(Minghui.org) Beijing University of Technology lecturer and Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhuang Yanhong was arrested in her office by police from the Chaoyang District Police Station on October 18, 2012. She has been illegally sentenced to forced labor for two and a half years. This is the 7th time that Ms. Zhuang has been arrested and persecuted for upholding her belief.
Ms. Zhuang was born with only one kidney. From childhood, she was very weak. After she grew up, she had severe headaches and nephritis. Because of her poor health, it was very difficult for Ms. Zhuang to do her school assignments. After Ms. Zhuang attended a Falun Gong seminar in 1994, all of her diseases disappeared within 9 days. Afterwards, she started to practice Falun Gong and conducted herself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She treated people around her kindly and worked very hard. As a result, her students and colleagues have a very good impression of her.
After Ms. Zhuang was arrested, her colleagues were indignant because of the Communist authorities' persecution against such a nice person. Everyone who knows her is very sympathetic and they all suggested that Ms. Zhuang's family members try to protect her through legal procedures.
Since February of this year, using the 18th Party Congress as an excuse, the Political and Judiciary Committee and 610 Office have arrested many practitioners in Beijing and sentenced them to prison or forced labor camp. After Ms. Zhuang was arrested on October 18, she was detained at the Chaoyang District Detention Center without any explanation of why she was being detained.
On November 20, Ms. Zhuang's family members went to the detention center to ask for information about her case. The police told them that there is a ten-day period for her to appeal the sentence. However, by the time the family was informed about the sentence, it was the last day to lodge an appeal. The police never gave any notice to either Ms. Zhuang or her family members. Ms. Zhuang herself didn't have any idea of what was taking place.
After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, Ms. Zhuang was persecuted several times because she remained steadfast in practicing Falun Gong. This is the second time that she was sentenced. The first time was before the Communist regime's 17th Party Congress, when she was sentenced to two years. Both times, the authorities implemented a campaign of state-wide violence and terrorism using the excuse of protecting “social stability” during the lead-up to the Congress.
The Beijing authorities followed no legal procedures in illegally sentencing Ms. Zhuang: no court hearing, no statement of defense from the defendant, and no court trial for the sentence. This completely violates China's most basic legal procedures and the principle of the rule of law.
Ms. Zhuang's family is very worried about her, as she was tortured in the Beijing Women's Forced Labor Camp. They all witnessed the amazing changes that she experienced after she started practicing Falun Gong. Her elderly parents are in poor health and need their daughter to take care of them.
Ms. Zhuang's family recently decided to demand an administrative reconsideration or administrative proceedings on the sentence, in an attempt to protect her basic human rights according to the law.
