(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Du Huachu, a practitioner from the Wuchang District in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was illegally arrested in April 2002 and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. He was initially held in Qinduankou Jail in Hanyang before he was transferred to Fanjiatai Jail in Shayang in February 2007.

Since 2008, the officials at Fanjiatai Jail have forced practitioners to watch videos that slander Falun Gong to try to "transform" them, but to no avail. The criminal inmates in the prison also beat the practitioners until all the practitioners protested. As a result, Mr. Du was put in solitary confinement in the Fourth Division and monitored around the clock. Fanjiatai Jail has been active in persecuting practitioners. Some practitioners have died as a result of the persecution, and others have become crippled or suffered from mental disorders because of the persecution.

Mr. Du Huachu's parents are over 70 years old. It has been difficult for them to take care of their granddaughter. They appealed to all the official departments involved to have their son released. Below is their appeal letter.

To all levels of officials:

My name is Du Rongxin and I live at 18 Wubei Village in the Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. I am 75 years old and my wife is 72. My son, Du Huachu, was illegally sentenced because he practices Falun Gong. It has been more than six years and he is still imprisoned in Fanjiatai Jail in Shayang. My daughter-in-law works elsewhere, and life has not been easy for her. Although we are old, we still need to take care of our 13-year-old granddaughter. Our pension is very small and is used to support our granddaughter's schooling and livelihood. Life is very difficult.

My wife used to suffer from many diseases until she began practicing Falun Gong toward the end of December 1997. After my son saw how healthy his mother became and how she could also do some heavy work, he became curious and began to read Zhuan Falun. Afterward, he said, "This book is really good. I also want to practice and act according to what the book says." In the middle of July 1999, my wife brought him to the practice site to learn the Falun Gong exercises. Less than a week later, on July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin began the persecution of Falun Gong.

In April of 2002, police from the Wuchang Public Security Bureau arrested my son and took him to the Wuchang Public Security Bureau Detention Center because he practiced Falun Gong, which is not even against any official law. He was later sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. Initially, he was imprisoned in Qinduankou Jail in Hanyang, but was transferred to Fanjiatai Jail in Shayang in February 2007. Many practitioners in Fanjiatai Jail have died or have suffered a mental breakdown. Shayang is far away and the fare to travel there is expensive. It is very difficult for us to visit our son, and the guards also purposely make it difficult for us to see him.

We have recently received news that our son is being tortured in Fanjiatai Jail. The guards in the Fourth Division locked him in solitary confinement and instigated several inmates to monitor him 24 hours a day. They also did not allow us to write each other. In the summer, he was beaten by criminal inmates. We are very worried about his personal safety.

My son is a law-abiding citizen. He has not committed any crime or harmed anyone. He has been unjustly imprisoned for more than six years and tortured. We ask all of you to do what's right and show your kindness by releasing my son and letting him come home.