(Minghui.org) On July 25, 2012, officers Cui Huazhong and Yu Zhenfu from the Zhanqian Police Station in the Tiedoing District of Anshan City arrested Mr. Li Wenzhong, a farmer, at his home in Changlinzi Village, Liaoning Province.
Since then, he has been tortured to extract a confession and sentenced to four years of imprisonment on the basis of fabricated evidence. He is being held in Shenyang Prison.
His family was not notified before either his trial or his sentencing. Officials of the Qianshan District not only did not notify his family but also deprived him of the right to appeal to a higher level court.
The following is his wife's account of what Mr. Li endured. She demands his immediate release, compensation for what Mr. Li has suffered mentally and physically, the immediate return of cash and other personal belongings that were confiscated, compensation for goods damaged, and bringing those responsible to justice.
1. Police Break in, Arrest My Husband, Ransack Our Home
My husband, Mr. Li, has been living by the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He is kind and considerate to his parents and neighbors. He used money out of his own pocket to fix a road.
Before practicing Falun Gong, he often lost his temper. After he began to practice, his illnesses were healed and he became much easier to get along with. We have been married for more than 20 years, during which time he has endured many hardships, such as getting up early all year round to work. How can such a good person be wronged?
Falun Dafa is wonderful, and following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance benefits people. Remembering these words and being a good person by following them, one will receive good fortune. My husband wanted to become selfless by letting go of ego, putting others first, and having no pursuits in this world, so as to be able to return to his original, true self.
On July 25, 2012, at 1:15 p.m., several unknown people who offered no identification broke into our home to arrest my husband while he was resting. They dragged and pushed him, handcuffed him, and then forced him into their vehicle. As they were leaving, they finally told me that they came from the Tiedong Police Sub-Bureau. They came back around 4 p.m. when I was not there to ransack our home again. My mother-in-law was the only one present. They confiscated our computer, books, and other personal property. They searched all over the place and ended up pushing over my pile of firewood. Before they left, they gave my mother-in-law the phone number of Zhanqian Police Station.
I went to the police station several times to demand my husband's release. They swore at me and even tried to arrest me. My relatives stopped them. They even kicked out my 70-year-old mother-in-law after the official in charge of the police station said, "If you won't leave, I'll throw you out." Officer Cui Huazhong said, "For any other crime, you can bribe someone to get it settled, but that doesn't apply if you practice Falun Gong."
When I went in to demand his release the fifth time, they dragged me into the reception room, shoved me down on the floor, and handcuffed me. They slapped me hard, and the person in charge of the police station swore at me. Later they took me to the Tiedong Police Sub-Bureau to interrogate me. Only when they realized that they couldn't get anything out of me did they release me. Before I left, they warned me, "Don't you dare come again."
2. Family Not Notified of His Trial or Sentence, “Witness” Failed to Appear
On December 26, 2012, five months after my husband was first held at the No.1 Detention Center in Anshan City, I went to the police station again. The person in charge tried to brush me off. Police officer Cui Huazhong said, "You go home and wait." When I asked about where the case was, he said that it was with the court.
So I went to the court, where secretary Zeng Desheng handed me the official verdict. When I asked him when the trial had been held, he told me, "December 18." When he handed me the sentence notification, he said, "Bring this with you on visiting day. Then you can see him."
When I went on the 27th, I heard that he had been transferred out. Only after I asked around did I find out that he was transferred to Dabei Prison in Shenyang City. On the 28th, when I saw my husband, he told me that he had been transferred out on the day of the trial.
On March 14, 2013, he was transferred to Shenyang No.1 Prison. When I saw him, he said, "The shoes someone gave me didn't quite fit, so I couldn't walk properly, and I was punished because of that when doing the line-up." He was tortured terribly.
On April 15 when I went to see him, he said that he had been held in solitary and had been forced to sit on a small stool for more than 40 days. He was very hungry, and he mumbled.
I came four times in May and June and was not allowed to see him even once. He was held in solitary confinement, and because he was being pressured to give up his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he was tortured. A prison official said that I was not allowed to see him because he didn't admit his "crime." In the end, he couldn't endure the suffering and had to give in, yet I still wasn't allowed to see him. Not until my child and I went to the police station and asked them to issue a letter saying that we did not practice Falun Gong were we allowed to see him.
In mid-May 2013, when I carefully read the official sentence notification, I realized that it was inaccurate. It said that the trial date was November 13, 2012, whereas Li Wenzhong told us that my husband was transferred to prison on that day. Also the witness was listed as Wu Changping. But when I asked Wu, he said he was not a witness. Wu said, "We don't hate each other, you are nice people. Why would I report you?" On July 2, he went with me to the court, where people from the court and police station all said that they did not recognize him.
It is clear that officers Cui Huazhong and Yu Zhenfu from the Zhanqian Police Station used their power to abuse the law and arrest Mr. Li on false evidence. The Qianshan District Court in Anshan City did not check the facts, but went ahead and wrongly sentenced Mr. Li. According to article No. 200 of the Criminal Code, to frame and wrongly sentence someone is a violation. Please consider the following suspicious points in my husband's case:
a. Have the Witnesses Been Cross-examined?
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure Law Article 47, the testimony of witnesses must be subject to cross-examination by a defense counsel and verified before they can be taken as a basis for a legal decision. According to Criminal Procedure Law Article 43, judicial officers, inspectors, and investigators must collect a variety of evidence that can prove the suspect or defendant's guilt and the gravity of his crime. Legal methods must be used to collect evidence. Provisions of Criminal Procedure Law 44 stipulate that the arrest warrant, the prosecutorial indictment, and court judgments must be based on accurate, verified facts. Officials are liable for false statements in such documents.
b. Only Illegal Acts Can Be Prosecuted. Does Possession of Common Items Constitute a Crime?
It is not illegal to have common items like a computer. As far as the items illegally confiscated from our family, Falun Gong practitioners have materials for teaching people to cultivate their minds and be good people, which is beneficial to society. Such materials fall under the category of exercising the rights of freedom of belief, speech, and written expression.
c. No Part of This Case Is Valid. Mr. Li Had No Motivation to Harm Others. There Was No Victim .
d. One Charge Was "Organizing and Making Use of a Cult to Undermine Law Enforcement."
Mr. Li was resting at home at the time of his arrest. Who was he organizing? Where are the names of people being organized? Into what organizational structure? At what time and place? What law is being undermined?
People who bring false charges undermine law enforcement. Mr. Li has been wrongly sentenced.
3. Believing in Falun Gong Is Legal. Those Who participate in the Persecution Should Be Prosecuted
Falun Gong practitioners hold themselves to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They cultivate their hearts and pursue kindness. They do not violate any law and help society. Article No. 35 of the Chinese Constitution says that people have the right of free speech, publication, forming organizations, parades, demonstrations, and gatherings. Article No. 36 of the Constitution says that a citizen has the right of religious belief. Article No. 37 says that a citizen's personal freedom should not be violated.
For over ten years, while facing being arrested and sentenced, Falun Gong practitioners have been exercising their rights under the Constitution to clarify the facts to people, telling them how Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to cruel torture such as live organ harvesting. They help people distinguish kindness from evil and understand that good and evil behavior each have consequences. One needs to let go of evil and pursue kindness to escape calamity. Withdrawing from the Communist Party can assure one's safety in the future.
Nowadays people work for fame and self-interest. For their self-interest, they even dare to commit crimes. Who is willing to risk their life, like Falun Gong practitioners do, to keep morality from declining? As they have sought to help one more person, one more family, they have been sent to prison by those who have been deceived by lies. They have no resentment or hatred, they work solely for the benefit of others, and they try to become truly selfless.
Over the past decade, there have been many such trials, but no judge or prosecutor has been able to explain from a legal perspective how the criminal law against evil cults can be used to target Falun Gong practitioners who follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Falun Gong practitioners don't have any formal organizations. No one has explained which laws of the state have been undermined by practitioners. No one has proved that Falun Gong practitioners handing out truth-clarification materials undermines the law. There are no victims. It is like charging someone for murder, when there is no victim or evidence.
Mr. Li has been wrongly sentenced. The responsible law-enforcement officials have harmed our family both mentally and physically. Their actions have violated Article No. 245 of the Criminal Law, which forbids illegal searches or illegally breaking into someone's residence; Article No. 239 on the crime of kidnapping; Article No. 263 against robbery and confiscation; Article No. 243 against framing people; Article No. 251, illegally depriving citizens of their right of belief; Article No. 238, illegal detention; Article No. 307, fabricating evidence and obstruction of justice; Article No. 397, the crime of abusing one's power, and Article No. 399, the crime of favoritism or discrimination.
I hope the authorities will immediately re-investigate this case out of a sense of responsibility to society and the family. Correct these mistakes before Mr Li and his family suffer further.
