The widow of a well-known musician and Falun Gong adherent who died from abuse in police custody has recently been sentenced by a Beijing court to three years in prison. Ms. Xu Na, 40, an award-winning artist, was sentenced by Beijing's Chongwen District Court in a hearing that lasted 15 minutes, according to news reports and sources inside China. Her husband Yu Zhou, a popular folk band member, died in police custody in February.

Ms. Qiu Yuxia was arrested by the Jiamusi 610 Office and the Jiamusi City Domestic Security Team on July 2, 2008, while she was hiring a lawyer to make an appeal for her imprisoned daughter Ms. Ma Duo, who is also a practitioner. She has since been imprisoned and tortured.

FDI: Widow of Olympic Torture Victim Sentenced to Three Years for Practicing Falun Gong

Falun Dafa Information Center(View article as web page: http://faluninfo.net/article/833/)

26 Nov 2008

Xu Na, pictured here, was sentenced to three years in prison. In February, 2008, her husband died in police custody.

New York--The widow of a well-known musician and Falun Gong adherent who died from abuse in police custody was sentenced by a Beijing court to three years in prison Tuesday.

Ms. Xu Na, 40, an award-winning artist, was sentenced by Beijing's Chongwen District Court in a hearing that lasted 15 minutes, according to news reports and sources inside China.

Her husband Yu Zhou, a popular folk band member, died in police custody in February, just eleven days after being detained with Xu at one of many check-points set up throughout Beijing in an effort to stamp out dissent before the Olympics. (see London Times, Amnesty International submission to United Nations)

Xu was charged Tuesday with "using a heretical organization to undermine implementation of the law," a vague provision of the penal code commonly used to sentence Falun Gong adherents to prison terms of up to 12 years. (Amnesty report)

At the center of the charges were 53 documents and eight computer disks of Falun Gong-related material, her lawyer Mr. Cheng Hai told AFP. (news)

"Xu Na's sentencing and her husband's death are a stark reminder that every Falun Gong practitioner, no matter how well-educated, non-violent, or well-known, is at risk of arrest, imprisonment and even death in China today."

"That a woman could be sentenced to three years in prison for carrying a few leaflets and practicing her spiritual belief illustrates the fundamental injustice and arbitrariness of the Chinese legal system under the Communist Party," says Falun Gong spokesman Erping Zhang.

Xu's parents were reportedly allowed to attend the hearing, but many others who wished to observe were denied entry. According to the lawyer Mr. Cheng, Xu intends to appeal.

Xu's sentencing comes as a blow to her family, particularly since she was only released in 2006 after serving a five-year sentence for having lent her apartment to Falun Gong adherents traveling to Beijing to appeal to the authorities for an end to the persecution campaign. While in detention, she was reportedly subjected to torture, including beatings, sleep deprivation, forced-feeding, and being tied into uncomfortable positions for hours.

Xu is one of over 8,000 Falun Gong practitioners detained during the months leading up to the Olympics, many of whom remain in custody and face sentencing to prison or "re-education through labor" camps. (news)

The Falun Dafa Information Center is calling on the international community to:

• Urge the Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Xu Na, raising her case at every opportunity with officials from both the central and municipal government.
• Take action to support and protect lawyers such as Mr. Cheng Hai, who have stepped forward to defend Falun Gong adherents and face consistent pressure from the Chinese authorities for doing so.
• Implement regulations acknowledging the danger facing Falun Gong adherents in China in order to facilitate their ability to obtain refuge upon escape from the country.

Background

Founded in 1999, the Falun Dafa Information Center is a New York-based organization that documents the rights violations of adherents of Falun Gong (or "Falun Dafa") taking place in the People's Republic of China. In July of 1999 China's autocratic Communist Party launched an unlawful campaign of arrests, violence, and propaganda with the intent of "eradicating" the apolitical practice; it is believed certain leaders feared the influence of the practice' 100 million adherents. The campaign has since grown in violence and scope, with millions having been detained or sent to forced labor camps. The Center has verified details of over 3,000 deaths and over 63,000 cases of torture in custody (reports / sources). Falun Gong is a traditional-style Buddhist "qigong" practice, with roots in the Chinese heritage of cultivating the mind/body for health and spiritual growth.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER

Contacts: Gail Rachlin (+1 917-757-9780), Levi Browde (+1 646-415-0998), Erping Zhang (+1 646-533-6147), or Joel Chipkar (+1 416-709-8678)

Fax: 646-792-3916 Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

Daughter Illegally Sentenced, Mother Suffers Brutal Persecution for Making Appeal

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Qiu Yuxia was recently illegally sentenced to three years in prison by the Jiamusi Middle Court, and she is now imprisoned in the Women's Prison of Heilongjiang Province. Ms. Qiu was arrested by the Jiamusi 610 Office and the Jiamusi City Domestic Security Team on July 2, 2008, while she was hiring a lawyer to make an appeal for her imprisoned daughter Ms. Ma Duo, who is also a practitioner. Ms. Qiu Yuxia is being tortured during her incarceration.

On May 23, during the Jiamusi Middle Court trial, Ms. Ma Duo was sentenced to three years imprisonment in the Women's Prison of Heilongjiang Province.

Ms. Qiu was previously imprisoned in Jiamusi City Forced Labor Camp for three years after November 20, 2000, where the guards tried to force practitioners to give up their beliefs. She was hung above the ground with her hands cuffed behind her back. As a result of this torture, she lost feeling in her hands. She could no longer care for herself and was almost permanently disabled.

Ms. Qiu was arrested while she was at home, at around 6:50 a.m. on December 13, 2007. At around the same time, her daughter was also seized by police from her workplace, the Jiamusi Mobile Communications Company. At around 3.00 p.m., Ms. Qiu and her daughter Ms. Ma were both transferred to the detention center.

On December 29, 2007, Ms. Qiu's family was told to go to Changhong Police Station. Ms. Qiu's blood pressure rose up to 200 during her physical examination in the detention center. Given her precarious condition, the detention center ordered her family to pay 20,000 yuan for her release. The detention center authorities said that if her family paid the full amount, that she would supposedly be released at 3:00 p.m., and if they paid 10,000 yuan, she would not be released until 6:00 p.m. Negotiations lasted all night, and in the end, the detention center accepted 1,000 yuan.

On January 14, 2008, Ms. Qiu's family was told that the 610 Office planned to arrest Ms. Ma again and give her a heavy sentence. Ms. Qiu was forced to leave home to avoid arrest, but she had nowhere to stay. In order to help her daughter, Ms. Qiu wrote an open letter asking people to "help stop such crimes from occurring and to protect kindness." In the letter, she also described the torture she experienced in the detention center.

Ms. Ma was sentenced to three years in prison by the Jiamusi Suburban Court. Ms. Qiu and her family have appealed the verdict, and they hired an attorney from Beijing to defend Ms. Ma. Ms. Ma's friends and family went to Jiamusi City Middle Court with the attorney at around 11:00 a.m. on July 2, 2008.

They were trying to look for Song Peixia to deliver Ma Duo's personal records to her. Song Peixia said that she had no time in the morning and made them come back in the afternoon at 1:15 p.m. In the afternoon, Ms. Ma's attorney, her family, and friends returned to look for Song. They found that the Jiamusi City's Domestic Security Team and its 610 Office member Chen Wanyou were there.

When they went to Song's office, Song was very rude and ordered them to leave, with only the attorney being allowed to stay. Ms. Ma Duo's family and friends had to wait outside. Song talked with the attorney for a while and then asked him to photocopy her personal records. She specifically asked him to go to a particular office in the building and nowhere else. Throughout the process, she was slowed down by deliberate delays, and they forced the attorney to spend a large amount of time on minute technical issues. In the end, she took 20 yuan worth of photocopying fees and refused to give a receipt.

Throughout this process, Chen Wanyou was making calls on his cell phone. He called more people who were involved in the persecution. Song also made calls until 3:00 p.m. and said that they should leave.

As they approached the gate, they realized that it was surrounded by many policemen. Liu Yan, head of the Jiamusi 610 Office, brought his squad, including Wang Fujin, Yin Zuqiang, Yu Zhiyong, Lou Jiangling, and others. People from the Jiamusi Public Security Bureau, Qianjin Division Bureau, Yonghe Detention Center, Jiamusi Rural Division Bureau, and Changhong Detention Center were all present.

The policemen grabbed the attorney's arms and attempted to take him away. The attorney warned them not to, so they forcibly took him to an isolated room in the building. At the same time, Ms. Ma's family and friends were forcibly taken to Changhong Detention Center.

An older lady, who was a witness to this incident, was also taken to Changhong Detention Center by the police. After more than two hours, the attorney was allowed to leave.

Before this happened, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Chen Wanyou and four other policemen had already detained Ms. Qiu, who was waiting for the attorney at the Jiamusi Central Hospital. They also detained three of her friends and brought them to Changhong Detention Center. Ms. Qiu and a friend were handcuffed there.

In Jiamusi City Detention Center, Ms. Qiu held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, and she was on the brink of death due being tortured several times. Jiamusi City Detention Center still refused to release her.

Her family and friends hired a lawyer to make an appeal for the second trial in the Jiamusi Middle Court. The Jiamusi Middle Court however, didn't inform the lawyer of the trial date, and the court upheld the original sentence without the lawyer, Ms. Qiu's family, or her friends present. Ms. Ma was then taken to the Women's Prison in Heilongjiang Province.

Ms. Qiu has been sentenced to three years imprisonment, and her family was not notified. She is to be sent to the Women's Prison of Heilongjiang Province soon.

Ms. Qiu Yuxia's younger sister, Ms. Qiu Yufen, was also arrested when she went to the courthouse with her sister and the attorney. Later, her family was ordered to pay 1,000 yuan, and she was forced to sign the fabricated documents in order to be released. Six days later however, Ms. Qiu Yufen was taken from her workplace, the 1st Hospital affiliated to Jiamusi University. The authorities seized her under the pretext that they "needed to talk to her." It was clear that the Jiamusi Rural Division Bureau and the security section, where she was working, were all involved in her arrest.