Name: Yu Jinghe (于景和)
Gender: Male
Age: 44
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Clerk
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 8, 2008
Most recent place of detention: Longjian County Detention Center (龙江县看守所)
City: Longjian County
Province: Helongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Force-Feedings, Beatings, Forced Labor, Illegally Sentenced
Key Persecutors: Dong Zhiyong, Qiu Li, Liu Yunfeng

(Clearwisdom.net) Because Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yu Jinghe persists in his belief in Falun Dafa, he has been persecuted since 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong. He has been arrested ten times, sent to a forced labor camp twice, and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on June 1, 2009. Mr. Yu is currently detained in the Longjian County Detention Center in Helongjiang Province.

Mr. Yu was born on April 23, 1965, and worked as a bank clerk at the Agriculture Bank in Longjiang County, Helongjiang Province. Since he practiced Falun Gong, his physical health improved, as did his morality. When processing bank loans, he worked hard and refused to accept bribes. Both his boss and clients said he had became a better person after he started practicing Falun Gong. After the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, the 610 Office in Longjiang County pressured the bank where Mr. Yu worked to force Mr. Yu to give up his belief. Mr. Yu did not want any more trouble for his bosses and colleagues, so he left the bank. He and his wife started a small business and do temporary work to survive.

Mr. Yu went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong in February 2000. He was arrested by the Longjiang County Police Bureau. His wife, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner, was arrested and sent to a forced labor camp. Their seventeen-year-old daughter was left to make a living on her own.

In the last ten years, Mr. Yu has been arrested ten times. His daughter not only has to make a living for herself and her two younger sisters, but also tries to avoid the constant police harassment. They had to leave their hometown.

Mr. Yu was arrested again and sent to a labor camp for one year on August 4, 2003. He later escaped and lived in exile.

On May 8, 2008, while trying to rent an apartment with friends Zuo Gang and Song Yanjin in Harbin City, Mr. Yu was arrested by 610 Office agents and police officers led by Dong Zhiyong, deputy director of the Longjiang County Xuefu Police Station. He was detained at the Longjiang County Detention Center early in the morning on May 9.

Mr. Yu was detained at the Longjian County Detention Center for ten months without any evidence against him.

The Longjiang County Court held an "open" trial on March 11, 2009. In the trial, only Mr. Yu and four direct relatives were allowed to attend. Mr. Yu's daughter hired Ms. Song Jingchao from the Dongxu Law Office in Helongjiang Province to defend her father. Just before the trial, Ms. Song was threatened by Judge Qiu Li, Procurator Yang Chunmei, Wang Yuejun, Secretary Li Yong, and Liu Yunfen, mediator from Longjiang County District Procuratorate. They said that Mr. Yu would definitely be sentenced to prison, and there was no use defending him. They indicated that they had received an order stating that lawyers cannot defend Falun Gong practitioners, and said that the lawyer would not be allowed to defend him.

Even under this pressure, Ms. Song defended Mr. Yu using the argument that he is innocent due to insufficient evidence to prove any crime. She also said that Mr. Yu's three daughters need him at home and asked the judge for sympathy. She asked the court to release Mr. Yu.

Mr. Yu also defended himself, saying that having a belief is not a crime and telling people the truth of Falun Gong is not a crime. Police from Longjiang County fabricated evidence that he mailed eighteen letters to clarify the truth of Falun Gong to police and mailed 150 copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Even though Mr. Yu did do this, it is not a crime. There were also problems with the dates and locations provided by the police.

Judge Qiu Li, Procurator Yang Chunmei, Wang Yuejun, and Mediator Liu Yuefen ignored Ms. Song's defense. Mr. Yu was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on June 11, 2009.

Mr. Yu has filed an appeal to the Qiqihar City Municipal Intermediate People's Court. He is still detained in the Longjiang County Detention Center.

Dong Zhiyong, deputy director of Helongjiang Province Longjiang County Xuefu Police Station: 86-13206724988 (Cell), 86-452-8563517 (Home)

Longjiang County District Procuratorate: 86-452-5840038

Qiqihar City Municipal Intermediate People's Court: 86-452-2576288

Longjiang County Detention Center: 86-452-5825559