(Minghui.org) Ms. Qiu Tieyan, a resident of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province was imprisoned for three years after her fourth detention for practicing Falun Gong. Her effort to appeal in prison was in vain.
Arrested and Falsely Charged
I told people the facts about Falun Gong on August 7, 2014 and was reported to the authorities. On my way home, two policemen approached me and tried to arrest me, but I resisted.
Soon, another police car arrived. Four policemen carried me and then pushed me into a police car. I felt suffocated and my heart beat really fast. One policeman saw my situation and laughed, claiming that I was pretending to be sick.
On arrival at the police station, I felt thirsty and dizzy. My heart was still racing. They refused to give me water. I was handcuffed and shackled to a torture device. Two hours later, four policemen took me to my home and ransacked it. They confiscated three Falun Gong books and a picture of the founder of Falun Gong.
At the police station, I was locked into a big steel cage. Then, I was taken out and cuffed to the torture equipment again. Later, the director of the Domestic Security Division ordered the head of the police station to make sure that I was sentenced.
They took my fingerprint and took me to the hospital for examination. A doctor told the police that I had a serious heart disease. Despite the result, I was taken to the Shenyang City First Detention Center at around 1:00 a.m.
At the detention center, I was interrogated twice by plainclothes interrogators. They threatened and demanded that I sign the interrogation document, which I refused.
A few days later, the head of the police station came with two officials from the local procuratorate. They asked me for some personal information and how I felt about Falun Dafa. I told them that Falun Dafa is good. They told me that this was all they needed to know.
Two weeks later, two policemen showed me the arrest approval letter. They demanded that I sign it, but I refused and told them that they had acted illegally. The procuratorate indicted me for “using a cult organization to undermine enforcement of the law,” a generic charge used against Falun Gong practitioners.
Illegal Trial
In January 2015, I was notified that my trial was scheduled at 3:00 p.m. that day. They took me to court in a prison vest, handcuffs and shackles.
The trial was held in the Xinqu District Court in Shenyang. There were six people in plainclothes in the court room, but I did not see any of my family members. I was told that they did not have their contact information and that it was not necessary to have them there.
The chief judge brought in two tote bags containing the evidence of my "crime." Among all the items, including over 20 Falun Gong books, Shen Yun DVDs and copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, only three Falun Gong books belonged to me.
I told them that I did not harm anyone and that I was innocent. They had acted illegally and committed crimes themselves. Before I was taken away, they asked me to sign the court recording documents, but there was not much I had personally said, so I refused to sign it.
Two months later, the detention center officials informed me that I had been sentenced to a three-year prison term.
Appeal Blocked
I was taken to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison on March 24, 2015. I was not given any food on the first day. Two practitioners had to share a tiny bed. I was not allowed to wash myself and had to get permission to use the restroom.
When I was taken to the workshop the next day, I had to stand facing the wall for several hours.
The prison officials arranged several inmates to monitor me. They did not allow me to do the Falun Gong exercises and often cursed at me for not doing things their way.
I decided to appeal and talked to the division chief who was supposed to provide legal assistance. Instead, she became angry and tried to stop me. Seeing my perseverance, she made things very difficult. First, she did not let me borrow or buy a pen or paper. After I finally got the pen and paper, I could only write for an hour under the dim light.
After I finished my appeal letter, none of the prison officials wanted to mail it for me. When my family came to visit me, the division chief told them about my appeal. She said that she would email my appeal letter to them, but she did not do it. The appeal was never filed.
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