(Minghui.org) Mr. Shi Jianwei was sentenced to 6.5 years in September 2016 for suing Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the Chinese communist regime who ordered the persecution of his faith in Falun Gong in 1999.
Since two years ago, the Yunnan Province No.1 Prison has been denying Mr. Shi family visitation. On August 25, 2021, his family received a call from the prison that Mr. Shi was suspected of having liver cancer and had been taken to the prison hospital. He had lost more than 20 pounds in recent months and was in critical condition, yet the prison still refused to release him on medical parole or allow his family to visit him, citing the pandemic and Mr. Shi’s refusal to renounce Falun Gong.
Mr. Shi, an English teacher, and his wife, Ms. Xiao Zhu, a physical education teacher, both worked at Binchuan County No.1 Middle School in Yunnan Province. With the onset of the persecution of their shared faith in 1999, both of them were barred from teaching. They were arrested multiple times and held in detention centers, forced labor camps and brainwashing centers. When both of them were detained, their daughter Shi Jia, then a second grader, was left alone at home and relied on the care of other local practitioners.
Latest Arrest for Suing Dictator
Officers from the Binchuan County Domestic Security Office went to Mr. Shi’s home at 4:30 p.m. on September 7, 2015. As soon as they broke in, they held Mr. Shi and his daughter on the ground and beat them. Then they took the couple and their daughter to the Binchuan County Police Department and confiscated some personal belongings including, their door key and car key.
The interrogation of the family of three lasted for a day. The police tried to force the daughter to report her parents’ lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and threatened to sentence her if she didn’t comply. She refused to say a word and was released at 6:30 p.m. on September 8.
Mr. Shi was then taken to Binchuan County Detention Center and Ms. Xiao to Dalizhou Detention Center. In order to collect evidence against them, the police ransacked the homes of over ten local practitioners that they thought were in contact with the couple. The practitioners’ Falun Gong books and information materials were confiscated. Some practitioners and their family members were also interrogated and asked questions against the couple.
Couple Sentenced to 6.5 and 5 Years, Respectively
Ms. Shi and Ms. Xiao were tried by the Xiangyun County Court on June 23, 2016. Both the husband and wife insisted they were innocent and didn’t do anything wrong in practicing their faith or speaking out about it.
Mr. Shi testified that he was beaten three times in the basement of the police department by over ten officers. He said that the police twisted his arm backwards, kicked him in the back and on the stomach, as well as stomped his head. Ms. Xiao revealed that the police threatened her with their daughter’s personal safety in an attempt to extract a confession from her.
In the closing statement, both Mr. Shi and Ms. Xiao recounted their experience in practicing Falun Gong and the benefits they received from it.
The judge sentenced Mr. Shi to 6.5 years at Yunnan Province No.1 Prison and Ms. Xiao to 5 years at Yunnan Province No.2 Women’s Prison.
Several Practitioners Tortured to Death at Yunnan Province No.1 Prison
According to information collected by Minghui, several practitioners have been tortured to death in Yunnan Province No.1 Prison, including Mr. Fang Zhengping, Mr. Luo Jiangping and Mr. Liao Jianfu.
While details of the deaths of Mr. Fang and Mr. Liao remain to be investigated, it’s known that Mr. Luo was injected with toxic drugs, held in solitary confinement and forced to do intensive labor in the prison. Just three months into his term, he developed advanced cirrhosis and was released on medical parole on December 23, 2013 in critical condition. He passed away five days later, at the age of 51.
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