(Minghui.org) The Minghui website recently confirmed that four residents of Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, were admitted to prison in November 2023 for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Luan Dewu, 57; Ms. Wang Li; Ms. Liu Guijie, 60; and Mr. Zhang Qian were arrested on February 6, 2023, and wrongfully convicted on August 25 that year. Mr. Luan was given four years, having previously served a four-year term between 2008 and 2012. The other three were each given three years.
In November 2023, Mr. Luan and Mr. Zhang were admitted to Jilin Prison in Jilin City and Ms. Wang and Ms. Liu to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison in the capital city of Changchun. Their current situation in prison remains to be investigated.
Arrests, Detention, and Trial
Shuanglong Town Police Station officers arrested the four practitioners on February 6, 2023, and admitted them to the Gongzhuling City Lockup to serve 13 days of administrative detention.
Ms. Liu developed dangerously high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat and was taken to the Gongzhuling Central Hospital. Mr. Zhang was taken to the Jilin Guowen Hospital in Gongzhuling after he held a hunger strike for six days.
A Shuanglong Town Police Station officer 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 all the practitioners’ families and told them to come pick up their loved ones the next morning at 8:30 a.m. But the police came in the early morning hours—before the practitioners’ families arrived—and took Mr. Luan and Ms. Wang to Jilin Guowen Hospital for physical exams.
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 that evening for criminal detention. Ms. Liu, Mr. Zhang, and Ms. Wang were all denied admission due to their poor health,, and the police had to take them back to Gongzhuling.
The police took Ms. Liu, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Wang to the Gongzhuling Central Hospital for another physical exam on February 21, before forcing the Jiutai City Detention Center to accept them for a short quarantine. All three were 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 family hired a lawyer for her a month later. The lawyer was initially scheduled to meet with her but canceled the visit at the last minute after the police demanded he produce proof that no one in three generations of his family (he, his children, and his parents) practices Falun Gong.
On July 5, 2023, the Gongzhuling City Court called to notify the families of Ms. Wang, Ms. Liu, and Mr. Zhang that only two family members would be allowed to attend the hearing, which was scheduled for July 10. Additionally, the family members had to present proof from the relevant government agencies that they did not practice Falun Gong themselves. At the time of this report it’s unclear if Mr. Luan’s family was ever notified of the upcoming hearing.
The hearing was held on July 10, and the Gongzhuling City Court convicted all four practitioners on August 25, 2023.
Related Reports:
Jilin Province: Four Gongzhuling City Residents Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province: Four Residents Face Trial for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong
Four Jilin Residents Detained for a Month and Counting, Three Suffering Medical Conditions
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