(Minghui.org) Ms. Bie Lihua, a resident of Shuangliao City, Jilin Province, was recently sentenced to five years imprisonment for practicing Falun Gong, a peaceful meditation that has been suppressed by the communist party since July 1999. She is currently held at Changchun Women's Prison in Jilin Province.
Arrested at Work with Coworkers Briefly Detained
The arrest of Ms. Bie occurred at her workplace of Shuangliao Power Plant on October 9, 2017. Xu Qiang, director of Domestic Security Bureau in Shuangliao, and Liaoxi Police Station officers participated in the arrest. They also ransacked her residence and confiscated personal items.
During the arrest, a manager at Ms. Bie's workplace tried to stop the police, saying that she was innocent. Xu took the manager into custody as well.
When police checked Ms. Bie's backpack, a coworker, who tried to protect Ms. Bie, said the backpack belonged to her instead. An officer asked her what was in the bag and she could not reply. The officer then detained the coworker for 15 days.
First detained at Shuangliao Detention Center, Ms. Bie was later transferred to Siping Detention Center. Her family hired an attorney, but detention center officials barred Ms. Bie from meeting the attorney. A guard also threatened to put Ms. Bie's husband on the wanted list.
After Shuangliao Procuratorate charged Ms. Bie, she appeared in Tiedong Court in Siping City on April 11, 2018. Judges from Shuangliao Court presided over the trial.
Ms. Bie's family inquired about her case status after the court hearing. They reiterated that she broke no law by holding firm to her practice of Falun Gong. A court official said that Falun Gong cases were treated differently from non-practitioners.
Officer Xu ignored Ms. Bie's loved ones when they turned to him to request her release.
Ms. Bie was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan on August 2, 2018.
Tragedy of Family Members
Ms. Bie is not the only one in her extended family to have been targeted for their belief in Falun Gong.
Her husband, Mr. Chu Guiyan, was first arrested in October 2000 when he went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was held at a detention center, followed by Siping Labor Camp in May 2001 and Yinma Labor Camp in August 2001.
After Mr. Chu's nephew put up a poster reading “Falun Dafa is good” in December 2002, police arrested the nephew, Mr. Chu's father, and Ms. Bie. Ms. Bie was sent to Heizuizi Labor Camp with a two-year term, while the other two were each given one year of forced labor at Chaoyanggou Labor Camp—where Mr. Chu was serving two years following his second arrest in January 2002. “Were it not for your four-year-old grandson, we would have detained you too,” said one officer to Mr. Chu's mother.
Mr. Chu went to Changchun City in March 2006 to find a job. Police arrested him weeks later, on March 29, and kept him at the Tiebei Detention Center, where he was force-fed and tortured in many other ways. Later he was sent to Chaoyanggou Labor Camp and then Weizigou Labor Camp before being released in October 2007.
The fourth arrest of Mr. Chu took place on September 16, 2009, and he was sent to Siping Brainwashing Center.
Mr. Chu's older brother, Mr. Chu Guiren, suffered even harsher mistreatment. Previously working at Hongguand Farm, he was arrested and detained shortly after the persecution started in July 1999. Numerous times, police and local officials detained his wife, confiscated their land, and fined them a large amount of money. The physical and mental abuse led to uremia, kidney stones, and other syndromes, which eventually claimed his life in January 2005. He was 46.
Key Responsible Personnel:
Xu Qiang, director of Shuangliao Domestic Security Bureau, +86-434-7306130, +86-18543418355Liaoxi Police Station in Shuangliao City: +86-434-7306125Wang Jinying: Presiding judge of Shuangliao Court, +86-18628788029
Related Reports:
Additional Persecution News from China – February 19, 2019 (20 Reports)
