(Minghui.org) Two women in Chaoyang County were tried on April 27, 2017 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. The prosecutor recommended prison terms of three to seven years for each of the defendants.
This is not the first time that Ms. Li Guixia and Ms. Xie Baofeng have been targeted for their faith. Both of them had been imprisoned before, with Ms. Li, 53, given a 5-year prison term in 2002 and Ms. Xie a 10-year term in 2004.
Ms. Li and Ms. Xie both filed criminal complaints in 2015 against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in their past incarceration. The local police responded by arresting them again on September 30, 2016.
The prosecutor cited the two women’s lawsuits against Jiang as evidence for their alleged crime. He also included Falun Gong materials confiscated from Ms. Li and Ms. Xie as evidence against them.
The defense lawyers argued that it was within their clients' right to file criminal complaints against Jiang, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong. Moreover, they argued that the confiscated materials were the defendants’ lawful possessions and caused no harm to any individual or society at large.
The lawyers also pointed out the police’s violation of legal procedures. There was only one signature on the case file, when multiple signatures from various officers involved in the case were required. Additionally, there was no request for detention as required by law.
Ms. Li and Ms. Xie testified how Falun Gong returned them to health and taught them to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Ms. Li also revealed how Officer Liang Shiwu sent her to the local detention center even though she failed the required medical examination.
Ms. Li and Ms. Xie are awaiting verdict at the local detention center.
Ms. Li’s Nightmare at Dabei Prison
Ms. Li once recounted her suffering during her five-year incarceration at Dabei Prison.
Sleep Deprivation
Team leader Zhao Xiumei instigated inmates Hu Chun and Li Fengrong to keep me from falling asleep at night. When I dozed off, another inmate named Feng Shuhua poured a whole basin of cold water on my head, soaking my clothes. It was deep winter, and I couldn’t stop shivering. They also didn’t give me any bathroom tissue. When I did find a small piece of paper on the ground, it was snatched away by inmate Wang Min.
Marathon Beatings
I was constantly beaten for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. Guard Guo Haiyan once cuffed me to a water pipe in the washroom and shocked me with electric batons. She next ordered inmates Wang Xia and Bi Zhiyuan to beat me all over my body. I passed out, only to have cold water poured all over me. As soon as I came to, the beating continued. Yu Zhihua and Zheng Liying deliberately struck me in the groin. I had trouble urinating for days.
Another round of brutal beatings came days later and lasted more than three weeks. Inmates Yu Zhihua, Wang Min, Zheng Liying, and Zhang Zhaocui dragged me to the washroom and stuffed my mouth with a dirty rag. Wang used a wooden board to hit me until it broke. Zheng pinched me so hard that a piece of flesh from my torso fell off. Guard Tang Ying heard the commotion but said nothing upon noticing what was going on.
The inmates kept me sitting for a whole night in a pool of dirty water that was up to my ankles. I was having my period at the time. Yu even scooped up some dirty water to smear into my mouth.
Guards Zhao Xiumei and Guo Naijuan issued an order the next morning for inmates to take turns beating me every night. They moved me to a cell without surveillance cameras. Wang Min rubbed the soles of her shoes against my eyes, while Wang Min pinched my hand hard.
The marathon beatings didn’t stop until the May 1 national holiday, when the guards took time off.
Diagnosed with tuberculous peritonitis
I began to experience acute pain in my abdomen in October 2004 and quickly lost my appetite. I felt like my intestines would burst every time I tried to stand up. My abdomen felt hard to the touch, and my legs were extremely swollen. I also developed a yellowish complexion.
The doctors who examined me were shocked when I told them that some inmates once stomped on my abdomen. They referred me to a few other hospitals, which all returned the same diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis.
No Time to Recover from Symptoms
I was hospitalized for more than three months before being taken back to prison on March 16, 2005. Guard An Rui put me in solitary confinement and ordered two inmates to watch me around the clock. They gave me only steamed buns every day, one in the morning and the other in the evening. I was only allowed to use the restroom every three hours.
On the eighth day, I was sent back to the hospital. The guards brought me back to prison on December 12, 2005. For the next 34 days, I was forced to sleep on a brick floor without any bed covers.
When other inmates went to do hard labor every day, Yang Lan and Zhang Wei began to beat me for hours on end. My protest only invited more beatings. They once covered my mouth with my sweater and taped it tightly. I struggled to breathe.
Ms. Xie Once Incarcerated for 10 Years
Simply for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, Ms. Xie was made to serve two years of forced labor and ten years in prison. At Dabei Prison, she was forced to do hard labor without pay for more than 10 hours a day. A guard once grabbed her hair and slammed her head against a heater.
Related Reports:
Preschool Teacher Denied Medical Parole, Facing Trial for Her FaithAt Least 14 Practitioners Arrested in Chaoyang County for Suing Jiang ZeminPolice Chief Lines Own Pockets While Arresting Falun Gong PractitionersI Demand the Release of My Daughter-in-Law Xie Baofeng
