(Minghui.org) Mr. Ren Shouzhi, a resident of Jidong County, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to two years in prison following his arrest in May 2017 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Regime since July 1999.
He was sent to prison after his appeal against the wrongful conviction was rejected. Mr. Ren continued to seek justice for himself, but the prison authorities withheld the motion he tried to file with the provincial superior court and procuratorate to have his case reconsidered.
A prison official said to him. “You can write your motion, but I will not submit it for you. Don't even try to challenge the system!”
Mr. Ren, 79, served the entire two years and was released on May 1, 2019.
This is not the first time that Mr. Ren had been targeted for his faith in Falun Gong. Since the persecution began in 1999, he was arrested 8 times, resulting in two terms of forced labor for a total of four years and the aforementioned two-year imprisonment.
Mr. Ren was the Director of the Distance Education Department at Jidong Adult Technical School. For over 30 years he suffered from arthritis, lower back pain, chronic bronchitis, hepatitis B, and other illnesses. After he began practicing Falun Gong in July 1996, he recovered completely and also improved his moral character.
In June 1999, the Jidong police contacted local Falun Gong practitioners one by one according to a name list and ordered them to give up their belief. Whoever refused to yield would be arrested. Mr. Ren did not yield and was held at the Jidong Detention Center for 23 days and fined 2,000 yuan.
His second arrest was in April 2000 after he put up a flyer exposing former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin's crime of persecuting Falun Gong. He was held at the same detention center for 7 weeks with a fine of 2,000 yuan. Because of practicing Falun Gong, he was also demoted at work.
After Mr. Ren announced in 2001 that previous statements written by him against his will to denounce Falun Gong were null and void, over 10 officers from the Jidong Police Station showed up at his residence. As he tried to get away from the police, his little finger was seriously injured, with the bone exposed. There was blood all over his trousers and shoes. He was sent to the detention center for the third time.
Two months later Mr. Ren was given one year of forced labor at Jixi Labor Camp, where he was beaten, had his hands cuffed tightly behind his back, and was forced to sit on a small stool motionlessly for prolonged periods of time. On one occasion, after he removed a sign that defamed Falun Gong, the guards beat him so badly that his eyes were swollen and he had blurry eyesight for a long time. His thighs and buttocks were also injured, making him unable to sit for one week.
Mr. Ren protested the torture, only to be beaten by 6 guards with batons at the same time. His left forearm was fractured and he had difficulty walking afterward.
When his labor camp term expired on April 30, 2002, the Jidong police sent Mr. Ren directly to the Jidong Detention Center, where he was held for 56 days. The Jidong 610 Office demanded 10,000 yuan before his release, but his family was unable to pay it. The 610 Office then garnished his salary for 18 months.
The Jidong police arrested more than 40 Falun Gong practitioners on April 23, 2003, and Mr. Ren was detained for the 4th time. Ten days later, he was sent to the Jixi Labor Camp for a second time with a term of three years. Several months later, Mr. Ren and 9 other practitioners were transferred to Suhua Labor Camp, where he suffered both physical torture and was forced to do slave labor. By 2005, he had become extremely weak and unable to eat. He was emaciated when he was released in October that year.
When Mr. Ren visited his daughter in Yichun City in July 2008, the Yichun police arrested him when he was talking to someone about Falun Gong. He was held at Mahe Detention Center for 14 days with a fine of 2,000 yuan. This was his 5th detention.
Mr. Ren and another practitioner went to the remote countryside in May 2015, and were arrested by the Jidong police. They were released later that day.
Mr. Ren was arrested with another practitioner in September 2016 after someone reported them to the police for talking to people about Falun Gong. The Jidong police confiscated Falun Gong materials from his home and held Mr. Ren at the Jidong Detention Center.
Mr. Ren's 8th arrest took place on May 18, 2017, and he was once again sent to the detention center. The following day, the Jidong Court sentenced him to two years with a fine of 10,000 yuan. Mr. Ren immediately appealed to the Jixi Intermediate Court, but the primary verdict was upheld and he was sent to Jixi Prison on July 17, 2017.
In prison, Mr. Ren was forced to sit on a hardwood bed motionlessly from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. He was not allowed to clean his clothes or wash for over 20 days. He was emaciated with blisters and blood on his toes, ankles, and buttocks.
On September 25, 2017, Mr. Ren was transferred to Hulan Prison. The living conditions there were miserable. Four detainees shared one bed and one blanket. He tried to file a motion to have his case reconsidered, but officials refused to submit his paperwork.