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Dr. Li Zhigang is Illegally Sentenced for Five Years and Tortured in the Military Prison in Chenzhou City, Hunan Province
(Clearwisdom.net) Dr. Li Zhigang got his Ph.D. in computer science at
the National University of Defense Technology located at Changsha City of Hunan
Province. Because he is a Falun Gong practitioner, he was arrested and sent to
prison twice. First he was sentenced to forced labor camp for one and half
years, and then he was sentenced to prison for five years. He is now being held
at the Military Prison under the Political Department of Guangzhou Army
District. On April 1, 2000 Dr. Li Zhigang participated in a Falun Dafa experience
sharing conference organized by practitioners in Changsha City. The policemen
broke into the conference and captured all of the practitioners. Dr. Li was put
in prison for 41 days after he was brought back to the university. His Chinese
Communist Party membership was revoked, and he was sentenced to forced labor
camp for 18 months. Then he was sent to the Forced Labor Brigade of Guangzhou
Army District. He was beaten and verbally abused frequently by the supervisor
and other prisoners. He was forced to stay under the burning sun and to be
drenched in heavy rain, but he didn't compromise to the perpetrators. He was
released in July 2001. On August 21, 2002, the university called Dr. Li Zhigang back. After he
returned he was detained against his will once again. That night local policemen
searched his home and confiscated his personal belongs, including his computer.
The local policemen and the University tried to extract a confession from Dr.
Li. They forbade him from sleeping. When he closed his eyes, they would beat and
kick him. To protest against the persecution, Dr. Li started a hunger strike.
The policemen grabbed hold of his hair and beat his head with plastic bottles
filled with water. After a few days of the hunger strike, his life was in
danger. Even so, the officials said, "This is nothing serious." In early January 2003, Tian Hong from the Beijing General Military
Procuratorate and Xu Zhenyu, an official of the Security Department of the
National University of Defense Technology broke into Dr. Li's home. They told
his mother that Tian Hong was his supervisor at first, and later their story was
that Tian Hong was the director of the Reception Department of the University.
They also said that the project Dr. Li had worked on for his Ph.D. involved
national secrets, and they needed to bring some documents back. They proceeded
to turn Dr. Li's home upside down, but did not find anything. Then they forced
Dr. Li's family members to give them his notebooks. They stole two bags of his
materials. Dr. Li was detained at the National University of Defense Technology for 5
months. In January 19, 2003 he was officially arrested for "being under
suspicion of breaking the law." Dr. Li was transferred to the General
Military Procuratorate in Beijing. Three months later the Procuratorate
prosecuted him in the General Military Court. The Military Procuratorate
informed him that he could hire a lawyer for himself, but he had to hire a
lawyer from the National University of Defense Technology because his trial
involved national secrets. Upon arriving in Beijing, Dr. Li was detained at the Military Detention
Center of the General Political Department of the Chinese Army. Later he was
transferred to the Detention Center of the Beijing Army District. This detention
period lasted for 80 days. That was in the middle of the summer. He was not
allowed to take any baths or to wash his face. He was forced to sit for 16 hours
every day. They tried to wear him down physically. Meanwhile, they set up layers
of barriers for his family members and his lawyer, who couldn't get the
prosecuting statement until 2 days before the trial was to begin. On July 7, the
trial started. The policemen wouldn't remove Dr. Li's handcuffs and did not
allow him to make a statement. They also restricted his lawyer's actions.
Because of the lack of evidence, the judge had to adjourn the session without
conclusion. On August 21, Jiang Zemin went to the National University of Defense
Technology to celebrate the university's 50th anniversary. During
that period of time, a few university officials received truth-clarification
telephone calls from overseas Falun Gong practitioners. Some officials of the
university considered this to be related to Dr. Li's case and reported this to
Jiang. Jiang told his followers to make Dr. Li give up his belief and offered a
1 million yuan reward [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban
worker in China.] for this. Afterwards the Beijing Army District started
torturing and interrogating Dr. Li day and night. They forced him to watch
videos slandering Falun Gong. If he refused, he would be beaten severely. Dr. Li
suffered injuries all over his body. They also locked him inside an iron cage.
It was impossible for him to stand up or squat down in the cage with a 1.86
meters (6'1") tall body. When Dr. Li's lawyer saw him again, he was as thin
as a board. On September 11, the court started the second session of the trial and
illegally sentenced Dr. Li for 5 years in prison. Li Zhigang was sentenced to the Military Prison of Chenzhou City in Hunan
Province. He was forced to do extremely heavy work that was beyond his physical
capacity. At night he was locked inside the iron cage. The prison refused to
allow his family to visit him, because he refused to give up his belief.
Recently someone informed his family that Dr. Li could be dead if his family
couldn't find a way to save him. Dr. Li's mother and two sisters live in
Changsha city, which is 300 kilometers (186 miles) away from where Dr. Li was
captured. It is very difficult for Dr. Li's elderly mother to go back and forth,
and his family has already spent all its saving. With grief Dr. Li's mother
said, "My son was practicing Falun Gong to be a good person. How could this
become a crime?" List of those responsible for the persecution: Tian Hong: Official from Beijing General Military Procuratorate. Li Jinsheng: The director of the Diagnosis and Treatment Department of The
National University of Defense Technology. Li: Director of the Security Department of the National University of Defense
Technology. Tel: 86-731-4572251. Yi Qiping: A department director. Tel. 86-731-4572253; 86-13308491285(Cell) Liu: The Commissar of the Computer College of the National University of
Defense Technology. Tel: 86-731-4573603 (Office); 86-731-4573604
(Home). Liu Peijiang: The head of the Student Brigade of the 6th College
of the National University of Defense Technology. Tel: 86-13907316274(Cell); 86-731-4574630(Home) Li Benchi: The director of the Political Office of the 6th College
of the National University of Defense Technology. Tel: 86-731-4573617; 86-731-4573629; 86-13873153639(Cell). Xiao: The header of the Military Prison of Guangzhou Army District in
Chenzhou City. Li Jingyi: The Commissar of the Military Prison of Guangzhou Army District in
Chenzhou City. Tel: 86-735-2812183 2004-1-6 |