(Minghui.org) Four Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province residents are scheduled to face trial on July 10, 2023 for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The Gongzhuling City Court on July 5 called the families of three of the practitioners, including Ms. Wang Li, Ms. Liu Guijie and Mr. Zhang Qian, saying that each practitioner could only have two family members attend the hearing to be held five days later. Additionally, the family members must present proof from relevant government agencies stating that they do not practice Falun Gong themselves. It is unclear if Mr. Luan Dewu’s family has been notified of the upcoming court hearing at the time of writing.
Arrests and Detention
The four practitioners were arrested by officers of the Shuanglong Town Police Station on February 6, 2023 and taken to the Gongzhuling City Lockup to serve a 13-day administrative detention.
Ms. Liu developed dangerously high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat, and was taken to the Gongzhuling Central Hospital. Mr. Zhang was taken to the Jilin Guowen Hospital (located in Gongzhuling) after he held a hunger strike for six days.
An officer from the Shuanglong Town Police Station contacted Ms. Liu’s family on February 11 and told them that they were planning to release her. But when the family rushed to the hospital the next morning, the police changed their minds. They said that they weren’t in charge of her case and directed the family to the Gongzhuling City Domestic Security Office if they had any questions about her case.
On February 19, the lockup called the four practitioners’ families and asked them to pick up their loved ones the next morning at 8:30 a.m. Before the practitioners’ families arrived, however, the police came in the early morning and took Mr. Luan and Ms. Wang to the Jilin Guowen Hospital for physical examinations.
The police also ordered both the Jilin Guowen Hospital and the Gongzhuling Central Hospital to discharge Mr. Zhang and Ms. Liu on February 19.
All four practitioners were taken to the Jiutai City Detention Center in the evening for criminal detention. Ms. Liu, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Wang were all denied admission due to their poor health. The police had to take the three of them back to Gongzhuling.
The police took Ms. Liu, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Wang to the Gongzhuling Central Hospital for another physical examination on February 21, before forcing the Jiutai City Detention Center to accept them for a short quarantine. The trio was later transferred to the Gongzhuling City Detention Center, while Mr. Luan remained at the Jiutai City Detention Center.
All four practitioners were issued formal arrest warrants in April 2023.
Ms. Liu’s blood pressure remained high throughout her detention, but the police refused to release her despite her family’s strong requests. Her family hired a lawyer in May 2023. The lawyer booked a visit with her, but he called her family hours before the visit to drop her as a client. He said that he could not bear the pressure from the Gongzhuling police, who had demanded that he secure a certificate from his local government proving that he, his parents, and his children do not practice Falun Gong.
Related Report:
Four Jilin Residents Detained for a Month and Counting, Three Suffering Medical Conditions
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