The Facts of the Persecution of Falun Gong --October 30, 2009

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content


  • Ms. Zhang Lirong Falsely Charged and Brought to Trial; Her Family Barred from Courtroom
  • One of Ms. Xhang's lawyers is also denied admittance.
  • Ms. Kong Qian Sentenced to Nine Years of Imprisonment by Weifang Court in Shandong Province
  • Ms. Kong has already been subjected to severe torture.


    Ms. Zhang Lirong Falsely Charged and Brought to Trial; Her Family Barred from Courtroom 

    Name: Zhang Lirong 
    Gender: Female
    Age: 40
    Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 13th, 2009
    Most recent place of detention: Shenyang City Detention Center 
    City: Shenyang
    Province: Liaoning
    Persecution Suffered: Interrogation, Detention

    Key Persecutors: The People's Court of Tiexi District, Shenyang City, telephone: 86-24-25860539; Li Yunfei, female, court chief; Chen Yan, judge.

    On October 15, 2009, the court of Tiexi District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province brought Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Lirong to trial based on false charges fabricated jointly by the local 610 Office and the Domestic Security Team of Tiexi District Police Precinct.

    Guards were present the day of the trial as if something dangerous were going to happen. The street was closely monitored by police, who took photos of every person who passed by. The court successfully prevented Ms. Zhang's family from attending the trial, and also one of Ms. Zhang's lawyers from entering the court. Officers in charge of the case were Li Yunfei (female), the court chief, and Chen Yan, the judge.

    On the day of the trial, Ms. Zhang's family came to the court early. When they were about to enter the court, guards stopped them, saying that only Zhang's mother and sister were allowed to enter. But then they forbid Ms. Zhang's mother and sister from entering by using the excuse that they did not have the proper ID. Ms. Zhang's sister had to took a taxi home and came back with the required ID. However, this time the guards told her that she could not enter with her bag. Therefore, she gave her bag to her relatives and attempted to enter the court again, but the guards claimed, "The trial already started one minute ago and now no one is allowed to enter."

    In this way, all family members of Ms. Zhang were barred from attending the trial. At the same time, one of Ms. Zhang's lawyers was denied admittance to the trial too.

    Another lawyer provided defense for Ms. Zhang. He said, in accordance with the law, it is not against the law to believe in Falun Gong or to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people. He requested that the court release Ms. Zhang immediately. In the so-called open trial, all the attendees were the CCP police from different units. The trial started at 9 o'clock and ended at about 11 o'clock and no decision was made.

    Ms. Zhang, 40 years old, lives in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province and is recognized as a kind person. She started practicing Falun Gong 13 years ago. All of her illnesses, like gastric pain and headaches, went away and she became more broadminded and kinder than before. She often generously helped her friends without asking for anything in return. After the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong, she had been sentenced to forced labor twice for total of 5 years, one time at Longshan Forced Labor Camp and another time at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City.

    On July 13, 2009, Ms. Zhang was arrested by the police from the Worker's Villege Station and the Domestic Security Team of Tiexi District Precinct with the accusation that she had publicized Falun Gong. Her home was also ransacked. The arrest left her elderly parents and her young child without a care giver, and her mother and sister were shocked so badly that they were ill and bedridden. Her 70-year-old mother-in-law went to the Domestic Security Team, the Procuratorate and the Court of Tiexi District many times, but they simply dismissed her without giving her any information about Ms. Zhang.


    Ms. Kong Qian Sentenced to Nine Years of Imprisonment by Weifang Court in Shandong Province

    Name: Kong Qian 
    Gender: Female
    Age: 31
    Address: Community affiliated to the 3rd Power Company at Bei Street in Weifang City
    Occupation: Unknown
    Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 9, 2008
    Most recent place of detention: Weifang City Detention Center 
    City: Weifang City
    Province: Shandong Province
    Persecution Suffered: Detention, home ransacked, extortion, interrogation, sleep deprivation, beatings, physical constraint, forced-feedings, torture

    At 8:30 a.m. on October 18, 2009, Judge Mou Aiping, and court officers Lu Baoqing and Li Hong brought Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Kong Qian from Weibei District to trial. Ms. Kong received an illegal prison sentence of nine years.

    Ms. Kong was arrested on July 9, 2008. During her incarceration, this attractive young lady of good character was tortured to the point of emaciation.

    Ms. Kong's parents are both police officers at Weibei Prison. Ms. Kong graduated from Weifang Nursing School. No matter where she worked, people whom she worked with had a favorable impression of her. Because they spoke up for Falun Gong, her mother and she were both detained at the brainwashing center. After they managed to escape from there, they had been wandering about and didn't have a day of peace.

    Ms. Kong's father was forced to divorce her mother due to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Ms. Kong's fiance, Mr. Li Jiangang was also arrested and detained at Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. Even though they have their marriage certificate, they have not yet been able to hold their wedding ceremony.

    At 6:00 a.m. on July 9, 2008, Ms. Kong was arrested at her residence in the community affiliated to the 3rd Power Company at Beigong Street in Weifang City, by the Domestic Security Team of Weifang City Police Department. She was then jailed in the city's detention center. The Domestic Security Team confiscated three computers and other items that belonged to her, valued at 20,000 yuan in total. During the first four months, Ms. Kong was interrogated almost every day. Sun Wuxing, along with a person whose first name is Guowen from the Weifang City's Domestic Security Team, and another four people divided into two groups and took turns interrogating Ms. Kong. They deprived her of sleep and limited her use of the restroom. If she fell asleep, they woke her up by pouring cold water over her. They deprived her of sleep for four to five nights straight. When she was about to fall asleep, they used bamboo sticks or a broom to beat her.

    In August 2008, when Sun Wuxing and another guard, whose last name is Zhang, were torturing her non-stop, Ms. Kong broke the bamboo stick they used to torture her in half and threw it away. Because of that, the guard Zhang pulled her hair and slapped her in the face more than twenty times. As a result, her face became swollen, she had difficulty breathing, and experienced cramps. The authorities were afraid of the consequences, so they had to take her to the Weifang City's People's Hospital for emergency treatment, give her injections, and do CT scans until she recovered.

    Not long after she was detained, she was tortured until her feet and legs were swollen. She couldn't sleep because of that, and was still interrogated every day. In order to protest the inhuman torture, she went on hunger strikes four times. She was then tied to a cross and subjected to inhuman tortures. The fourth time she was on a hunger strike, she was tied to a cross which was made of reinforced iron pipes, for eight days. Her hands were stretched out and tied tightly with leather belts, her feet were handcuffed together very tightly, and her body was bound to two reinforced iron pipes, measuring 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) in diameter. The space between the two reinforced iron pipes was about 10 centimeters (about 4 inches), and she could only move her head. Her arms, legs, waist and back were in extreme pain. When she was released from the cross, she couldn't move, and she had to be taken down by others. She was tortured to the brink of death. Eight days later, she was taken to the hospital to receive forced feeding.

    On October 30, 2008, people from the Weifang City's Domestic Security Team transferred Ms. Kong to Changle Forced Labor Camp. There, they forced her to sit on an iron chair for four days and nights while depriving her of sleep. They also forced her into handcuffs and foot shackles, so that she could not move, and needed help when she had to use the restroom. In the winter, her hands and feet were frozen, and thus injured and swollen. When her relatives tried to bring her winter gloves and socks, they were rejected by the detention center.

    The six months of persecution left Ms. Kong with a high fever for more than ten days, a swollen body, extreme pain, unable to eat or drink. She was at the brink of death. After her relatives found out about her situation, they went to the detention center and the Domestic Security Team to demand to see her in person as well as having her released. The guards refused them by saying that Ms. Kong was on a hunger strike and refused to receive any medical treatment. Ms. Kong's legs were subsequently swollen for a long period of time, which caused her a great deal of pain. Thus, it was very difficult for her to sleep. She was taken to a hospital for examination, and the doctor said that she needed to be hospitalized.

    On March 14, 2009, Ms. Kong was transferred to the Weifang City's Detention Center for further maltreatment. For the past year, Ms. Kong held hunger strikes about a dozen times. In August 2009, five days after she went on a hunger strike, she was force-fed.

    Ms. Kong was brought to trial at Hanting District Court in Weifang City on August 31, 2009. Her family members hired two lawyers to defend her. The attorneys went to the Hanting Procuratorate to request her file, but were refused. Three days before the trial, they were provided with only the last trial records, and they were not allowed to make photocopies, so they had to copy the information by hand, and none of the other documents on file were opened to any of the lawyers.

    During the trial, the principal judge kept interrupting the lawyer's defense statement. Ms. Kong's lawyer was interrupted three times. After the first interruption, the court paused, the second time, Ms. Kong protested to the principal judge, "Why do you interrupt my lawyers defending me? It's unfair!" During the course of the trial, Ms. Kong provided proof of the police beating her.

    On October 18, 2009, Hanting District Court opened the trial again, and Ms. Kong was given a heavy sentence of nine years imprisonment.