After being detained for four months, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Yizhi and Ms. Bau Hongzhen were secretly sentenced two and five years in prison, respectively.
Mr. Liu Yizhi and Ms. Bai Hongzhen Secretly Sentenced in Prison
On the morning of August 6, 2008, Falun Gong practitioners Liu Yizhi and Bai Hongzhen were illegally tried at Xunyang District Court in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. When their family member4s went to court for the hearing, they were body searched. The trial only lasted less than one hour. After the trial, their families did not hear any news until the 1st of November. Liu Yizhi phoned home telling his family that he had been secretly sentenced to two years in prison; Bai Hongzhen was sentenced to five years. On October 21, they were transferred to Hongdu Prison in Xinjian County.
Falun Gong practitioners Liu Yizhi and Bai Hongzhen have been persecuted since July 20, 1999. They have been illegally arrested on different occasions. Mr. Bai Hongzhen was tortured in a mental institution.
Around 9:00 pm on April 28, 2008, along with police officer Kong Jiang and other two, the Domestic Security Team Leader Li Ming of Xunyang Police Station broke into Bai Hongzhen's home. They beat Bai Hongzhen to the ground with a thick rope, and then tied her legs and arms together. The police also abducted Liu Yizhi, who was visiting Bai Hongzhen at that time. Wang Yonggen, the security director of the 2nd Construction Company, and guard Ma Daorong were also on the site and involved in the abduction.
Mr. Liu Yizhi's mother is over 80 years old, and his son was a student. They are all in need of financial support. Now, his family has to rely on his wife's small business as their sole source of income.