Illegal Detention and Imprisonment

  • Calling for the Urgent Rescue of Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Xu Lihong in Dalian City, Liaoning Province

    On March 6th, 2009, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu was arrested at her newspaper stall at around 10 a.m. One witness reported that four police officers and two police cars were involved in the arrest. Many materials stored in the stall were taken away. Her current whereabouts are unknown. The reason for Ms. Xu's arrest is unclear, and so far her family has been unable to reach her. We hope that those with knowledge of her whereabouts will help bring this information to light and protect her life.
  • Licheng District Court Judge in Jinan City Attempts to Intimidate Falun Gong Practitioner's Lawyers

    The Licheng District Court held a session to hear the case of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Yuying on February 24th, 2009. At the court session, two lawyers boldly defended Ms. Zhang Yuying. The judge suddenly announced a recess for half an hour. They did not announce the verdict of the court and hastily ended the session. On March 18th, the two lawyers went to the court to ask for the verdict about Zhang Yuying's case. They had to wait until the end of the day and then the vice presiding judge questioned one lawyer in an intimidating manner.
  • The Arrest of a Falun Gong Practitioner's Son

    On March 30th, 2009, a stranger approached the home of Ms. Liu Honghua, a Falun Gong practitioner, and her son, Zhang Xinming, (not a practitioner) into opening the door. Simultaneously, several plain clothes policemen followed behind. They knocked Liu Honghua's son to the ground. They put him in handcuffs. Two of the plain clothes policemen went back upstairs to search the home and completely ransack it. Zhang Xinming was taken to a "training class". Three people took turns watching him for three hour cycles, keeping him awake the whole night.
  • Persecution of Practitioner Mr. Xia Hongmin from Laishui County in Hebei Province

    On March 5th, 2009, police officers arrested practitioner Mr. Xia Hongmin from Laishui County in Hebei Province. The following day, he was taken to Gaoyang Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Xia is being forced to go through re-education (brainwashing) through forced labour. During a previous detention in a brainwashing centre the guards shouted, "If the Party doesn't want you to practise, you don't practise, otherwise we'd have to beat you." They used clubs and sticks to beat practitioners, and while beating them they kept asking whether they would continue with the practice.
  • Ms. Liu Xiufang and Her Family Arrested and Beaten in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province

    Since February 2009, in order to catch Falun Gong practitioners who had utilized a small loudspeaker exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, the Heilongjiang Public Security Bureau has ordered the police and special agents from the National Security Department in Jiamusi City to persecute local practitioners and their families on a large scale. As a result, about twenty local practitioners have been arrested and their houses ransacked. On February 13th, 2009, just as practitioner Ms. Liu Xiufang was leaving her home to go shopping, a plain clothes police officer came up to her and pushed her back into the house, pinning her against the wall. Later, he also arrested Ms. Liu's husband and took him to the Jiamusi City Police Station.
  • False Charges Filed Against Three Falun Gong Practitioners at the Heping District Court in Shenyang City

    On March 23rd, 2009, the Heping District Court in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province held a hearing against three Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Gao Shubin, Ms. Gu Chunying and her husband Mr. Guo Jian. The security at the court was very tight. Due to involvement from the local 610 Office, the court only allowed the presence of one family member for each practitioner during the hearing. Many Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters came to the court. Some plain clothes agents closely monitored them outside the courtroom and videotaped everything.
  • Harbin Court Sentences Practitioners Mr. Wang Kun and Ms. Zhu Yumei to Eight-Year Prison Terms

    On March 25th, 2009, family members of practitioners Ms. Zhu Yumei and Mr. Wang Kun heard from an acquaintance that Ms. Zhu Yumei and Mr. Wang Kun had been sentenced to eight-year prison terms. The two families went to Acheng Court, demanding to see the court documents. The sentencing document was dated March 19th, which meant that the two practitioners had been sentenced a week prior. The court officer Han Yang, who was in charge of the cases, had deceived the two families. He claimed that he couldn't handle the cases, and that they had been forwarded to the Harbin Intermediate Court. In actuality, the Acheng area 610 Office handled the cases in secrecy in an effort to accelerate the persecution of Ms. Zhu and Mr. Kun.
  • Mr. Liu Gang Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison in Henan Province, His Wife Sentenced to 8 Years

    Mr. Liu Gang, a Falun Gong practitioner, from the 8th Mine of the Coal Corporation of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison by a court which is manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His wife, Ms. Zong Yinqin, was sentenced to 8 years. On March 18th, 2009, Mr. Liu was sent to the Zhengzhou Prison in Xinmi City, Henan Province, and his wife was sent to the Henan Women's Prison in Xinxiang City.
  • Mr. Zhang Xuemin Arrested by Police from Yushu County, Jilin Province--His Family Beaten

    On March 18th, 2009, some people who identified themselves as police drove to Dancheng Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. They were guided by local police officer Chen Fumin, who broke into the home of Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Xuemin and arrested him. Mr. Zhang's daughter-in-law, who suffered from serious deafness, tried to stop the plain clothes police from arresting her father and required that they show their identification, but the two officers reacted rudely toward her. When she resisted the police they used garden spades found in the yard to beat the family. As a result Mr. Zhang's nephew was seriously injured and was sent to a local hospital.
  • Ms. Xin Xiaoping Faces Sentencing in Linyi County, Hunan Province

    Ms. Xin Xiaoping was arrested by officers from the National Security Division on October 15th, 2008, while Ms. Xin was on her way to work. The officers accused her of "sabotaging the enforcement of the law by organizing and using an illegal organization" because she practised Falun Gong and aided a practitioner who escaped from a local hospital. After arresting Ms. Xin, the police took her to the Linyi County Detention Centre, where she remains to this day.
  • Kindhearted Family in Tianjin City Persecuted for Ten Years

    Mr. Zhou Zhencai; his wife, Ms. Wang Shaoping; and their two sons, Mr. Zhou Xiangdang and Zhou Xiangyang, have practised Falun Gong since 1996. Their whole family has benefited from the practice tremendously. Nonetheless, the Zhou family has been severely persecuted since 1999 for informing people about the true nature of Falun Gong and exposing the persecution to the government. Mr. Zhou and his wife were forced to become homeless to avoid being arrested. From 1999 to 2003, the national security police ransacked their house numerous times and took their valuables. In September 2005, Mr. Zhou was sentenced to the Shuangkou Forced Labour Centre in Tianjin City for two and a half years. His wife was sent to the Banqiao Women's Labour Centre for one and a half years.
  • Feng Feng and Deng Tianyu Have Been Tortured and Sentenced

    On March 14th, 2009, Falun Gong practitioners Feng Feng and Deng Tianyu from Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, were sentenced to eight and four years' imprisonment, respectively on the charge of "using an illegal organization to break the law." The so-called crime was practising Falun Gong. Mr. Feng was young and strong. Now his hair has turned grey and he is paralysed from the waist down. Mr. Deng has completely lost the sight in his right eye. He can see little with his left eye. Mr. Feng also has limited vision in his left eye. Both of them were tortured until they could no longer take care of themselves.
  • Mr. Tian Haitao Persecuted Again in Jiamusi City

    Mr. Tian Haitao was arrested by awaiting policemen while visiting fellow practitioner Huang Weizhong's home on February 12th, 2009, and taken to the Jiamusi Detention Centre. To date, he has already been on a hunger strike to protest the arrest for more than a month. He is currently in poor health. Although his family members have asked to see him many times, visits have not been permitted. Tian Haitao's wife, children, and many family members have suffered a decade of physical and psychological torture. With Mr. Tian's re-arrest and the possibility of another forced labour term, he and his family are once again in an extremely difficult situation.
  • Teacher Ms. Han Yuheng Arrested In Beijing

    On February 20th, 2009, Ms. Han Yuheng, 40, and seven colleagues went to Beijing on business. They checked into a hotel. Because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government registers practitioners in a nationwide computer system, Ms. Han's residential ID number triggered a warning signal during check-in. The Domestic Security Section was alerted, and they informed the police station. On February 21st, police ordered a hotel worker to open the door of Ms. Han's room, and they proceeded to search her belongings. They seized Falun Gong related material. They arrested Ms. Han and took her to the police station. Ms. Han was transferred to a detention centre and is still in detention.
  • 162 Practitioners in Weifang City, Shandong Province Sentenced to Prison Terms or Sent to Forced Labour Camps in 2008

    Under the pretext of last year's Beijing Summer Olympics, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in Weifang had intensely persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Lu Fan, around 55, was seized in the end of October 2007 and held at the Changle Detention Centre and was sentenced to four years in prison in March 2008. Lu Fan had previously been sent to three years of forced labour in 2001.