Mr. Cao Gongxun Partially Paralysed After Head Slammed Against Ground in Wangling Prison

Name: Cao Gongxun
Gender: Male
Age: 60
Address: Loudi City, Hunan Province
Occupation: Employee of Lianyuan Steel Corporation
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 15th, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wangling Prison, You County
City: Zhuzhou
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, extortion, fired from workplace, imprisonment, brainwashing, torture, head slammed against the ground, partial paralysis, rapid weight loss

Mr. Cao Gongxun from Loudi City, Hunan Province was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in 2010. Mr. Cao has become partially paralysed because of the brutal torture he suffered at Wangling Prison. Prison authorities not only refused to release him, but also made things very difficult for his relatives to visit. A prison guard openly admitted that a general criminal offender in such poor health would immediately be released, but not Falun Gong practitioners. The prison guard also commented that it wouldn't matter if Mr. Cao died in the prison.

Mr. Cao Gongxun, 60, has been detained and tortured in the Second Division of Wangling Prison, in Zhuzhou City, You County, Hunan Province. A prison guard slammed Mr. Cao's head against the ground and now he is partially paralysed. He is also severely emaciated. Two prisoners appointed by the prison guards take turns to closely monitor Mr. Cao 24 hours a day, and they have forced him to undergo brainwashing.

On the morning of February 26th, 2012, Mr. Cao's family went to the Wangling Prison to see him but they were turned away. The prison political instructor of the Second Division, Zeng, denied the visitation because Mr. Cao continued to practise Falun Gong in the prison. It was very difficult for Mr. Cao's family to travel to the prison from the rural area where they live. The family questioned the prison guard, “Why are we not allowed to visit him when you are the ones who called in the first place and requested that we come?”

While being questioned by Mr. Cao's family, Zeng made up excuses and said that Mr. Cao could not walk and he was no longer allowed any visitors. Perhaps Zeng knew that the reasons he gave sounded absurd, so he added that he could not make a decision and had to ask his supervisor.

Mr. Cao nearly died as a result of the persecution in the Second Division of Wangling Prison. The guards became scared and called Mr. Cao's family twice asking them to visit Mr. Cao at the prison. The first time was November 28th, 2011: Authorities from the prison called and told the family that Mr. Cao's blood pressure was very high and that the family should go visit him immediately. One of Mr. Cao's relatives was working in Guangdong Province at the time and spent a few days getting home once he heard the news.
The second time, the morning of December 9th: A prison guard from the Second Division asked Mr. Cao's family to come to the prison as soon as possible. He also said that it was okay to visit even on the weekend. Evidently, Mr. Cao was in critical condition. When the family got to the prison, the two prisoners who were monitoring Mr. Cao carried him out by the shoulders. Mr. Cao used to be stout man, but had gotten very skinny. He did not look like the same man as a result of the torture he had endured. He could not move half of his body. Mr. Cao was put behind a glass wall and was taken back to his cell after only a few minutes. After seeing him in such bad shape, the family was heartbroken. They demanded that Mr. Cao be released immediately. A prison guard blatantly said that if it were a general criminal offender in such critical condition he would be released right away, but not a Falun Gong practitioner. He also mentioned that Mr. Cao had been sentenced to a 10-year prison term but that he must serve at least 5 years before he could be granted medical parole. He added that the prison would not be held responsible if Mr. Cao died in the prison because it was very common for prisoners to die.

When Mr. Cao's family went to the prison on February 26th, 2012 they never did get to see him. They remembered how bad Mr. Cao's condition was the last time they were there. Because the prison guards used various excuses to keep the family from seeing Mr. Cao on this visit, the family wondered what they were trying to hide. The family is very concerned about Mr. Cao's health condition and they have been asking, “How is Mr. Cao holding up under such severe persecution?”

Mr. Cao Gongxun was arrested in 2009. On March 12th, 2010, nine Falun Gong practitioners including Mr. Cao were put through an illegal trial at Louxing District Court, Loudi City. Two defence lawyers from Beijing requested that the prosecutor read the legal provisions regarding Falun Gong out loud in front of everyone in the court. The judge and the prosecutor were speechless and couldn't respond. The lawyers pointed out that a person with only a basic knowledge of the law would know that the 'evidence' stated in the indictment had not been established and it could not be used against the defendants in court. The personal belongings such as computers, and materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong that the police officers confiscated from the Falun Gong practitioners' homes, were by law, private property and therefore inadmissible. Additionally, these personal belongings posed no harm to others. The two defence lawyers requested that the nine practitioners be acquitted and released immediately. In the end, Louxing District Court sentenced the nine practitioners.

The two defence lawyers from Beijing pointed out that freedom of religion is actually protected under Chinese law and it is actually within the law to practise and explain the facts about Falun Gong. By sentencing the practitioners and by not following the rule of law, the involved law enforcement agencies and the court have committed the following offences: framing citizens, showing favouritism, and undermining the legal implementation of the law by blindly following erroneous instructions.

Earlier report:

Mr. Cao Gongxun in Critical Condition, Wangling Prison Refuses to Release Him
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2012/2/11/131395.html

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2012/2/29/253646.html