(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a Maoming City, Guangdong Province, resident serving time for his faith in Falun Gong has suffered declining health after being savagely beaten by other inmates.
Mr. Huang Zhufeng was arrested on December 12, 2020 and sentenced to two years and ten months with a 10,000-yuan fine on August 16, 2023. He is serving time at the Maoming City First Detention Center.
Around July 2023, Mr. Huang was moved from Division 12 to Division 4, after becoming incontinent following a savage beating by other inmates in Division 12. It is unclear whether he was rendered any medical attention to treat his injuries or incontinence.
Mr. Huang also filed an appeal after his prison sentence. It remains to be seen whether the local appeals court will issue a ruling before his prison term ends in October 2023.
Prior to Mr. Huang’s latest sentencing, the 53-year-old former award-winning electronic automation engineer served two labor camp terms, including a one-year term given in February 2000 and another two-year term given on September 4, 2001. While he was held in the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp, a guard ordered two prisoners to pull his arms apart as hard as they could on January 2, 2003. Both of his shoulders were dislocated and his arms were disabled. He was unable to continue working in his profession after being released and had to do odd jobs to make a living.
Mr. Huang’s latest arrest in mid-December 2020 dealt a heavy blow to his father. The elderly man’s health declined quickly and he was diagnosed with late stage liver cancer in September 2021. Mr. Huang’s lawyer and family repeatedly applied to the Maonan District Court to have Mr. Huang released to see his father for the last time, but presiding judge Ke Xuejun refused to approve it. Mr. Huang’s father passed away in late October 2022.
Arrest and Sentencing
Since 2020, Jiang Zhixiong, head of the Zhanqian Street Committee 610 Office, and Chen Huanu, a staff member of the Zhanqian Street Committee, approached Mr. Huang several times and pressured him to renounce Falun Gong. Mr. Huang did not budge, instead he tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to them.
Seeing that they were unable to change Mr. Huang, Jiang and Chen reported him to the police, resulting in his arrest outside of his apartment on December 12, 2020 when he returned home from work. The police spent over two hours ransacking Mr. Huang’s place and confiscated dozens of Falun Gong books and related materials. His wife, Ms. Xie Yuezhen, and their 15-year-old son were also arrested and taken to the Zhanqian Road Police Station for interrogation.
While Ms. Xie called several law firms to find lawyers to represent her husband on December 18, 2020, the police, who had been monitoring her phone calls, found out. Officers from the local police station, 610 Office and street committee came to her workplace three days later on December 21 and questioned her, asking where she got the money to hire lawyers. They threatened her to stop her from looking for any lawyers. She did not comply.
The police submitted Mr. Huang’s case to the Maonan District Procuratorate on February 18, 2021, citing the conversation between Mr. Huang and Jiang and Chen as “prosecution evidence” against him. Prosecutor Gao Jinsheng indicted him and moved his case to the Maonan District Court in early April 2021.
Mr. Huang was tried by the Maonan District Court at the Maoming City No. 1 Detention Center, where he has been held since his arrest, on February 23, 2023. His two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him. Ms. Xie was the only family member attending the hearing, but she was later removed from the makeshift courtroom, as the judge claimed that she was listed as a witness in Mr. Huang’s case (she did not know she was listed).
The judge held a sentencing hearing at the detention center on August 16, 2023 and gave Mr. Huang two years and ten months. According to Ms. Xie, who was allowed to sit through the sentencing hearing this time, Mr. Huang was handcuffed and shackled. The shackles were so heavy that he had to lift them with his hands as he walked.
Ten other people, including Chen and two staff members of the Zhanqian Street Committee, attended the trial. Also present at the trial were presiding judge Ke Xuejun, judge Zhou Jinfeng, Tan Wei (the vice president of the Maonan District Court), as well as judge assistant Liu Qiuying and court clerk Liu Dan. Jiang, the 610 Office director who reported Mr. Huang, stayed outside of the makeshift courtroom during the trial.
Related Reports:
Lawyer Applies for State Compensation for Guangdong Engineer Tortured to Disability
Former Engineer Faces Indictment for His Faith—Wife and Son in Dire Situation
The Persecution of Huang Zhufeng at the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province
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