(Minghui.org) Having been incarcerated for 12 years for practicing Falun Gong, a Beijing resident is facing prosecution again for his faith.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Pang You and his son
Latest Ordeal
Mr. Pang You, around 60, was arrested on May 2, 2022, after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong two days prior, on April 30. His Falun Gong books, cell phones and media player were confiscated. As he failed the physical examination required for detention, he was released on bail on May 3.
Mr. Pang was arrested again at home on July 28 and taken to the Changping District Detention Center. His family received a call from the detention center in early September informing them that Mr. Pang had been hospitalized after his feet became swollen and suppurated due to diabetes.
Mr. Pang’s lawyer was informed on November 7 that the police had submitted his case to the Changping District Procuratorate. He was indicted in early January 2023 and faces trial by the Changping District Court. He is still held at the police hospital at the time of writing.
Past Persecution
Mr. Pang, a former city planning office director and real estate company manager, has been repeatedly arrested in the past two decades for practicing Falun Gong. He was sentenced twice to a total of 12 years.
Arrested for Appealing for Falun Gong
In October 1999, three months following the onset of the persecution, Mr. Pang went to the National Appeals Office to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested. He was detained for four days at the Chaoyang District Detention Center and fired by his workplace.
Mr. Pang was arrested two more times, in December 1999 and March 2000, and held at the Chaoyang District Detention Center for over 20 days each time.
For displaying a banner at Tiananmen Square on June 25, 2000, Mr. Pang was beaten by the police and incurred severe injuries on his head. He was later taken to the Shijingshan Stadium, where he was starved for two days, interrogated, and beaten again. The police continued to beat him after transferring him to a police station. They also poured boiling water on him after he fainted.
After Mr. Pang was taken to the Qiaozhuang Detention Center in Tongzhou District, the police slapped him in the face twenty times with a leather shoe. They stomped on him during the interrogation. As he refused to answer questions, eight officers handcuffed him and shocked him with eight electric batons. He held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was force-fed. The guards also left the feeding tube in his stomach and kept him handcuffed and shackled.
Torture reenactment: electric shocks
After nine days of hunger strike, Mr. Pang was taken to his local police station. The police attempted to take him to the detention center, but he was denied admission. To avoid further persecution by the police, Mr. Pang was forced to live away from home.
Sentenced to Eight Years
Mr. Pang was arrested again on September 27, 2000. He fainted several times due to savage beatings in the police station. He was later sentenced to eight years and taken to the Qianwei Prison in November 2001.
Guard Liang Kai shocked Mr. Pang with an electric baton and forced him to run laps while being handcuffed and shackled. The inmates also dragged him by the shackles, smashing his feet against the ground. Even when he was sleeping, they wouldn’t remove the handcuffs and shackles. The guards also connected the handcuffs and shackle with a 1.5-foot-long chain, rendering him unable to fully stretch his body.
Torture illustration: hands and feet chained together
In 2002, the Qianwei Prison merged with Qianjin Prison. In order to force Mr. Pang to renounce Falun Gong, the guards forced him to sit still on a one-foot-tall stool for over ten hours each day. The inmates would beat and verbally abuse him when he moved. He was also deprived of sleep at night. Sometimes the guards forced him to wear a straitjacket. While in it, he could only lie on the ground, unable to move at all.
Mr. Pang held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards force-fed him for nine days while keeping him handcuffed and shackled.
Mr. Pang was released on September 27, 2008.
Another Four-year Term
Mr. Pang was arrested again on August 3, 2009, for talking to people about Falun Gong. He was held at the Chaoyang District Detention Center for a month and transferred to the Beijing City No. 1 Detention Center in mid-September.
The Chaoyang District Court sentenced him to four years in Qianjin Prison on April 7, 2010.
Three More Arrests
While visiting a friend in Yichuan County, Shaanxi Province, Mr. Pang was arrested on December 5, 2014. He was tortured with the tiger bench and subjected to savage beating during the six months he was held at the Huanglong County Detention Center.
Torture illustration: tiger bench
His next arrest was on January 21, 2016. He was held at the Tongzhou District Detention Center for a month and released on February 21.
He was arrested again on October 11, 2017, and held at the Chaoyang District Detention Center for 37 days.
Related Reports:
Falsified Evidence Used in an Attempt to Sentence Mr. Pang You
Beijing Citizens Call for the Release of Falun Gong Practitioner
Beijing Man Arrested in Shaanxi Province for Talking About Falun Gong
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