Mr. Wei Changfeng Still Imprisoned After More than Eight Years for Broadcasting Programmes Exposing the Persecution of Falun Gong

Name: Wei Changfeng
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Morin Dawa Banner, Inner Mongolia
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 23rd, 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Bei’an Prison in Heilongjiang Province
City: Bei’an
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Beating, detention, extortion, torture, hung up, interrogation, electric shock

Mr. Wei Changfeng from Morin Dawa Banner, Inner Mongolia was sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment by Nehe City Court in Heilongjiang Province. He is still being held in Bei’an Prison in Heilongjiang Province.

Around 7:00 p.m. on October 23rd, 2003, three Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Wei Changfeng, Ms. Xia Xiuwen and Ms. Cui Guifeng from Morin Dawa Banner, Inner Mongolia, successfully broadcast more than 40 minutes of video programmes exposing the persecution of Falun Gong by tapping into a television network in Nehe City, Heilongjiang Province. All Nehe City police officers participated in the large-scale round-up of local Falun Gong practitioners, who were then subjected to ruthless beatings, detention, extortion and other means of persecution.

On October 29th, 2003, Nehe City 610 Office agents (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) along with officers from the Criminal Police Division arrested Mr. Wei Changfeng, Ms. Xia Xiuwen and Ms. Cui Guifeng. The three practitioners were tortured during the interrogation. They were placed on the “tiger bench¹,” hung up, shocked with electric batons, and mercilessly beaten and subjected to other methods of torture.

Nehe City Court officials sentenced the three practitioners in late November 2003. Mr. Wei was given 13 years of imprisonment, Ms. Xia and Ms. Cui were each given 4 years.

Mr. Wei has been held in Bei’an Prison in Heilongjiang Province for more than 8 years. He is still there and is being subjected to persecution.

Ms. Xia was held in the Nehe City Detention Centre for five and a half months before she was transferred to Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, where she was held for three years and six months. She was subjected to all kinds of physical abuse and mistreatment. She has now been released.

Ms. Cui has been released from prison.

The communist regime has used its state-controlled media to frame and slander Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners’ tapping into television signals to broadcast video programmes exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, is exercising their right to freedom of speech, and also upholds Chinese people’s right to know the truth. They deserve to be commended, rather than be subjected to persecution in the form of imprisonment and torture. We hope that kind-hearted people show concern over Mr. Wei Changfeng’s ordeal, and help rescue him and other innocent and detained Falun Gong practitioners.

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2012/2/13/252996.html