(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhou HongyuChinese Name: 周红雨Gender: MaleAge: 41City: DengzhouProvince: HenanOccupation: UnknownDate of Death: January 14, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 2018Most Recent Place of Detention: Zhengzhou Prison
A 41-year-old resident of Dengzhou City, Henan Province died on January 14, 2024, seven months after he completed a 4.5-year prison term for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Zhou Hongyu was abused while serving time at the Zhengzhou Prison. He suffered from edema on and off after he was released in May 2023. He never recovered and passed away in January 2024. He is survived by his wife Ms. Sun Haihong, who is also serving a prison term for practicing Falun Gong, and their 12-year-old daughter.
Persecution of Mr. Zhou
Mr. Zhou was first arrested on October 23, 2008, by captain Wang Yunzhao from the Dengzhou City Police Department, deputy chief Huang Guoli from the Dusi Township Police Station, an internet police officer, and an employee of the Rangdong Town Government. The four agents deceived Mr. Zhou into opening the door by claiming to be plumbing repair technicians. They handcuffed him before starting to raid his home.
The police confiscated Mr. Zhou’s Falun Gong books, TV, VCD player, computer, two printers, three cell phones, DVDs, music players, rings, bank passbook, ID, household registration, and more than 5,000 yuan cash (which was never returned).
Mr. Zhou was taken to the Dengzhou City Detention Center, where he was forced to do more than 20 hours of unpaid labor every day. The guards instigated inmates to beat him when he struggled to complete his work quota. The inmates slapped him in the face, whipped him with rubber shoes, poured cold water on him, and verbally abused him.
The police intended to give Mr. Zhou forced labor one month later, but had to release him after he failed the required physical examination.
Mr. Zhou was arrested again on August 2, 2017 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. He was held at the Dengzhou City Lockup for 15 days.
Mr. Zhou went to visit his brother on October 22, 2018. Four officers followed him to his brother’s home and arrested him. After a brief interrogation at the Qianjin Police Station by officer Li Jin, he was taken to the Dengzhou City Lockup. Officer Li put Mr. Zhou under criminal detention and transferred him to the Dengzhou City Detention Center on October 29, 2018.
Under the directive of Liu Xuefeng, head of the Dengzhou City 610 Office, the Yangying Police Station, the Dengzhou City Police Department, and the Dengzhou City Procuratorate worked together to seek prosecution of Mr. Zhou.
The Dengzhou City Procuratorate transferred the case to the Neixiang County Procuratorate on March 18, 2019. Both Dengzhou City and Neixiang County are under the administration of Nanyang City.
The Neixiang County Procuratorate indicted Mr. Zhou and forwarded his case to the Neixiang County Court on June 5, 2019. He was later sentenced to four and a half years and transferred to the Zhengzhou Prison. Other details of his trial and imprisonment are unknown.
Persecution of Ms. Sun
Ms. Sun, 42, was persecuted even before she formally started practicing Falun Gong. One night in late 2000, she accompanied her mother, a Falun Gong practitioner, in distributing Falun Gong materials and both of them were arrested. While being held at the Xinye County Detention Center, Ms. Sun, then 18, was forced to do hard labor. During an interrogation session, the guards slapped her in the face. She was later released on a 4,000-yuan bail.
Despite the persecution, Ms. Sun later took up Falun Gong and married Mr. Zhou. After the aforementioned arrest of her husband on October 23, 2008, she had to live away from home to avoid being arrested.
Ms. Sun sought Mr. Zhou’s release after he was arrested again on August 2, 2017, only to be threatened by the police. Officer Xia Han said to her when she visited him on August 11, 2017, “How dare you ask for your husband’s release! You are the ringleader of Falun Gong practitioners in Dengzhou. We can easily get you sentenced to up to 10 years!”
Ms. Sun went into hiding with her then five-year-old daughter to avoid being arrested. She was later arrested in Nanyang City on August 30, 2019 and held at the Nanyang City Detention Center. Her case was forwarded to the Wancheng District Court.
The local practitioners heard nothing else about Ms. Sun until September 2021, when they learned that she was being held at the Xinxiang City Women’s Prison, where she was beaten, deprived of sleep, and barred from using the restroom. It is unclear when she was tried or sentenced. Her exact prison term also remains to be investigated.
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