|
Ex-Army Officer Stationed at the Shanhaiguan Airport Is Near Death as a Result of Relentless Persecution
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Wei Danquan's wife, a practitioner from Shanhaiguan
City, Hebei Province, went to Jidong Prison in Tangshan City to visit her
husband on October 18, 2008. She surmounted many obstacles to see her husband in
person. Mr. Wei Danquan, about 40 years old, was pale and emaciated when his wife
finally got to see him. He was too weak to stand and remained in a chair for the
entire visit. Prison guards closely observed him the entire time. Mr. Wei's wife
talked to him on the phone through the glass. Their conversation was amplified
and everyone in the corridor of the reception room could hear it clearly. Mr. Wei is an ex-army officer. He was stationed at the Shanhaiguan Airport
but was suspended from his duties for practicing Falun Gong and has been
persecuted ever since. He has been arrested, detained, tortured, and sentenced
to imprisonment. He has been monitored, his house was ransacked, and his
property confiscated. The relentless persecution throughout the years has caused
his health to deteriorate. He now has heart problems, a chest infection, and
tuberculosis and has even vomited a large amount of blood. He is in critical
condition. Jidong Prison officials had apparently refused to admit Mr. Wei Danquan
initially, since the severity of his condition exceeded the standards for
admission. He was only accepted after Shanhaiguan City police made a deal with
the prison administration. He was taken to a hospital and hospitalized for six
days after arriving at the prison. He was discharged prematurely, however, as no
one was willing to pay his medical expenses. Until recently he was bedridden and
his health was extremely poor. Mr. Wei's family had no knowledge of his detention when he first arrived at
Jidong Prison. It was only when the prison authorities discovered that he did
not have any daily necessities on his arrival that he was allowed to phone his
family and ask them to send him the things he needed. It was at this point that
his wife learned of his imprisonment. During his appeal, his wife went to many local law firms, but none of them
dared to take up his case. The lawyers said that there was a notice from their
superiors that they were not allowed to take any Falun Gong cases. Finally she
found a lawyer in her hometown in northeast China. After reading the files, the
lawyer said the verdict in Mr. Wei's case was not only illogical but also not in
line with the law, so the lawyer requested a retrial. The police, the
procurator, and the court authorities were all contacted, and they made it very
clear that the pressure to arrive at the verdict was from the provincial
government. In all of Mr. Wei's files, there was not a single statement that he
had made. Among all the files of practitioners who were illegally
arrested, only one mentioned Mr. Wei's name. However, the authorities
fabricated more than 500 pages of testimony in order to have him sentenced to
four years of imprisonment. Officers from Nanguan Police Station arrested Mr. Wei in May 2001, when he
and his family were touring Jiaoshan near Shanhaiguan Pass, Hebei Province. He
was inhumanly tortured during his four months in a detention center and
contracted tuberculosis and heart diseases as a result. He was sentenced to
forced labor in April 2003 and held in Hehuaken Forced Labor Camp, where he was
exposed to unconscionable methods of torture. His tuberculosis returned by the
end of November, when x-rays revealed serious problems. The labor camp released
him, fearing that his illness was highly contagious. In April 2004, Mr. Wei was
arrested again and the police, the procurator, and the court authorities
collaborated to sentence him. Shortly after New Year's Day in 2005, Mr. Wei was
secretly arrested and detained for a long time. He was sent home only when the
tuberculosis recurred. On April 14, 2007, Mr. Wei was arrested once again by officers from
Shanhaiguan Police Sub-department under the direct command of the newly
appointed head, Zhao Ran. At about 10 a.m., seven to eight police officers
climbed over the wall to enter the courtyard of Mr. Wei's rental property. They
pried open the front door and ransacked his house. Mr. Wei was later confined in
the Shanhaiguan No. 3 Detention Center. On May 13, 2008, Shanhaiguan Police
Sub-department officials asked the court to put the case on file for
investigation and prosecution. On June 10, the court held a closed door trial.
Mr. Wei collapsed and lost consciousness during the proceedings. On June 23, the
court tried Mr. Wei again. They fabricated charges and sentenced him to four
years in prison. On August 3, he was taken to Jidong Prison in Tangshan City. Mr. Wei Danquan was forced to leave his post at the Shanhaiguan Airport for
refusing to give up his belief in the principle of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He was repeatedly arrested and detained and
sentenced to forced labor or imprisonment. His family had to rely on his wife's
limited income. Mr. Wei's parents live in the countryside and are very poor. His
parents and his wife put all their money together to pay the 5,000-yuan fee for
the lawyer. We call on all goodhearted people both at home and abroad to help rescue Mr.
Wei Danquan and end this inhuman persecution! Related reports: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/8/19/99962.html http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/8/6/99575.html http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/10/31/90980.html
Posting date: 10/19/2008 |