(Minghui.org) A man in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, has been denied family visits after he was taken to Jinzhou Prison in September 2021 to serve a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong. His family is worried that he is being tortured and abused while under strict management for not renouncing his faith.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Deng Yulin was arrested on May 23, 2019, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. He was sentenced to four years with a 20,000-yuan fine by the Huanren County Court on September 4, 2020. He appealed to the Benxi City Court, which ruled to uphold his original verdict on November 17, 2020.
In October 2021, one month after Mr. Deng was admitted to Jinzhou Prison, Zhang Xue, the warden of the ninth ward, ordered two guards to beat him. When his family repeatedly asked to visit him, they were told to submit a letter from the local police to show that they don’t practice Falun Gong themselves. The prison also barred them from contacting him (by phone or mail) or making cash deposits for him to buy daily necessities.
The family argued that the prison violated the law by refusing to allow them to visit. They filed a criminal complaint against Zhang with the Liaoning Province Procuratorate on May 12, 2022. The procuratorate responded six days later that they had transferred the case to the Jinzhou City Procuratorate, which would contact them in seven business days.
Nineteen days later, on June 6, the family received a text message from the Jinzhou City Procuratorate, saying that their case had been moved to the Jinzhou Suburban District Procuratorate, and they should expect a response in seven business days.
Twelve days later on June 18, the family received a letter, dated June 15, from the Jinzhou Suburban District Procuratorate, which said that the case had been assigned to a prosecutor and they would provide updates in three months.
On June 27, Mr. Deng called his family and said he was doing fine. The call lasted five minutes.
The Jinzhou Prison Discipline Inspection Commission, with which the family also filed a complaint, called them on July 15, to say that the commission didn’t find that warden Zhang had violated any laws and that they could appeal the decision if they didn’t agree with it.
The family argued that Zhang clearly violated the law by denying their family visits for nearly a year. They asked the officer from the commission who called them his name. He refused to tell them and said, “This is our response to your case.”
Mr. Deng called his family again on July 23. As soon as they told him about the inspection commission’s response, a guard cut off the call, which only lasted two minutes.
The family contacted the Liaoning Provincial Prison Administration Bureau on July 28, 2022, complaining about the guard’s ending the call. They also questioned the bureau about the status of the complaint they filed against warden Zhang two months before. The bureau didn’t provide any updates and told the family to have patience and wait.
The bureau called back a day later, saying they had transferred the family’s complaint to the relevant department for investigation. They claimed that only Mr. Deng’s child was allowed to talk to him, so the guard had to hang up when an adult family member took over the phone and had an unauthorized conversation. The bureau also said that Mr. Deng was safe and wasn’t in any danger in the prison.
Mr. Deng’s family called the prison several times in March and April 2023, insisting they be allowed to visit him, but they were turned down each time with the prison authorities claiming that Mr. Deng is under strict management for not renouncing Falun Gong.
It’s not clear if the Jinzhou Suburban District Procuratorate ever issued a decision about the family’s complaint.
Mr. Deng is scheduled to be released on May 22, 2023. His family members are very concerned that he might be being tortured and are not sure he will be released on time.
Related report:
Liaoning Man Faces Intensified Torture While Serving Four Years for His Faith
Liaoning Man Imprisoned for His Faith
Four Liaoning Residents’ Appeals Against Wrongful Sentences Rejected, Families Seek Justice
Four Liaoning Residents Sentenced for Their Faith – Three Denied Family Visits for More Than a Year
Three Liaoning Residents Face Trial for Their Faith, Lawyers Threatened by Justice Bureau
Husband and Wife Arrested in 2004 Secretly Sentenced to Nine Years In Prison
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