(Clearwisdom.net) My father Zhang Xingwu was taken away from us in July, 2008.

Zhang Xingwu

During the Beijing Olympic Games, many innocent people were arrested. At around midnight on July 16, 2008, my father was taken away from our residence by 610 office personnel. He was sent to a detention center, and in the next nearly twelve months, no family member has been allowed to visit him.

The last news we heard about my father was on March 31, 2009. On that day, my father was put on trial. My mother and family members engaged a lawyer and went to the court, and after much hassle, they were given a date for a public trial. After eight months of separation, we had hope for seeing him again. On that morning, my mother and other relatives, who were setting off to go to the courthouse, were put under house arrest. They were not allowed to attend the court session, and even the lawyer we engaged was not allowed to enter the courthouse. He was barred at the door of the courthouse. My aunt managed to reach the courthouse, but when they requested to enter the court room, they were immediately arrested. They were sentenced to 21 months of forced labor.

All of this happened without my father's knowledge. He was taken out of the detention center after being incarcerated for 260 days. When he arrived at the courthouse, he did not see a single familiar face. Even his defense lawyer, who had visited him the previous day, was not there.

A friend later passed on the news that my father was heavily escorted by many policemen when brought into the courtroom. During a trial where no defense lawyer or family member was allowed, my father was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment simply for being a Falun Gong practitioner. When family members and the lawyer expressed that they wanted to file an appeal, the court personnel forcefully blocked the lawyer from interacting with my father. They claimed that my father wanted them to pass on his wishes to fire the defense lawyer. The lawyer tried to go to the detention center to get my father's signature for the appeal, but he was turned away each time.

Since 1999, the local police and 610 Office personnel have not stopped their persecution of my parents. They detained them, ransacked our house, and for a period my parents were forced to go from place to place to avoid the persecution. They suffered three years of forced labor and now my father faces even longer imprisonment.

Background information

My father Zhang Xingwu, sixty-eight years old, was a physics professor in the Jinan Education College in Shandong Province. He started to practice Falun Gong in 1995, and his physical and mental health greatly improved. From then on he lived by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. After July 1999, he was demoted and his pay was cut. He was detained on many occasions and his house was ransacked many times. In 2000, he was forced to wander around homeless to avoid persecution. On January 1, 2001, he was subjected to three years of forced labor on the grounds of "spreading Falun Gong." During the period of imprisonment at the Liuchangshan Forced Labor Camp in Jinan City, because he refused to write a "guarantee letter" to renounce Falun Gong, he was not allowed to sleep for twelve consecutive days and subjected to brainwashing. They also used other torture methods on him. In late December 2003, when he was released from prison, he was still heavily monitored and not allowed to travel out of town nor to carry a passport. At 11 p.m. on July 16, 2008, over 20 policemen from the Jinan City Police Department and the Weijiazhuang Police Station barged into his residence. They ransacked his house and took away his cash and bank card. They also arrested his wife. The next day, Zhang was taken to the Jinan Detention Center and incarcerated, where he still is today, awaiting prison.

On March 31, 2009, a trial was held for his case. Outside the courthouse, about 70 riot policemen were stationed armed with guns. About 100 plainclothes policemen were scattered around the area. Mr. Zhang's wife and other relatives were put under house arrest and not allowed to attend the court session. Zhu Xiaodong, Miao Peihua and Liu Lijie were arrested at the courthouse and taken to the police station. Later, they were sentenced to one year and nine months of forced labor.