Name: Cao Gongxun (曹贡勋)
Gender: Male
Age: 59
Address: Loudi City, Hunan Province
Occupation: Employee of Lianyuan Steel Corporation
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 15, 2009
Most recent place of detention: Wangling Prison in You County (攸县网岭监狱)
City: Zhuzhou
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, extortion, fired from workplace, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, brainwashing.

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Cao Gongxun, Falun Gong practitioner from Loudi City, Hunan Province, was illegally sentenced to 10 years in prison and has been brutally persecuted in Wangling Prison of Zhuzhou You County, Hunan Province. During one of the torture sessions, the back of his head hit the ground very hard. He has been partially paralyzed ever since. The prison authorities refuse to release him even though he is in critical condition. Two inmates have been assigned to monitor him 24 hours a day, force-feed him unknown medicine and brainwash him on a daily basis.

Around 8 p.m. on November 28, 2011, a guard from the prison called Ms. Deng Lianzhen, a 72-year-old Falun Gong practitioner who knew Mr. Cao and was serving a probation term, and asked him to tell Mr. Cao's family to come as soon as possible, as Mr. Cao had severe hypertension.

On December 9, 2011, a guard from the prison called Mr. Cao's family and asked them to come again. When his family arrived at 8 p.m. the same day, they were not allowed to visit Mr. Cao. They were finally able to see him the next day. Mr. Cao was carried out by two inmates. He was emaciated and looked very different from before. He could not move one side of his body. After few minutes of visitation behind the glass, he was carried away. He was forced to claim that he fell and hit the back of his head, and that this had caused hypertension and stroke.

His family demanded the prison authorities to release him for medical treatment. The guards who met them shirked the responsibility and stated that “it would take time.” They then called another guard, who began slandering Falun Gong as soon as he came out. He stated, “If it were an ordinary inmate, he or she would be released by now, but since he practices Falun Gong and was sentenced to 10 years, he must serve at least 5 years, even if he needs medical treatment. If he dies here, we do not bear any responsibility.” He then told the family to leave money for Mr. Cao.

Mr. Cao and other practitioners illegally sentenced

Mr. Cao used to work at Lianyuan Steel Corporation in Loudi City. He was fired from his workplace for his refusal to stop practicing Falun Gong.

On January 28, 2002, Mr. Cao was arrested by policemen from Wutang Town Police Department in Taojiang County, Yiyang City, Hunan Province. He was held in Taojiang County Detention Center for 6 months. When he refused to cooperate with the guards, they instigated criminal detainees to torture him. However, these detainees changed their mind because of his kindness. The authorities attempted to sentence him to two years of forced labor. However, as he had hypertension, Xinkaipu Labor Camp refused to take him. The guards extorted thousands of yuan from his family before releasing him.

Around 9 p.m. on July 15, 2009, policemen from Loudi City arrested and ransacked the homes of numerous Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Cao, Ms. Deng, Mr. Liu Xinping, Mr. Zhou Qingfeng, and Mr. Ouyang Zhong. Mr. Cao and Mr. Liu were arrested at their rental home. Mr. Zhou was arrested at home that he shared with his elderly mother. She tried to protect him, but police took him away by force.

On March 12, 2010, Louxing District Court in Loudi City held an open trial for these practitioners, as well as practitioners He Jinlin, Li Zhaiying, Xie Guirong, and Yuan Qiuti.

Two lawyers from Beijing, Zhang Chuanli and Lan Zhixue, defended the nine Falun Gong practitioners and stated that the so-called evidence against them was invalid, since (1) there was no warrant for the arrests, no witnesses, and no record of time and location, and (2) all of the items that were taken during the home raids belonged to to the defendants, (3) their Falun Gong-related materials did not endanger others, and it is not a crime to possess them. The lawyers pointed out that anyone with a basic knowledge of the law should know this and asked the prosecutors to read out loud the legal documentation regarding Falun Gong. The judge and the prosecutors were speechless. The lawyers then pointed out that according to established laws, it is legal to practice Falun Gong and to clarify the facts about the practice. Therefore, they asked the court to release the nine practitioners immediately.

The Louxing District National Domestic Security Team in Loudi fabricated evidence, accusing these nine practitioners as a group and listing Mr. Cao Gongxun and Mr. Liu as leaders. The Louxing District Court then secretly sentenced them: Mr. Cao to 10 years, Mr. Liu to 9 years, Mr. Zhou to 5 and half years, Mr. Ouyang to 3 and half years, and He Jinlin to 2 years in prison. Ms. Deng, Xie Guirong, Li Zhaiying and Yuan Qiuti were given four years of probation. If they violate terms of the probation, they would be imprisoned for three years.

The Falun Gong practitioners appealed the verdict, but on December 5, 2010, the middle-level court rejected the appeal, upholding the original verdict.

On March 8, 2011, Mr. Cao, Mr. Liu, Mr. Zhou, and Mr. Ouyang were secretly transferred to Wanglin Prison. Recently, Mr. Liu was transferred to Changsha Prison.

He Jinlin was released upon completing the 2-year term.

Background information

Ms. Deng Lianzhen was born on December 14, 1939 and retired from Loudilian Steel Corporation. She had tuberculosis before she began practicing Falun Gong. She suffered from swelling in her throat, very low blood platelets count, and poor vision. After practicing Falun Gong for a few months, her illnesses disappeared. Her neighbors and factory co-workers witnessed that she regained her health through practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Liu Xinping was born on March 5, 1972 in Xinjianghetian City. He was a policeman at Hetian Prison in Xinjiang. He was fired from work after being arrested for practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhou Qingfeng was born on June 18, 1974. He worked at Lianyuan Steel Corporation in Loudi. He was first arrested on January 26, 2002, while sending out materials clarifying the facts about Falun Gong, and his home was ransacked. He was subsequently fired from his job. He suffered all sorts of torture at the Loudi No. 2 Detention Center for one year, and was then sentenced to a 7-year prison term. When he was released on January 26, 2009, he was emaciated and very weak. In order to take care of his elderly mother, he had to do odd jobs to make a living.

Mr. Ouyang Zhong was born on January 12, 1950, in Fuquan City, Guizhou Province. He opened a medical clinic at Lianbinxi Street in Loudi. He has three children; two of them were in daycare at the time of his arrest.

Parties involved in the persecution:

Liu Deming, former warden. He was sentenced to Wanglin Prison for corruption.
Xu Biyan, deputy warden: +86-731-24806005 (office), +86-731-24806088 (home), +86-13017115529 (cell)

For additional people involved in the persecution, please see the original article in Chinese.