(Minghui.org) Ms. Qi Fengmin from Keshan County, Heilongjiang Province was arrested and imprisoned for five years before the 2008 Beijing Olympics for practicing Falun Gong. Less than ten months after she was released, Qi Fengmin has been arrested again and is now facing sentencing.
Qi Fengmin, 45 years old, lives in Shengfa Village, Xicheng Town. She started to practice Falun Gong in 1998. She is currently detained in the Tongyu County Detention Center. The police notified her two daughters, who were still in school, to deposit money to her account, claiming that Qi Fengmin needed money for medical exams. The two girls, without any income, could only cry after hearing that their mother was ill because of the persecution.
Forced to Do Slave Labor
On July 4, 2008, before the Beijing Olympics, director Liu Ruifeng, officer Li Xiaofeng and officer Nie Fengzhi from the Dongbeijie Police Station, together with other staff from the Keshan County Police Department and the local 610 Office, broke into Qi Fengmin's home. Without showing any ID, the police ransacked her home, taking away a laptop computer and some personal belongings that were worth about 15,000 yuan. Qi Fengmin was taken to the police station, and later detained in the Keshan County Detention Center. Four months later, she was transferred to the Qiqihar Detention Center. In February 2009, at the visiting room of the detention center, Wang Yumin and others from the Keshan County Court sentenced Qi Fengmin to five years in prison.
On Feb. 25, 2009, Qi Fengmin was transferred to Ward No. 11 in the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison. After being tortured and subjected to brainwashing for nine months, Ms. Qi was taken to a long term and intensive slave labor facility. Her jobs included packaging toothpicks and swabs, as well as pasting paper bags and boxes. Sometimes she had to work until midnight or even overnight.
In 2010, Qi Fengmin's mother-in-law died from persecution. Her husband divorced her because he was afraid of the persecution by the CCP, abandoning their two children, who were facing college entrance exams at the time. Her younger daughter had to transfer to another city to avoid the harassment of local police. The girls could not reunite with their mother until July 2012, when Qi Fengmin finished her prison term.
Now Facing Another Sentence
On April 9, 2013, Qi Fengmin gave a DVD of Shen Yun Classical Chinese dance performances to a bicycle repairman, who later reported her to the police. Qi Fengmin was then arrested by deputy director Lu Jizhou, political instructor Yu Hongli and officer Hao Yanhui from the Guangming Police Station in Baicheng City. Her home was also ransacked. Her daughters became so despondent after knowing that their mother had been arrested again that they kept crying.
Deputy Director Lu Jizhou first detained Qi Fengmin for fifteen days in the Baicheng City Detention Center. On April 15, Ms. Qi was transferred to the Tongyu County Detention Center in Baicheng City. On April 16, her family went to the police station to inquire about her. Lu Jizhou claimed that Ms. Qi was very stubborn (in not giving up the practice of Falun Gong), so they would sentence her to prison.
On April 27, 2013, Qi Fengmin's arrest was approved by the Taobei Branch of the Baicheng City Police Department. Staff from the Guangming Police Station notified Ms. Qi's family about this. The family told Lu Jizhou that they would hire an attorney to defend Qi Fengmin and plead not guilty. Ms. Qi's relative and daughters went to Tian Xiaoping of the Domestic Security Division in Taobei District, Baicheng City. The girls cried and pleaded with him to release their mother. However, Tian Xiaoping, pretending to be sympathetic, said it was too late.
Qi Fengmin's family visited various legal departments to appeal for her, asking the authorities to release her unconditionally. The Taobei District Procuratorate, the Domestic Security Division and the Guangming Police Department passed the buck and deceived the family. In reality, they never stopped the persecution of Qi Fengmin.
Before June 10, 2013, Chief Zhang Nannan of the Taobei District Procuratorate had already charged Qi Fengmin and transferred her case to the Taobei District Court. The court personnel involved in the case included Zhang Enyou, court president Liu Xuejun, vice president Fu Qiang, deputy secretary Hu Zhongbao, Chu Xianwu and Tao Lijuan.
On July 17, 2013, the Taobei District Court tried Qi Fengmin. An attorney from Beijing, who was hired by Qi's family, defended Ms. Qi and asked for her immediate and unconditional release. The court staff had no rebuttal, but they still refused to release her.
The Police Claimed that Qi Fengmin was Ill, but Her Daughters Said She Used to be Very Healthy
On July 20, 2013, the Tongyu County Detention Center called Qi Fengmin's daughters, claiming that she was ill and needed money for medical exams and asking the girls to send money to them. After hearing that their mother had become ill after her detention, the girls cried and said: “We want our mother. She used to be healthy, why is she ill now?” Her daughters were both students. Without any income, they could not send any money to their mother, so they had to seek help from their relatives.
On July 23, 2013, the family went to the Tongyu County Detention Center to visit Qi Fengmin. Officer Sun Gang, officer Meng and the prison doctor did not allow them to see Ms. Qi. They said the family just had to leave money. Later, the police took Qi Fengmin to Tongyu County Hospital for exams, but they still did not allow the family to see her.
Her daughters and other relatives were all worried about Ms. Qi's physical condition. They requested that the detention center release her, but the detention center staff told them: “We are only in charge of watching her. You have to go to the 610 Office in Taobei District.” Then the family found Director Sima of the 610 Office. He claimed that the case was already taken to the court and out of his control. The family then visited Zhang Enyou of the Taobei District Court, but Zhang refused to see them. Thus after more than one month, there was still no progress.
Currently, Qi Fengmin is still detained in the Tongyu County Detention Center. Her daughters are still struggling and waiting for her return.
Related article: Heilongjiang Province: Farmer Ms. Qi Fengmin Imprisoned Again After Enduring Five Years of Imprisonment, Ms. Qi Fengmin Faces Another Trial
