, Mr. Tian's wife went to the prison again and filled out an application to visit. The person on duty was hesitant to process the application. Another worker said, “Let me call our boss,” and closed the window. After about three minutes, they handed her the application and said, “Our boss has denied the visit.” She replied, “Why? You are violating the law by depriving me of the right to visit him.” Before she could finish, they closed the window again.

On the morning of August 24th, Mr. Tian's wife requested another visit and waited in the lobby. In less then five minutes, she was told that her request had been turned down. She asked the person on duty who had made the decision. Just then, Chen Yan came in. She stepped forward and asked, “Why don't you allow me to visit my husband?” He would not say anything and walked up to the second floor.

On October 16th, after she finished filling out the visitors' application, the person in charge told her that the assistant warden wanted to talk to her. Fifteen minutes later, Chen Yan showed up and said, “Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to be visited. If you tell me you are against Falun Gong, I will let you visit your husband.” She said, “The whole world knows Falun Gong is good.” As a result, she was turned away again.

On February 24th, 2011, while she was talking to the assistant warden, their conversation was videotaped. On June 24th, she requested another visit. Chen Yan used the same three questions as an excuse to deprive her of her right to visit her husband.

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/2011/7/13/243860.html