Ms. Li Binnan, 64 years old, is a retired senior engineer living on Paotongshu Street, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

One day in the middle of April 2003, when she went to mail several letters containing materials explaining the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution, people from the Huangwa Street Committee, the “610 Office” and Huangwa Street Police Station arrested her. The staff of “610 Office” opened her letters, ransacked her home, and sent her to the Chengdu City Detention Center. That was the 10^th time she was detained for practicing Falun Gong.

Because Ms. Li refused to give up Falun Gong as the police requested, she was tortured in the detention center and force-feeding at the Jinniu District Hospital. The staff from the “610 Office” tried to send her to the Nanmusi Women’s Forced Labor Camp. After finding, in the physical exam, that her blood pressure was more than 200, the labor camp refused to accept her. Ms. Li was sent back to the Chengdu City Detention Center, but the detention center authorities didn't release her; instead, brutally tortured her with handcuffs, shackles, force-feeding and injections.

On March 4, 2004, under the “610 Office’s” orders, the Qingyang Procuratorate informed Ms. Li of her trial date of March 24. On March 24, the court quickly went through the procedure and attempted to conclude without giving Ms. Li a chance to speak for herself. After Ms. Li questioned the court’s unjustified action, she was told to write an appeal letter. A few days after Ms. Li handed in her appeal materials, however, without listening her appeal, the court quickly sentenced her to four years of force labor and closed right after the announcement.

type=Case, Freedom of Expression;