Deputy Director of Police Department Sent to Forced Labour Camp for Practising Falun Dafa

Mr. Zou Zhengming, 62 years old, was the Deputy Director of the Toutunhe District Branch of the Urumqi Police Department in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province.

Mr. Zou started to practise Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) in 1998. Soon he was completely rid of his illnesses and health problems. Mr. Zou is a very kind person with integrity; as a government official, he is honest and uncorrupted. As a Falun Gong practitioner, he upholds the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," and safeguards basic human rights. He did nothing wrong in choosing to practise Falun Dafa, which helped him develop and refine the very best things of human nature, and to obtain a higher moral standard as well as a healthy body.

In August of 2002, policemen from the local "610 Office" (1), forcibly took Mr. Zou away from his home for a three-day-long interrogation. The policemen didn't care that Mr. Zou was a senior cadre in the police department. They tortured him with electric batons. They confiscated Mr. Zou's home without informing any of his family members. Without benefit of a fair trial, he was forcibly thrown into the Fifth Prison in Urumqi, to serve a three-year term. In the prison, Mr. Zou refused to write the so-called "Guarantee Statement" (2), so he was forced to do heavy physical labour alongside the younger prisoners. Mr. Zou is now very thin, and his hair has turned all white. We hope that the international community can show concern for Mr. Zou, a senior policeman who practises "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance."

(1) The "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(2) The so-called "Guarantee Statement" is a statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/4/21/72872.html