[Wuhan(city), China] Since September 1999, the Wuhan City Police Department has illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners. Section 56 of China's Criminal Law Code states that suspects with permanent residences who are awaiting trial should be placed under in-house surveillance, and that only suspects without a permanent address should be detained by authorities until trial.

All Falun Gong practitioners from Wuhan who are currently being detained in detention centers have permanent residences. Their detention, therefore, is illegal. Since September 2000, some law-abiding officials have closed the departments that existed specifically for Falun Gong practitioners. However, other officials have not only kept these departments open, but have even further violated the law in that regard.

Taojialin District in Hanyang, Qinglin District in Wuchang, Etowuan in Qiaokou District and a concrete manufacturer in Jianhan District, repeatedly detain practitioners. Their detention centers further break the law when they do not acknowledge the sentences initially given to practitioners. Practitioners who have finished serving their jail time have not been released. Moreover, in all of these districts, practitioners are tortured physically and psychologically; they are denied the "seven rights" guaranteed by law to all criminals. In addition, family members attempting to visit practitioners routinely experience harassment.

We appeal to all people who support fundamental human rights to step forward and speak out on behalf of the Falun Gong practitioners. The illegal actions by law enforcement officials cannot be allowed to continue. All of the named detention centers should be censured unconditionally so that the honor of the law is restored.