Name: Zhang Xiaomei (张晓梅)
Gender: Female
Age: Late 40s
Address: Family residential area of the Pingchuan District Bureau of Townships, Baiyin City
Occupation: Former elementary school teacher
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 23, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Baiyin City Detention Center (白银看守所)
City: Baiyin
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Forced labor, brainwashing, home ransacked, detention

(Minghui.org) Officials from the Pingchuan District Court and the Procuratorate tried Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Xiaomei at West District Court in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, on May 23, 2012. A defense attorney entered a non-guilty plea for Ms. Zhang and requested her release. Ms. Zhang also defended herself. In the end, the presiding judge asked the attorney to leave a copy of the defense statement before adjourning the hearing.

Ms. Zhang has been held in the Baiyin Detention Center for over 3 months. She has been forced to do excessive work over the daily quota. Her hair has turned white, and she is very thin.

Ms. Zhang was illegally arrested by officers from the Honghui Police Station on February 23, 2012, as she distributed Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs in Honghui No.1 Coal Mine. She was sent to the Baiyin Detention Center at midnight that same day. The next day, the police ransacked her home.

Ms. Zhang Xiaomei was a teacher at the No.2 Elementary School affiliated with the former Jingyuan Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. She was well respected by parents and students. However, she was fired from her position because of her belief.

After Ms. Zhang explained the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution to her class in 2008, a student's parents reported her to the school authorities. She was then suspended from her teaching post and transferred to work in the Xinhua Bookstore for 3 months. Afterward, school officials suspended her wages. Ms. Zhang was forced to retire at age 43 because she remained steadfast in her belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the main principles of Falun Gong.

Ms. Zhang was previously arrested in 2009, when she distributed Falun Gong informational materials and Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs in Huangqiao. Officers Chen Jinpeng and Xing Feng from the Huangqiao Police Station made the arrest and took her to a local detention center. She was taken to the Yuzhong Forced Labor Camp 10 days later. However, the labor camp officials refused to accept her because she did not pass the physical examination, so she was brought back to the detention center. Subsequently, officer Liu Junrui and others from the Pingchuan District Domestic Security Division secretly sent her to the Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center, where she was held for more than 8 months.

Upon learning of Ms. Zhang's most recent arrest, Ms. Zhang's mother, in her 70s, became so worried that her blood pressure soared and she suffered cardiovascular complications.

Parties involved in the persecution:
Wu Xian, 610 Office agent: +86-18893011683
Baiyin Detention Center: +86-943-8616077
Guo Youping, head of the detention center

Niu Xiong, political head of the detention center

Zhu Kexia, head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Pingchuan District and head of the police department
Liu Junrui, deputy head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee

Please refer to the original Chinese article for additional parties involved in persecuting Ms. Zhang.