Ms. Liu Jing is a 39-year-old primary school teacher from Hedong District, Tianjin City, China, and a Falun Gong practitioner. This submission is being provided by the Working Group on behalf of Ms. Liu Ying, Ms. Liu Jing’s sister. Ms. Liu Ying, along with her husband and daughter, all Falun Gong practitioners, escaped to Thailand in late 2005 to avoid persecution in China. There they obtained UN refugee status, and were granted asylum in Norway in January 2006.

Ms. Liu was recently sentenced to 3 years in prison for distributing materials to expose the Chinese government’s crimes. No official notification of the sentence was given to any of her family members, including her parents, who reside in China.

In December 2005, Ms. Liu visited her sister, Ms. Liu Ying, in Thailand. Upon her return to China, Ms. Liu was put under surveillance by Chinese authorities, according to information obtained by her lawyer Ms. Xiao Jie.

Between November 2005 and March 2006, Ms. Liu Jing downloaded written Falun Gong materials and “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” videos from oversea websites, which she used to print books and make VCDs for distribution.

Between March 6 and March 7, 2006, Ms. Liu publicly took part in a nationwide hunger-strike initiated by Chinese activist lawyer Gao Zhisheng, protesting the extensive use of violence by the PRC government. During that time, she took photos of numerous blue ribbons, symbolic of the action, hanging in various locations around Tianjin. These photos were published on overseas websites.

Ms. Liu was detained on March 11, 2006 and then held at Tianjin No.1 Detention Center, according to a March 12 notice sent to her father, Mr. Li Hong Xin. 6-10 Office officials, as well as police from Tianjin Hedong District Da Zhigu Police Station, handled the case.

Ms. Liu was formally charged on April 17, 2006, with “using a heretical organization to destroy the carrying out of National Law,” while still in detention.

Blue ribbons in the streets of Tianjin; photos taken by Ms. Liu Jing

In May 2006, because she continued to practice Falun Gong and expose its persecution to detention centre staff and inmates, she was isolated in a high security section of the centre.

At a secret trial held over the course of two days (July 16 and July 26, 2006) at the Hedong District Court of Tianjin, brought to court by the Tianjin Public Security Bureau, Ms. Liu was convicted of the charges. The lead judge, Ms. Liu Xinxin, said she needed to consult with "higher authorities" to determine the details of the sentence.

On November 6, 2006, Ms. Liu was sentenced to 3 years in prison. No official notification of the sentence was given to her parents. At this time she is still detained at Tianjin No.1 Detention Center.

Since her arrest in March 2006, Ms. Liu’s parents have been denied all access to her. As of July 26, Ms. Liu has been unable to pass any correspondence to them. Her only communication has been via a handful of official request forms. Ms. Liu’s lawyer was prevented from meeting with her between July 26 and the time of her sentencing. Under pressure from police, Ms. Liu’s workplace fired her.

Following Ms. Liu’s arrest, three other Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Li Huanu, Ms. Song Ying and Ms. Zuo Liping, who had been in contact with her, were also arrested. All three were sentenced to Tianjin Banqiao Female Forced Labour Camp for one year or one year and half without trial.

(Posted on Jan. 22, 2007)