Married Couple Face Prison Sentence for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong
(Minghui.org) A married couple in Honghu City, Hubei Province, stood trial on November 10, 2023 for their shared faith in Falun Gong. They maintained that they didn’t violate any law in practicing their faith or distributing information to expose the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong. The judge adjourned the session without issuing a verdict.
Ms. Zhang Jingqiong, 58, and her husband Mr. Weng Zuguo, both former employees of the Honghu City Textile Factory, were arrested by Zhou Huarong and other officers from the Honghu City Domestic Security Office, when they had just stepped out of their door to go grocery shopping on the morning of May 10, 2023. The police snatched their keys, broke into their home and confiscated their Falun Gong books, informational materials, and two cellphones.
Months before the couple’s arrests, the police installed a surveillance camera in the apartment building facing theirs, in order to monitor their daily activities.
Ms. Zhang was held at the Jianli City Supervision Center, about 50 miles from Honghu. Mr. Weng was detained at the Honghu City Detention Center. Their arrests were approved in mid-August 2023. The police often harassed and intimidated their twin daughters, who are in their early 30s, after the arrests.
The couple appeared in the Jianli City Court on November 10, 2023. Agents from the Honghu City Political and Legal Affairs Committee and Domestic Security Office surrounded Ms. Zhang and didn’t allow her daughters to get close to her.
Ms. Zhang revealed that she was abused in the supervision center. Her restroom use was strictly restricted and her stool became black in color. Both she and Mr. Weng maintained that they didn’t violate any law or harm anyone in putting up information about Falun Gong. They added that no law in China has criminalized Falun Gong and it’s their freedom of belief to practice Falun Gong. The judge didn’t issue a ruling after the hearing.
This isn’t the first time that the couple have been targeted for their faith. In the past 24 years, they have been repeatedly arrested, detained and tortured. Their daughters also grew up in fear.
Wife Suffers a Ruptured Ovary in Shayang Forced Labor Camp
Between 1999 and 2004, Ms. Zhang was incarcerated four times. She developed a severe heart condition due to torture in custody.
On March 3, 2004, Ms. Zhang was arrested again and given 1.5 years at the Shayang Forced Labor Camp. Her then 12-year-old twin daughters, Weng Mengyun and Weng Menghua, went to the municipal government to seek help from the mayor, only to be ridiculed by the officials. With their father being detained at the Honghu City First Detention Center, the two girls stayed with their 82-year-old grandmother. They also had to do odd jobs to cover their living expenses. However, the girls still excelled in school and won several writing competitions.
On August 18, 2004, Ms. Zhang was beaten by an inmate. She suffered a ruptured ovary and passed out due to excessive bleeding. When her sister went to the hospital to visit her, Ms. Zhang was emaciated, with a sallow complexion. Her hair had also turned gray after only five months of detention. Yet the labor camp guards refused to release her. One of them said, “If she does not give up her practice or follow the rules, even if she dies, we wouldn’t be held accountable for it. This is the new rule in China.”
Husband’s Bones Fractured Due to Police Beating
Mr. Weng was arrested again when he went out at around 5 a.m. on September 24, 2011. The police snatched his keys and raided his home at around 7 a.m. that day. After only a few hours in the police station, Mr. Weng suffered fractured bones due to being beaten by the police and was taken back home. Zuo Shihong, the head of the Honghu City Domestic Security Office, threatened to give him a labor camp term if he was arrested again.
Couple Arrested Again and Wife Beaten
Zuo and more than ten officers showed up at the couple’s fried fish restaurant at around 7 a.m. on August 25, 2017 and arrested them. They pushed the couple to the ground and handcuffed them, before shoving them into a police car. The police confiscated the couple’s Falun Gong books, portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, informational materials, TV, DVD player, DVD burner, and speaker from their home, and also took away their keys. The family had to change their locks as a result.
At the Xindi Police Station, the couple were held in a room without any windows or air flow. In the heat of the summer, they were drenched in sweat. When Mr. Weng asked for water, the police refused to give him any and also threatened to torture them to death.
The police restrained the couple on tiger benches for two hours and didn’t let them down until they had to use the restroom. When transferring the couple between different rooms, the police didn’t allow them to walk, but dragged them across the ground by their handcuffs. Their bodies and limbs were covered with injuries. The police also verbally abused them.
Ms. Zhang’s forehead, arm, leg, and back were severely bruised after abuse in detention. She also had sharp pain in her bones and internal organs. She was unable to lift her arms.
Related reports:
Police Torture Falun Gong Practitioners in Hubei Province Police Station