(Minghui.org) Today's news from China includes incidents of persecution that took place in 17 cities or counties in 11 provinces. According to this report, at least 30 practitioners were illegally arrested.
Mr. Zhu Zhanshan was arrested on the afternoon of February 10, 2018.
Participants in the persecution of Mr. Zhu:Wang Shuai (王帅), head, Yushu City 610 Office: +86-18243160001Gao Guangye (高广野), chief, Yushu City Police Department: +86-15500096001Liang Zhanbin (梁占彬): +86-15500096002, +86-13904390156
Ms. Xiu Li from Guanghan City was on her way to work on the morning of February 11, 2018. At the Chengmian Highway toll station, she was taken to the Bailianchi Police Station for interrogation under the excuse of examining her residential ID card.
She was taken to the Anjing Detention Center the following day for 30 days of detention.
Ms. Dou Jun was arrested by officers from the Nanshan District Domestic Security Division on October 7, 2017.
Ms. Liu Qingxiang, Ms. Lu Youqin, and Ms. Qi Ru from Hou Village, Diqiu Township, Linzhang County, were reported by villagers when they distributed information about Falun Gong in Luo Village, Linzhang Town, on the evening of February 12, 2018. They were arrested by officers from the Linzhang Town Police Station.
Participants in the persecution of the three practitioners:Chengguan Police Station: +86-310-7852428Linzhang County Police Department: +86-310-7863110
Ms. Song Shuqing from Pingfang District was arrested on a train by railway police on February 8, 2018. She was taken to the Harbin City No. 2 Detention Center.
Participants in the persecution of Ms. Song:Xinjiang Police Station, Pingfang District: +86-451-86511057Zhou Lifeng (周立峰), head, Domestic Security Division: +86-13703650400
Mr. Kang Zongfeng's appeal against his conviction has been turned down, and he may be transferred to prison at any time now.
Mr. Kang was arrested on February 18, 2017 for posting information about Falun Gong. His wife, Ms. Wei Fengqin, was arrested two days later when she went to the local police station to seek her husband's release.
The couple appeared in court on August 11 and were convicted on November 22. Mr. Kang was sentenced to 2 years in prison and his wife to 11 months. Each was also fined 10,000 yuan.
Ms. Wei was released in January after finishing 11 months of her term. Her husband remains detained after his appeal was rejected by the Dezhou Intermediate Court.
Mr. Dai Dingyun, his wife Ms. Zhu Jiacai, Ms. Luo Cuiqin, Mr. Dai Yongmao, and Ms. Xu Yanfei were arrested on October 14, 2017 ahead of the 19th Party Congress.
Mr. Dai Yongmao, in his 70s, was released on bail. He received a summons in early February, but it is unclear what it was about. Mr. Dai Dingyun is being held at the Haozhang County Detention Center and the three women at the Jinsha County Detention Center.
The five practitioners' cases now rest with the Bijie City Procuratorate.
Ms. Dong Ying, 28 and Ms. Zhang Qi, 29, were arrested on March 28, 2017 and appeared in court on January 12, 2018. They were each given 1 year and 2 months in prison.
Mr. Li Ruixi of Shantou City was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan on February 5, 2018.
Mr. Li was arrested in Foshan City on March 25, 2016, while he was sending text messages with Falun Gong information. He appeared in the Sanshui District Court of Foshan City on February 5, 2018 and was convicted at the end of the hearing.
Mr. Zhang Lilong, Ms. Liu Fengxiang, Mr. Zhao Li, and Ms. Wang Guiping were arrested on April 17, 2016 for filing criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong. The four practitioners appeared in court on March 28, 2017. They were convicted almost a year later.
Mr. Zhang was sentenced to five years, Ms. Liu three and a half years, Mr. Zhao to two and a half years, and Ms. Wang to one and a half years in early February 2018. Three practitioners are appealing their cases, while Ms. Wang has returned home after finishing her term.
Ms. Fan Wenxiu was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on February 9, 2018.
Ms. Fan was arrested on September 1, 2017 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. Her brother's home, which she shared with him and their mother, was ransacked.
Ms. Fan appeared in court on February 1, 2018 and was convicted eight days later.
Ms. Xiao Rong was arrested on January 12, 2018 and issued a formal arrest warrant on February 8.
This is not the first time that the 59-year-old woman has been targeted for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. She was detained for 15 days in 2000 and for 34 days in 2016.
She was seized again shortly after the new year in 2018. Her lawyer, Mr. Zhao, visited her at Hantai District Detention Center on February 12. She told him that three people from the local procuratroate questioned her on January 25 and issued an arrest warrant against her two weeks later.
Mr. Tong Yueliang has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
Mr. Tong was arrested on March 20, 2017 and appeared in court on December 1.
His lawyer received a copy of Mr. Tong's verdict on February 12, 2018 and immediately informed his family. The local court indicated that Mr. Tong was given the original verdict ten days earlier. The lawyer suspected that the court deliberately delayed giving him a copy, as defendants are only given 10 days to file appeals.
Mr. Tong's family hired a new lawyer to file an appeal on February 13.
Ms. Tao Yuzhen was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. She is now appealing her case.
Ms. Tao was arrested on June 28, 2016. Many other Falun Gong practitioners were seized on the same day. The police confiscated Ms. Tao's Falun Gong books, two printers, one laptop and more than 10,000 yuan in cash.
Ms. Tao was issued a formal arrest warrant in August 2016. The local procuratorate filed a request to modify the charge against her in October 2017. Her family suspected that the local court didn't have enough evidence to convict her so the procuratorate fabricated more prosecution evidence. She was convicted months later.
Ms. Xiu, former accountant for the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission of Guanghan City was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in 2012. Her employer denied her right to file for retirement after she was released. She had to find another job to make ends meet.
Ms. Xiu, 59, was arrested on February 11, 2018 while riding a bus to work. She remains at the Anjing Detention Center. Her family was told she would be detained for 30 days.
The local Bailianchi Police Station was responsible for her latest arrest.
Three Falun Gong practitioners were tried on November 28, 2017. They are still awaiting verdicts.
Ms. Xu Yongzhi, 81, Ms. Xu Chunxian, 65, and Ms. Hu Qiong were arrested on April 7, April 9, and April 26, 2017, respectively. The first two women were released on bail on April 17, and Ms. Hu was released on bail on May 8, 2017.
They appeared in court together and testified in their own defense. Another local resident, Mr. Mao Delin, was also tried at the same time for selling copy papers to the three women and teaching them how to use printers. Mr. Mao, who was seized on June 13, 2017, and was released on bail on June 23.
Ms. Bi Qinghua has been sent to Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison to serve one and a half years for her faith.
Ms. Bi was arrested on May 27, 2017 while talking to people about Falun Gong. Her family refused to talk to other local Falun Gong practitioners, who only knew that she was kept at the Yaziquan Detention Center.
When practitioners went to the detention center on November 14, 2017 to deliver winter clothes to Ms. Bi, they learned that she had been transferred to prison.
Mr. Zhang Qinggui and Ms. Zhang Shengqin were arrested while posting posters about Falun Gong on the night of January 22, 2017. They were tried by Fengcheng Court on July 25, 2017.
They received verdicts on August 2. Mr. Zhang was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison while Ms. Zhang was sentenced to three and a half years. The two practitioners appealed to the Dandong Intermediate Court.
The intermediate court decided to uphold the original sentence on December 1, 2017. Ms. Zhang has been transferred to Liaoning Women’s Prison on January 16, 2018. Her family supported her efforts to continue appealing.