(Minghui.org) Ms. Ge Xiulan from Tianjin City was arrested on March 2, 2015 by the local police, and her home and business were ransacked. For the past three years, she had been appealing to various government entities regarding her husband's unlawful seven-year prison sentence for his belief in Falun Gong.
While refusing to allow her to see her husband in prison, the authorities threatened her and interfered with her attempts to appeal. The prison acknowledged that the reason Ms. Ge was not allowed to visit her husband was because she, too, practices Falun Gong.
Ms. Ge had been running a small business to make a living while trying every possible avenue to seek justice for husband.
Repeatedly Denied Visitation
Mr. Huang Liqiao was arrested by Tianjin City Police while putting up Falun Gong posters on April 7, 2012. He went on a hunger strike to protest and was force-fed. Hebei District Court sentenced him to seven years in prison on September 26, 2012.
Ms. Ge retained a lawyer and appealed in Tianjin City's Yizhong Court, but the court upheld the original sentencing.
Mr. Huang was diagnosed with tuberculosis on October 8, 2012 while he was still on hunger strike and was transferred to Xiqing Prison in Tianjin.
When Ms. Ge went to the prison on November 8, she was told by captain Zhang Hui and deputy captain Wang Xin that to see her husband, she must have approval papers from the following three government offices: the Office for Maintaining Social Stability, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and the Bureau of Prison Administration.
She went to the prison again on January 10, 2013 and questioned the legality of their denying her visitation rights. Deputy captain Wang Xin answered, “There is no legal basis. You can go sue us wherever you want.” Wang then dragged her by the clothes out of the office.
Not long after that, Ms. Ge was spending the 2013 Chinese New Year at home alone when officers from Yahe Police Station came and ransacked her home.
She went to the prison again on April 11, 2013. Captain Zhang Hui told her there was no way she could see her husband unless she could get approval from the 610 Office under the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
When she went to the Committee on January 16, 2014, she was turned away. The receptionist told her that they were not allowed to give her any official's contact information and they could not take her case materials either.
“Family Members Who Practice Falun Gong Are to Be Denied Visitation”
While Mr. Huang continued to hunger strike, the authorities transferred him to Gangbei Prison (also known as Binhai Prison) on March 15, 2014. Ms. Ge was repeatedly denied visitation by this prison as well.
When she delivered a complaint letter to the Bureau of Justice, an official surnamed Huang shouted at her, “What kind of attorney would dare take your case? They are bound to chicken out!”
She then delivered the complaint letter to the Bureau of Prison Administration, and was told that it was illegal for the prison to deny her right to see her husband and she should bring her lawsuit to the Procuratorate. So she went to the Procuratorate on July 29, 2014. Although the official there agreed that she should be allowed to see her husband, they told her they could not take her case.
She returned to Gangbei Prison on August 12, 2014 and requested a written explanation of the legal grounds for denying her the right to see her husband.
Days later, Director Yan of the prison's Appeals Office handed her the written reply, which stated, “According to Item 7 of Article II in the Bureau of Prison Administration Regulations, family members of detained Falun Gong practitioners, who are practitioners themselves and refuse to give up the practice, are not allowed to see their detained family member.”
Director Yan also claimed that the prison was run in a civilized manner and no maltreatment existed. Ms. Ge argued, “When Falun Gong practitioner Li Xiwang was transferred here, he died in ten days. Now my husband is detained here too. How can I not worry when you haven't allowed me to see him even once?”
Continuing to Appeal Until Arrest
Ms. Ge filed a request on September 24, 2014 for a review and reconsideration of her husband's sentencing to the Bureau of Prison Administration. Zhang Chunbo, an official of the bureau, denied her request once again.
She then filed the request on November 17, 2014 to the Bureau of Justice. Wang Guohua, an official of the Bureau, upheld the previous decision and declared that it was the final decision of the appeal process.
Nonetheless, Ms. Ge continued to appeal for her husband until she was arrested herself on March 2, 2015.
Repeated Arrests and Torture
Ms. Ge's husband, Huang Liqiao, was an engineer at Tianjin Pipe Corporation. He was subjected to multiple arrests and forced labor sentences since 2000, during which he was brutally tortured. Detailed reports:
Mr. Huang Liqiao Brutally Tortured in Several Forced Labor Camps in Tianjin
Mr. Huang Liqiao Tortured in Shuangkou Forced Labor Camp in Tianjin City
During one of his labor camp terms, his employer fired him. He later filed a lawsuit against his employer in April 2010. His case was accepted by the Dongli Court on June 21, 2010. At the trial on June 13, 2011, Mr. Huang told the court that it was a violation of the freedom of belief for his employer to fire him for his practice of Falun Gong. He requested reparations from his employer and the reinstatement of his job.
Although the defendant offered no rebuttal, the Dongli Court, under the 610 Office's direct influence, kept delaying the decision on the case until Mr. Huang's arrest in April 2012.
