(Minghui.org) The 300 thumbprints and signatures collected on behalf of Mr. Wang Xiaodong in Zhouguantun Village, Fu Town, Botou City, Hebei Province, have attracted worldwide attention, and this has unnerved the Communist regime. Recently, Mr. Wang's younger sister, Ms. Wang Fengru (also known as Wang Xiaomei), was secretly sentenced to forced labor for collecting those signatures and thumbprints. Local authorities pressured Mr. Wang's mother to dismiss Cheng Hai, the lawyer his older brother had hired for Wang Xiaodong's defense. When Wang Xiaodong's appointed legal representative, Li Changming, went to see him at Botou City Detention Center, he encountered a number of obstacles set up by the authorities.
Ms. Wang Fengru Sent to Forced Labor for Collecting Signatures
On June 26, Ms. Wang Fengru, a key person in collecting 300 thumbprints to help her brother, was sentenced to one year of forced labor. She has been sent to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp.
Lawyer Prevented from Seeing Wang Xiaodong
Ever since news of the “300 thumbprints” caused a furor overseas, the Political and Legal Committee has continued to exert pressure on Wang Xiaodong's family, his lawyer, and the villagers in Zhouguantun. The police, Procuratorate, and legal entities in Botou City collaborated to prevent his lawyer from defending him in court.
July 2 and 3, Fu Town Party secretary Guo Zhongxuan and town head Zheng Lanhui went to Wang Xiaodong's house many times to pressure his mother into dismissing lawyer Cheng Hai, who had been hired by his brother, Wang Junjie. Without informing the family, they dismissed Cheng Hai and forced the family to accept the lawyer designated by the regime. On July 4, Wang Junjie received a call from Cheng Hai, telling him that Botou City Court had refused to allow him to defend Wang Xiaodong.
However, on July 9, when Wang Xiaodong's appointed lawyer Li Changming went to Botou City Detention Center to see his client, he was surrounded by police. He was turned away by guards at the detention center.
Tortured During Interrogation and Detention
According to Wang Xiaodong, on the morning of February 25, policeman Feng Yabin used a modified hand crank telephone to administer electric shock torture while interrogating him. Policeman Han Yang bound Mr. Wang to a chair, circled his hands with wire, then started cranking the phone. The current sent through Mr. Wang caused him to go into convulsions. He was interrogated for an entire day and shocked intermittently with this device. Wang Guiqi from Botou City Domestic Security Division threatened Mr. Wang, saying, “We will keep torturing you until you submit.”
At Botou Detention Center, Wang Xiaodong was forced to do intensive labor on the first day. He had to staple plastic flowers onto a wreath from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Some of the prisoners dared not stop for lunch when they could not finish their work quotas. They were tortured if they did not finish their quota. According to rough estimates, at least 70 different kinds of torture are used in the detention center, including beatings, dropping heavy objects on hands and legs, being burned with cigarette butts, being denied food or sleep, and using a stapler to bind and twist people's fingers. Wang Xiaodong was beaten and not given any food.
Regime Takes Revenge by Harassing the Villagers Who Signed the Petition
On April 24, head of Botou Domestic Security Division Wang Wensheng and Zhouguantun Village branch secretary Zhou Yinzhong gathered a dozen villagers, who had signed the petition requesting Wang Xiaodong's release, at a restaurant in the village. They questioned the villagers and demanded to know how they were affiliated with Falun Gong. They also separated them and made each one go alone into a room, and then tape recorded and video recorded them, creating an atmosphere of terror. Finally everyone had to sign a so-called “inquiry document.”
After May 15, government officials in Fu Town, Botou City, split up into groups of four and began a new round of harassment specifically targeting the villagers who signed the petition. Not one was spared. The villagers were ordered to slander Falun Gong.
Elderly Mother Hopes for Her Son's Return and Appeals to the International Community for Help
According to Wang Xiaodong's elder sister, every day, his mother, who is nearly 80 years old, takes care of Mr. Wang's 7-year-old child. They live in constant fear due to the authorities' continuous harassment and threats to the family. They used to rely on Wang Xiaodong's meager earnings to support the family, but now they have no income.
Mr. Wang's mother urgently asks for help from the international community and appeals to all those with a sense of justice to lend a helping hand.
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