(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhang Jinshui was illegally sentenced to ten years in prison, and is held at the Tianjin Gangbei Prison. Ms. Zhang Liqin was sentenced to seven years in prison, and is incarcerated at the Tianjin Women's Prison. They are both from Jinghai County, Tianjin Province.

On February 12, 2009, policemen from the Chengguan Police Station in Jinghai County and the 610 Office National Security Brigade arrested Ms. Zhang Liqin from Hujiayuan, Chengguan Township, and Mr. Zhang Jinshui from Chengguan Township. The police ransacked their homes and took away many Falun Dafa books, informational materials about Falun Gong, and other valuable items.

In the morning of May 22, the Jinghai County Court conducted a secret hearing, and the two practitioners' family members were not notified. Their families heard about the hearing from other people, and therefore only a few relatives of both practitioners were present. Mr. Zhang Jinshui defended himself and argued successfully against the lies fabricated by the police. The police were dumbfounded and could not continue with their accusations. The court concluded the hearing hastily. The judge made an excuse to conduct a second hearing.

Mr. Zhang Jinshui was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was the major breadwinner in his family. He has an eighty-year-old father, who is bedridden, and a daughter who is in the 9th grade in high school. Their current financial situation is very difficult.

Ms. Zhang Liqin was sentenced to seven years in prison. She has a son and a mother-in-law, who is in her seventies. Their lives are now full of hardship. Ms. Zhang's husband, Ren Dongsheng, is held at the Gangbei Prison because he also practices Falun Gong. The family is not allowed to visit him. The prison authorities claim that they are transforming Mr. Ren, forcing him to give up the practice.

December 12, 2009