(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xie Guichen from Baiqi Town, Shulan City, Jilin Province, suffers from severe uremia, kidney failure, and heart disease. However, despite his condition he was still incarcerated in the Jilin Province Second Prison. When his family visited him, they were ordered to sign a document to testify that Mr. Xie refused to take medication.

Ms. Tan Chengxiang was arrested at the same time, but her situation is still unknown. They do not allow her family to visit her, leaving her family members angry and anxious. Her parents-in-law fell ill. Her family has been looking for her information, but could not find anything. They visited several related government departments and local authorities and were told that Ms. Tan was sent to higher authorities. However the authorities shirked responsibility and gave the family members the runaround. The family called many authorities but the phone was picked up, and left on the desk without being listened to, which wasted Ms. Tan's family's money.

Mr. Xie was healthy before the arrest. On July 30, 2012, he and Ms. Tan were reported when they were distributing Shen Yun DVDs to the public. Baiqi Town Police Branch Station officers, led by the director Cao, arrested Mr. Xie and Ms. Tan and ransacked their homes. Mr. Xie was detained in the Nanshan Detention Center in Shulan City, and Ms. Tan in the Jilin City Detention Center.

After just a few days in the detention center, Mr. Xie had been tortured so badly that he had blood in his stool. While he was being treated in the hospital, his family asked to see him, but the police said no. After repeated pleas, his daughter was allowed to see him, but they could not talk. Mr. Xie was in bed in shackles. The police took the family and relatives away to prevent them from talking. Mr. Xie was then moved to an unknown place.

With hundreds of signatures, fingerprints, and supporting letters from local people, Mr. Xie's family went to various government departments to ask for help, but no one from the government was willing to intervene. Director Cao from the Baiqi Police Branch Station and police officer Jiang Litao went to Fate County. They harassed Falun Gong practitioners Zhao Yanhua and Sun Xiuhua, and claimed that they had helped Mr. Xie's family.

On January 22, 2013, after Mr. Xie had been detained for six months, his family tried once again to find out what had happened to them, since the Chinese New Year was approaching. They learned from the police department that their case was transferred to the Procuratorate and the court. When they contacted the court, the court told them that Mr. Xie had been sentenced to ten years of imprisonment and Ms. Tan to eight years.

The family went to the court, but no one would meet with them. They were told that they could only make inquiries via phone. When they asked the judge, Han Zhongxia, why they were not notified of the trial, Han Zhongxia said it was enough that Mr. Xie and Ms. Tan were present. She also told them that the verdict had been submitted to the Jilin Intermediate Court and that the case had nothing to do with them anymore. Mr. Xie wanted to appeal. Without ever receiving any legal notice or verdict, Mr. Xie's family was told by Mr. Xie's uncle that they could go see Mr. Xie in the Jilin Province Second Prison. Before they were allowed to meet, guards told them to sign a document to testify that Mr. Xie Guichen refused to take medication even though he was sick. Mr. Xie was admitted to the prison even though he suffers from severe uremia, kidney failure, and heart disease.

Ms. Tan Chengxiang's family learned that Ms. Tan was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment without every receiving any legal notice or official verdict. Ms. Tan's 78-year-old father-in-law went to the Shulan Court and asked for her release, but no one answered him. He did not leave until the courthouse employees left for home. It was said that the director of the court came, but he did not give his name. Li, the head of the court police, was called. He said to the old man, “I will push you outside and you can freeze to death.” The father-in-law replied, “I am not a criminal. What right do you have to do that to me?” Several others came over to attack the old man verbally. The old man was so angry that he started to pass out. The court employees had to take him home in a car at 7 or 8 in the evening.

The old man was severely ill after he got home. Lab test results at the Jilin City Central Hospital confirmed it. In February 2013, the Xiaobaoshan Detention Center called Ms. Tan's home and said the family could visit her. However, when they got there, the guards disappeared and they could not get in. Several days later, they finally found the phone number of the detention center via friends. The old man called several times and asked to see Ms. Tan, but no one answered him. The detention center staff deceived him and said the phone number was wrong, that it was a residence and not to harass them anymore. Ms. Tan's family was very worried about her.

Ms. Tan's husband passed away three years ago in a car accident. Her parents-in-law had lived by themselves before. After their son passed away, Ms. Tan took them home to take care of them. Ms. Tan is also their mental support. Ms. Tan's mother-in-law almost lost her eyesight from crying and could barely take care of herself. Her father-in-law suffers from many illnesses. Especially serious is the tumor in his brain. He loses consciousness when he is anxious. He also has a hard time walking due to heart disease. Ms. Tan was taken away eight months ago. The old couple just wanted to see her. They went to the detention center several times, but still could not see her. Now they have no information about her whereabouts. The old couple said, “We do not know who we should appeal to for help. If our daughter-in-law is persecuted to death, we would rather die with her. This family is done.”

Those who are responsible for persecuting Mr. Xie and Ms. Tan: Han Zhongxia, president of the Court of Shulan City, Jilin Province: +86-18626515039 (Cell) Main switchboard of the Shulan City Police Department: +86-432-82098114 Jilin City Detention Center (Xiaobaishan Detention Center): +86-432-64819046, +86-432-64819047, +86-432-64819005