(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Shuyun’s family recently learned that their loved one had been secretly sentenced to five years with a 20,000-yuan fine for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been targeted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Wang, of Fushun City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on October 28, 2021 for talking to people about Falun Gong at a bus station. The police ransacked her home and held her at the Nangou Detention Center.
Ms. Wang’s daughter frequented the local Zhanqian Police Station to inquire about her case, but no one revealed any information. The daughter demanded to meet with the police chief, but he was always in a meeting or had gone out to work on some case.
The daughter later found out that the Dongzhou District Court held a secret hearing of Ms. Wang’s case. When she called judge Tian Hao to ask about the case, Tian, who has sentenced 14 Falun Gong practitioners to up to 7 years in the past two years, said to her, “Who do you think I am? This is a court,” implying that she shouldn’t have casually called him or asked him questions.
“Why didn’t you inform us of the hearing?” the daughter asked.
“The case wasn’t open to the public. Your mother has appealed and the case is done with me here. If you have any questions, you should ask the detention center.” Tian replied.
The family learned about Ms. Wang’s verdict in early April. It’s not clear whether she has indeed appealed the sentence as indicated by judge Tian.
Before Ms. Wang took up Falun Gong in 1996, she suffered many ailments, including a heart condition, migraines and rheumatism. All of the conditions disappeared soon after she learned the practice.
A group of plainclothes officers broke into Ms. Wang’s home and ransacked her place at 6 p.m. on February 14, 2001. As she wasn’t home when they came, she was summoned to the police station later that evening.
After one night of interrogation, she was taken to the Fushun City No.1 Detention Center. During her 15 days of detention there, she shared a room with 16 other detainees. They slept on a big wide board and everyone could only sleep on their sides. For those who were taken to the cell later on, they could only sleep on the concrete ground. The food they were given had a lot of grit in it.
As Ms. Wang refused to renounce Falun Gong after the 15 days of initial detention, the police gave her two years at the Fushun Forced Labor Camp without due process.
One day around 2005, Ms. Wang was summoned to the police station again. The police ordered her to condemn Falun Gong and its founder. When she refused to comply, they took her to the Luotaishanzhuang Brainwashing Center, where she was held for 20 days. She was forced to read newspaper articles demonizing Falun Gong. The authorities also hired people who practiced Falun Gong before to brainwash her.
Ms. Wang was arrested again on July 29, 2008 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong in a residential area. The police searched her home without a warrant, taking away over 60 DVDs and 150 yuan in cash.
After she was taken to the detention center, the guards charged her 200 yuan for toiletries, only to give her used ones. She was also forced to knit sweaters for long hours each day without pay.
In order to frame Ms. Wang, the police took her photos with Falun Gong materials they got from somewhere else and fabricated that she was once arrested on October 27, 1999 for practicing Falun Gong. They intended to show that she was a “repeat offender.”
When she appeared in the Xinfu District Court, the judge didn’t allow her to defend herself, but had prosecutor Gao Hong of Xinfu District Procuratorate deliver a statement smearing Falun Gong. Ms. Wang appealed with the Fushun City Intermediate Court after she was sentenced to 3.5 years, but her appeal was rejected. She was taken to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison in March 2008.
Starting in August 2016, the local social security bureau suspended her pension and ordered her to return the 60,000 yuan she received during the prison term, citing a new policy that no retirees who had served time in prison are entitled to pension payments, when the Chinese labor law has no such stipulation.
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Guo Wei (郭伟), president of Dongzhou District ProcuratorateTian Hao (田浩), judge of Dongzhou District Court: +86-18641318747Zhang Yuchen (张宇晨), officer of Zhanqian Police Station: +86-24-58302600Xu Yang (徐阳), head of Xinfu District Police Department: +86-13942375678, +86-15504931888, +86-24-52369001
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)