(Minghui.org) The Guang'an City Court recently indicted seven local Falun Gong practitioners for holding firm to their belief. A trial date has been set for January 15, 2015.
The practitioners to be tried are Mr. Wang Zhengfeng, Ms. Tang Sulan, Ms. Xu Kaiqiong, Ms. Li Kunju, Ms. Zhong Dongsheng, Mr. Luo Xuefang, and Ms. Zhang Bilan.
They were arrested on July 25, 2014, along with 14 other practitioners. Li Longxi, the Party secretary of Linshui County; Luo Cheng, chief of the local 610 Office; Gao Yang, the chief of the Internet Police Division; and Feng Xiaojuan, the chief of the Special Case Group, led a group of police officers to arrest them. A practitioner's relative was also arrested for appealing to the authorities for the practitioners' release.
A Legacy of Persecution
Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the authorities in Guang'an have sentenced several dozen Guang'an practitioners to lengthy prison terms; forced over 1,000 to attend brainwashing sessions, and sent hundreds more to forced labor camps. Eight practitioners were confirmed as having been tortured to death, including Mr. Cao Ping, Ms. Li Xinqi, Mr. Duan Yuanle, and Mr. Lei Lichun.
Agents from the Guang'an City 610 Office and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) have spared no effort in vilifying Falun Gong in order to justify the persecution. Besides handing out anti-Falun Gong literature, they also go door-to-door, coercing each household member to sign a form denouncing the peaceful spiritual practice.
Various work units, neighborhood administration offices and towns, as well as local police officers, are tasked with handing out fliers, putting up posters, and stringing up banners that slander Falun Gong. They also give away handbags that have anti-Falun Gong slogans printed on them.
Neighbors, as well as unemployed and retired people living near Falun Gong practitioners, are routinely paid to monitor the practitioners' every move.
School textbooks, extra curricular reading materials, and homework assignments all contain slanderous references to Falun Gong.
Twenty-nine local practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong were arrested and publicly criticized.
Those who have been deceived by the Party's lies about Falun Gong actively take part in the persecution. For every practitioner they turn in to the police, they are paid 2,000 yuan (about $322 USD), and for every practitioner they force to give up his or her faith, they are awarded 3,000 yuan (about $480 USD) and other financial incentives.
Mr. Huang Zhihui and Ms. Cai Zhenfang, both high school teachers in their 70s, were reported by their own students for clarifying the truth in class. As a result, Mr. Huang was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and Ms. Cai to three years.
Ms. Bai Shuying from the Chengbei District in Guang'an City was arrested after an officer from the neighborhood administration office reported her.
Mr. Zou Yunzhu was reported to the authorities by his relative for making truth-clarification materials and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Xiao Yang's home was monitored around the clock. Whenever other practitioners visited Xiao's residence, neighbors reported it to the police. To date, eight practitioners who visited Xiao Yang have been arrested, and most of them have been sentenced to prison or forced labor camps. Ms. Lei Xinlian is serving an eight-year prison sentence in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Ms. Wang Delan from Xiaocheng Town, Guang'an City, was reported for giving a person a small card explaining the truth about Falun Gong. She was later sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp.
Ms. Liu Xueshu from the Chengbei District was arrested for distributing Falun Gong-related DVDs at Chengbei Stadium.
Ms. Peng Qingling was arrested by officers from the Huaying City Police Department for handing out Falun Gong informational materials in Mingyue Town.
Mr. Tang Xiewen's neighbors reported him to the authorities for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Yu Yi, the former secretary of the PLAC, and other officers arrested practitioners Mr. Zeng Geping, Mr. Xiang Lin, and Ms. Ding Yuerong, who were running truth-clarification materials production sites. The practitioners were tortured and sentenced to up to eight years in prison, each.
Since Guang'an City is the birthplace of former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping, when his birthday is celebrated, Falun Gong practitioners in the area are routinely arrested, tortured, taken to brainwashing centers, and sent to forced labor camps.
Mr. Jiang Heping was arrested for distributing Shen Yun DVDs, then beaten into unconsciousness. He was later taken to a hospital where doctors surgically removed a section of his skull to access the brain.
Mr. Yang Linxin from Baishi Town was beaten non-stop for two days and nights. He was later taken to a detention center, then transferred to a forced labor camp.
Police officers from Lingshui County arrested Mr. Cao Ping, then savagely beat him. They broke several bones in his hand and foot and caused severe damage to his internal organs. Mr. Cao became emaciated from the daily torture and later passed away at the age of 39.
Mr. Li Xinqi was beaten to the brink of death by prison guards and died shortly after being released.
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