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Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cao Dong from Beijing was arrested by National Security Agents on May 21, 2006 immediately after meeting with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament. Mr. McMillan-Scott had come to Beijing to investigate the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Cao Dong testified that Falun Gong practitioners were being cruelly tortured. By the end of September 2006, CCP officials secretly transfered Mr. Cao Dong to Gansu Province and detained him in the Detention Center of Gansu Province National Security Department located in Lanzhou City.

Because the CCP intensified the mistreatment of Cao Dong, Mr. McMillan-Scott wrote to the Chinese EU Ambassador, Guan Chengyuan, and urged him to immediately release Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cao Dong as well as human rights lawyer Mr. Gao Zhisheng.

1. Arrest Warrant Issued after Cao Dong Was Detained for Four Months

On September 30, 2006, after Mr. Cao Dong was detained for more than four months, Office Chair Wang Qinghua (male) of Qingyang City National Security Bureau in Gansu Province, led a group of officers to Mr. Cao's parent's home and read the arrest warrant as follows:

"Qinyang City National Security Bureau Arrest Notification

"Qingyang Security Bureau Arrest Notification Code [2006] #01

"According to Prosecuting Law, Article 59, approved by Qingyang City People's Procuratorate, the Security Bureau arrested Cao Dong, who had broken the law by engaging in [slanderous term omitted] activities at 3 p.m. on September 29, 2006. Cao Dong is currently detained in the Gansu Province National Security Bureau Detention Center.

"September 30, 2006 (Qingyang City National Security Bureau Seal)"

Wang Qinghua told Mr. Cao Dong's parents that their son's case was very serious, and they should not come to the Security Bureau since they would be notified if necessary. The Security Bureau never notified Mr. Cao's wife in Beijing. They did not even make a phone call.

On November 1, 2006, Wang Qinghua gave some of Mr. Cao Dong's personal belongings to his mother and told her that Mr. Cao Dong's case would be transferred to the Prosecuting Office of Qingyang City Procuratorate in a couple of days. He said that if the family wanted to hire a lawyer, now was a good time. He personally thought that hiring a lawyer was better, but Mr. Cao Dong already stated his wishes through Wang Qinghua to tell his parents not to hire a lawyer because he wanted to defend himself. Wang Qinghua threatened Mr. Cao Dong's parents, saying that if Mr. Cao Dong said, "Falun Dafa is good," even once, his term would be extended by two and a half years.

2. Illegally Sentenced, the Case Controlled by Upper Levels

According to an inside source, although Mr. Cao's case was ostensibly handled by Qingyang City National Security Bureau, it is in fact completely controlled by the Security Bureau in Beijing and is only being handled by Gansu Province on the surface. The reasons are that first of all, Gansu is located in the west, so it is easy to block information from quickly spreading. Secondly, they are trying to force Mr. Cao Dong to write something like a Statement of Disassociation, Letter of Regret, etc. in order to deceive the international community. Since Mr. Cao's case has an international influence, no one can make decisions about it except at the highest level.

During the time period that Mr. Cao Dong's family was seeking a lawyer, they were closely monitored, followed, had their personal safety severely threatened, and were under a great deal of mental pressure. It was very hard to find a lawyer that dared to defend Mr. Cao Dong. The lawyer fee was so high, plus travel costs. Some lawyers required eight thousand to ten thousand yuan to begin with. All of these lawyers were brainwashed by the CCP or threatened, so they were compelled to speak from the CCP's standpoint. In the end, Mr. Cao's family failed to hire a lawyer.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li Feng from Anguo City, Hebei Province was sentenced to 15 years in prison for broadcasting truth clarification videos. He was held at the No. 4 Prison in Hebei Province, which is also called the Beijiao Prison in Shijiazhuang City, and savagely tortured. He was administered with unknown drugs against his will, resulting in a partial loss of hearing and eyesight. He had lost the ability to think for many days. He was subjected to brainwashing until he suffered a nervous breakdown. He fainted abruptly twice and also went into convulsions and suffered from periodic cardiac arrhythmia, shortness of breath, dizziness and general weakness. He had persistent high blood pressure and symptoms of heart disease since March 2005. He was in critical condition, and his family asked for his release on medical parole. The prison authorities refused the petition because he did not "reform." Following are further details.

Mr. Li Feng was illegally arrested on October 4, 2002 in Mazhuang Village, Anguo City, Hebei Province for broadcasting Falun Gong truth clarification videos on the local cable TV system. Yaoshi Police Station head Li Dongfu in Anguo City asked Li Feng how much money he had with him, and how much money he had at home. He threatened Mr. Li Feng by telling him that the provincial government had issued an order regarding Mr. Li and other Falun Gong practitioners who took part in the broadcast that they could be executed.

Mr. Li Feng was taken to Shifuo Township Police Station and was brutally beaten by officers from Hebei Province Police Department and Anguo City Police Department, and then taken to Anguo City Police Department. He was tortured and intimidated during interrogation. He was tied in a metal chair for five days and five nights, during which time he was not allowed to sleep, and he was also brutally beaten.

Mr. Li Feng refused to cooperate with the police. Li Dongfu and other police officers forced Li Feng to ingest a piece of unknown medication that resembled a candy bar. Soon afterwards, Mr. Li lost his hearing and eyesight, and to this day his vision is blurry. The drugs impaired his ability to think for many days.

Mr. Li was held at Xushui Detention Center between October 2002 and October 2003. The lawless officials secretly obtained Li Feng’s home phone number and asked for money and things from Mr. Li Feng’s family while pretending to be Li Feng. The family sent the requested money and items to the detention center, and they were listed under Li Feng’s name, but Li Feng never once saw the items and the officials spent all the money.

The Xushui Court in Baoding, Hebei Province illegally tried 17 Falun Gong practitioners including Li Feng on July 15, 2003. The court forbade the presence of defense lawyers and forced the practitioners to sign legal documents. Verdicts were issued two months later. Falun Gong practitioners appealed and went on hunger strikes. Several days later, authorities of Xushui Detention Center feared exposure of the trial and secretly notified Baoding officials to take action.

Baoding Intermediate Court tried Falun Gong practitioners overnight on October 11, 2003 and announced the next day that the original verdict was to be upheld. During the trial, Falun Gong practitioners were not allowed to speak. Mr. Li Feng and several other practitioners were sent to Baoding Prison on October 16, and they continued their hunger strike to protest the unlawful verdict. Four practitioners including Li Feng were sent to a brainwashing class held at the No. 4 Prison of Hebei Province in October. Official Feng Fuli at the brainwashing class psychologically tortured Li Feng until he suffered a nervous breakdown and he would cry and laugh suddenly. His condition improved several days later, but he was left with a blunted ability to think. The officials closely monitored him despite his condition.

Li Feng passed out twice in May and June 2004 due to weakness, and he also developed seizures. His blood pressure was as high as 180 and he didn’t want to eat for more than one month after the first seizure episode. He had several other attacks in March 2005, during which he experienced symptoms such as panic, shortness of breath, general weakness, exhaustion, abdominal heaviness during urination and defecation, high blood pressure, and some other dangerous symptoms. The prison authorities refused to give him medical treatment or a physical exam. Mr. Li Feng suffered an attack of the illness every 20 days at 4 p.m. The severity of each episode varies and sometimes it’s accompanied by dizziness.

Mr. Li Feng’s body was again in danger in mid January 2006. He was unconscious for 12 hours and he had symptoms of coronary artery disease. He was treated for two days at the hospital and he could not eat for more than ten days.

The terrible living conditions at the prison, constant brainwashing, psychological torture, slave labor, poor diet, and cold weather have all contributed to Mr. Li Feng’s deteriorating health. Li Feng wore only one layer of clothes during his first winter at the prison. The prison authorities refused to give Mr. Li Feng any coat, saying his family didn’t deliver money for him at the prison. Mr. Li Feng is now skin and bones and his life is in danger.

Mr. Li Feng has had persistent dangerously high blood pressure and heart disease since his first attack in March 2005. The prison authorities strictly block information and do not allow Li Feng’s family to meet or call him.

Li Feng’s wife was anxious when she heard about his condition. She went to many doctors and was told Mr. Li Feng could die at any time. She went to the prison many times and begged the guards to let Mr. Li Feng go to a hospital. She also wrote letters to the Bureau for Letters and Calls. The prison authorities not only didn’t release him, they told local national security officers in Anguo City to intimidate Mr. Li Feng's family members at home and they tried to arrest Mr. Li Feng’s wife. Li Feng’s father drove away the officers.

Guards Zhao Jun and Wang Lei who were assigned to watch Li Feng said, "According to the Communist Party’s rules, Mr. Li Feng should be allowed to get medical parole, but he refused to "reform," so he must be held here."

Falun Gong practitioners incarcerated at No. 4 Prison of Hebei Province are tortured long-term. They are locked in solitary confinement cells, subjected to brainwashing, physically tortured, forced to do lengthy slave labor and to ingest rotten food. The practitioners held there suffer from poor health, many of them developed high blood pressure and heart disease, and they often pass out due to weakness.

Falun Gong practitioner Yang Xiaojie from Shijiazhuang City died as a result of tortures he underwent at this prison. Yang Xiaojie, who was 40 years old, was skin and bones from torture and he had been bedridden for more than six months. His mother, in her 70s, asked to see him many times, but the prison authorities refused because he did not "reform." Each time, they lied to the old woman and told her Yang Xiaojie was in good health. They waited until he was on the brink of death to release him. He passed away a little more than 20 days after his release, and his mother and family were devastated. They have filed lawsuits against related officials at the prison. The international community strongly condemns the abuse and murder of innocent Falun Gong practitioners.