(Minghui.org) A 59-year-old resident of Jiutai District, Changchun City, Jilin Province is facing trial for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice also known as Falun Dafa that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Shi Wenzhuo was arrested and had his home raided by two officers from Tumenling Police Station on the afternoon of March 16, 2023. They confiscated one Falun Gong book and a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder.
Six other officers had come to the property management office at Mr. Shi’s apartment complex earlier that day (at 7 a.m.), demanding to see surveillance videos. They decided to arrest him upon seeing him taking out trash in a video.
The two arresting officers drove Mr. Shi straight to Xinglongshan Detention Center in Changchun City, but the detention center refused to admit him after he failed the required physical examination. The police demanded another round of physical examinations, and he was still shown to be in poor health.
The police next went to a hospital and had a doctor there alter Mr. Shi’s physical examination results. The detention center then agreed to accept him.
The Kuancheng District Procuratorate indicted Mr. Shi and forwarded his case to the Kuancheng District Court.
Mr. Shi took up Falun Gong in March 1999 and never wavered in his faith after the persecution began four months later. He has since been repeatedly targeted for upholding his faith. Prior to his latest arrest, he was given one year of forced labor in 2000 and twice sentenced to prison (nine years in 2002 and four years in 2012).
On July 20, 1999, the day the communist regime officially began the persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Shi went to the provincial government to appeal for the right to practice his faith. He was arrested and taken to the Nanling Elementary School. He managed to escape.
Mr. Shi and a few other local practitioners went to Beijing on February 24, 2000 to appeal for Falun Gong. They were arrested outside the State Council’s Appeals Office and escorted back to Changchun overnight. Mr. Shi was detained at Jiutai District Lockup for 15 days.
Mr. Shi went to Beijing again on June 16, 2000, and did Falun Gong exercises on Tiananmen Tower (on the northern edge of Tiananmen Square). He was arrested and taken back to Changchun by Jiutai District Police Department. He was held at Jiutai District Lockup before being transferred to Jiutai District Detention Center on June 22, 2000. He was later given one year at Yinmahe Labor Camp and released on April 20, 2001.
Mr. Shi and a few other practitioners were hanging banners bearing Falun Gong messages on September 20, 2001, when they were spotted by police. He escaped and lived away from home for a month to avoid being arrested.
On March 12, 2002, several practitioners in Changchun City tapped into the local cable TV to broadcast programs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. The police arrested thousands of local practitioners. Mr. Shi went into hiding to avoid being arrested.
While in displacement, Mr. Shi went to Beijing again. He and another practitioner unfurled a banner reading “Falun Dafa is good” on Tiananmen Square. He also shouted the same phrase. He was arrested and taken to Tiananmen Police Department before being moved to Chaoyang District Detention Center. He went on a hunger strike for eight days and was force fed. He was released on April 30, 2002.
On November 27, 2002, Mr. Shi was arrested at his sister’s home by more than ten officers from Jiutai District Police Department and Gongnong Police Station. He was interrogated with torture and sentenced to nine years by Jiutai District Court on November 5, 2003. He was released from Jilin Prison in November 2011.
On May 30, 2012, Mr. Shi was arrested for distributing Falun Gong informational materials by Dong Ping, head of Jiutai District Domestic Security Office. The Jiutai District Court sentenced Mr. Shi to four years in November 2012, and he was again taken to Jilin Prison. He was released on May 29, 2016.
During his two prison terms, Mr. Shi was subjected to various forms of torture, including beatings, electric shocks, scalding with hot water, and tying up with ropes.
Kuancheng District Court: +86-431-82653289