Mr. Cao Dongzhi, Mr. Cao Laohu, and Mr. Cao Chunwang Illegally Sentenced in Yangqu County, Shanxi Province

(Clearwisdom.net) Yangqu County Court of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, held a trial for Mr. Cao Dongzhi, Mr. Cao Laohu, and Mr. Caoa Chunwang at around 10:00 a.m. on July 2, 2008, charging them with practicing Falun Dafa. On July 11, the three practitioners were sentenced to three years of imprisonment. They have already appealed to a higher court.

The three practitioners are all from Shangyangzhai Village, Houcun Township, Yangqu County. They went to Zhaozhuang Village, Houcun Village, and Huijiagou Village to mount posters reading "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good," "Falun Dafa is Good," and "Falun Dafa is a Righteous Law" on the evening of February 6, 2008, Chinese New Year's eve. They were reported to the police.

On April 25, 2008, officials with the Taiyuan City 610 Office, the State Security Group, Yangqu County Police Station, and Houcun Township Police Station sent more than twenty people in six police cars to the homes and workplaces of practitioners Cao Dongzhi, Cao Chunwang, Cao Laicun, and Cao Laohu. Along with the four practitioners, Cao Laohu's son-in-law, Zhao Fujun, who is not a practitioner, was also arrested. The police confiscated personal belongings including Falun Dafa books, tapes, DVDs, laptop computers, MP3 players, VCD players, audio recorders, etc.

The deputy director of Yangqu County Police Station led the search of Mr. Cao Dongzhi's home from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They took a VCD player, a tape recorder, and the tapes that his children used for study. Cao Dongzhi refused to sign the paper the police wanted him to sign, and he was arrested and handcuffed.

The police captured Zhang Fujun to provide evidence and tortured Cao Dongzhi into a confession. Cao Laicun was bailed out by the village head, while Zhang Fujun was bailed out by his brother at around midnight, pending trial. Cao Dongzhi, Cao Chunwang, and Cai Laohu were taken to the Yangqu County Detention Center. On July 11, 2008, the Yangqu County Court sentenced each man to three years of imprisonment.

May and June is harvest season in the countryside. The three men are responsible for the major workload on their families' farms. Their arrests and sentencing has brought great hardship to their families. Cao Dongzhi's son and daughter rely on his farm income to attend a university and high school. Because of the intense stress of the persecution, his wife's health is declining, so now only his elderly parents are able to work in the fields. Cao Chunwang's wife is only 25 years old. Frightened by her husband's arrest, she went to live at her parents' home with an 18-month-old baby and no income. Cao Laicun and his wife abandoned their home to move to their daughter's in another town to avoid further persecution. Cao Laohu's family maintains a dozen mus of farmland, an apple orchard, and vegetable fields. This is now on the shoulders of his wife and their second daughter. His son-in-law, Zhang Fujun, was unable to go to work for two weeks because the police forced him to show up at the police station every day for no reason. Zhang Fujun was under a great deal of stress, and his life and income were both affected by the incident.

Relevant units and personnel:

Policemen involved in arresting practitioners: Tian Guoxi, Liu Weirong, Wu Xufeng, Tian Aimin, Liu Chengsheng, and others.
Director of Yangqu Detention Center: Di Zhongmin
Deputy directors of Yangqu Detention Center: Li Xianliang, Zhang Juntao
Party secretary at Yangqu Detention Center: Zheng Jianwen
Instructors at Yangqu Detention Center: Gao Sanhuo, Li Xiaoming, Wang Yintang, Wei Chang, Li Yaobiao, Jia Zhenzhong, Chen Guowei, and Han Hongfei
Doctor at the Yangqu Detention Center: Kang Yourong
Yangqu County Procuratorate: Fan Guiyang, Fan Huimei
Yangqu County Court judge: Li Yuhai
Yangqu County Court assistant judge: Jing Liqiang
Yangqu County Court assistant judge: Jiang Jianyun
Yangqu County Court clerk: Pang Yaqin
Director of Yangqu County 610 Office Zhang Xinliang: 86-351-5521594 (Office), 86-351-5521688 (Home)

August 22, 2008

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/8/23/184586.html

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