(Clearwisdom.net) June 26 2002 was the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Practitioners from Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis joined together to hold a "Falun Gong Press Conference" to let more people become aware of the brutal persecution and even murder of innocent Falun Gong practitioners in China, and to call upon people who have a sense of justice from all over the world to resist the evil persecution.

Practitioner giving a speech	Practitioner giving a speech
Practitioner from China talking about her experience of persecution	Representative of a Kansas Congressman reading support letter

A western practitioner's welcome address opened the press conference. She introduced Falun Dafa and the benefits that she personally obtained from practicing it. She also talked about how Falun Gong is warmly welcomed over the world. Next, a video program clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa was played.

A practitioner from China talked about her experiences of being persecuted in China. She had been a teacher and had made outstanding contributions in her field of work. After she practiced Falun Dafa, not only her health but also her moral standard have been improved. Since she persisted in practicing Falun Gong, she was wrongfully sentenced to a one and a half year term in a forced labor "re-education" camp without a legal trial. She suffered inhuman tortures in the camp. Two other western practitioners introduced their own experiences of going to Tiananmen Square in China to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong, which resulted in their being illegally detained. Practitioners from Kansas City also introduced the ongoing persecution Kansas City's sister city in China, Xi'an City.

The last speaker was a representative for Congressman Mr. Dennis Moore. He read a support letter from the Congressman. The Kansas City Mayor's Office and Representative of District 3 of Kansas City, Ms. Mary Williams-Neal, sent support letters to the conference. In their letters, they expressed their concern about the practitioners being persecuted in China and condemned Jiang's regime's suppression of Falun Gong. They also urged China to obey world human rights agreements and stop the persecution immediately.