Issued by Clearwisdom Net

On December 4, 2006, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Guiqin from Qiqihar City, Heilongjing Province was tortured to death. Soon after her death, agents from the City 610 Office, the Natioanl Security Group, the city police department and Dongshichang Police Station threatened her sister-in-law, who had just been released from a labor camp, to be spies.

In March 2006, Ms. Zhang went to her aunt's house to do some business, but was arrested by waiting police. The police from Tongdong Street Station in Tiefeng District detained her in Qiqihar City First Detention Center. When officials from the City 610 Office, City Police Department, and Teifeng District Department were visiting the Detention Center, Ms. Zhang shouted "Falun Dafa is great!" The guards got angry, hitting her mouth with a mop very hard, causing it to bleed. At the end of October 2006, Ms. Zhang went on a hunger strike to protest. She was later taken to the Hepingchang City Hospital in a deep coma. She had difficulty breathing, was incontinent, and vomited blood in large quantities before her death. A female guard said, "She would be fine even if she vomits half a pan of blood." At around 1:00 a.m. on December 5, 2006, Ms. Zhang died as the result of the tortures in the Hepingchang City Hospital.

Soon after Ms. Zhang's death, the agents from the city 610 Office, the National Security Group, and the city and local police went to her mother's house, and threatened her sister-in-law, who had just been released from labor camp, in attempts to recruit them as spies. They took them to a restaurant, forced them to drink (Falun Gong practitioners do not drink), and told them, "You keep in contact with whoever comes to contact you. We will not arrest these people, but only arrest whoever contacts them."

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cao Dong was sentenced to five years of imprisonment before the 2007 Chinese New Year. His defense lawyers said that the only evidence was a false confession from Mr. Cao.

Mr. Cao Dong met with Edward McMillan-Scot, the European Parliament's Vice President, on May 21, 2006. Mr. Cao told the Vice President about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Two hours after the meeting, National Security Group agents arrested Mr. Cao. Personnel from the Chinese Ministry of National Security and from the 610 Office thought "it was too sensitive an issue to persecute Mr. Cao in Beijing," so they transferred him to Gansu Province National Security Bureau and the Judiciary Department in September.

Mr. Cao's defense lawyer, Mr. Ma Guangjun said in the second trial, "The original verdict was all based on the evidence that was obtained from the written record when the police interrogated Mr. Cao on September 14, 2006. Cao Dong said in the first trial that the reason he acknowledged that he had sent eight articles to the Minghui website is because personnel from the National Security Bureau told him if he acknowledged it, they would release him. So Mr. Cao acknowledged it in order to regain his freedom."

Since Mr. Cao's arrest on May 21, 2006, personnel from Beijing Security Bureau frequently deceived him by saying that his case was not a serious one and the verdict would totally depend on his attitude. Mr. Cao's case was transferred to Gansu Province Security Bureau and personnel there continued to deceive him by saying that he would definitely not be sentenced to prison as long as he acknowledged that it was he who had reported the persecution of practitioners in Qingyang City. So Mr. Cao selected eight articles from the Minghui website published from June 2005 to November 2005 and claimed he had written all those reports. Afterwards, Mr. Cao hoped he would be released as soon as possible.

When Mr. Cao found he had been deceived upon his arrest on September 30, 2006 he immediately withdrew the confession. Two witnesses would like to testify in court. They are practitioner Mr. Liu Zhirong's wife, Ms. Chang Xiuling, and practitioner Kou Chuangjin, who had just been released after three and a half years of imprisonment. Qingyang City Intermediate People's Court deputy chief Lu Yanhong addressed three points to Dr. Ma, the defense lawyer for Mr. Cao: 1. All the vouchers are from Falun Gong practitioners. Personnel from the Review Bureau need to examine "whether their testimonies are believable or not"; 2. Interrogation Committee members would determine whether the case would be an open trial or not; 3. The trial date would be scheduled later.

Deputy chief judge Lu Yanghong said the verdict of five years imprisonment was too light. She thought Mr. Cao should be sentenced to more than seven years because he had connections with overseas Falun Gong practitioners, as indicated by his having admitted to providing eight articles for the Minghui website.

Mr. Cao's parents are now worried that their son could be sentenced to even longer imprisonment.

On March 20, 2007, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Weijie from Wuhan City, Hubei Province was taken away by the 610 Office. His whereabout have been unknown until now. The Jiang'an District 610 Office refused to tell Mr. Zhang's family where he is detained. In a two-week period, Mr. Zhang's family members went to a the brainwashing center in Wuhan City and asked for Mr. Zhang's whereabouts, but they still did not find Zhang Weijie.

Li Yingjie, Director of the 610 Office in Jiang'an District, initially said: "Zhang is in a brainwashing class." But later on, he denied what he said. Mr. Zhang' family said that the officials in the 610 Office were lying and they planned to sue Deng Bin, the director of the 610 Office in Wuhan City, and Li Yingjie, Director of the 610 Office in Jiang'an District.

Mr. Zhang's daughter, who is studying in Finland, also called on the Finnish government for help in rescuing her father.

The 610 Office of Wuhan City spares no effort in persecuting Falun Gong. It has set up branches in all districts in Wuhan City and a number of brainwashing centers in order to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief. These centers include the Tangsunhu Brainwashing Center in Wuhan City, the Chenjiaji Brainwashing Center in Jiang'an District, the Etouwan Brainwashing Center in Qiaokou District, and the Erdaopeng Brainwashing Center in Jianghan District. All of these brainwashing centers utilize various tortures on Falun Gong practitioners and have conducted terrible crimes.