Victims:

1. Mr. Xie Wutang, male, 66, a resident of Tianxin District, Changsha City, Hunan Province.

2. Ms. Tan Xiangyu, female, 60, Mr. Xie Wutang’s wife, a resident of Tianxin District, Changsha City, Hunan Province.

Locations:

1. The Changsha City Detention Center in Changqiao, Changsha County, Hunan Province

2. The Sixth Ward, Hunan Province Women's Prison, address: 528 Xiangzhang Rd., Yuhua District, Changsha City, Hunan Province; mailing address: P.O. Box 2, Changsha City, Hunan Province, zip code: 410004

Perpetrators:

1. Police from Changsha City Detention Center in Changqiao, Changsha County, Hunan Province

2. Police from the Sixth Ward, Hunan Province Women's Prison

3. Huang Jueping, the Chief Judge of the Tianxin District Court, Changsha City, Hunan Province, phone number: 86-731-5890166

4. Zhao Lan, the Deputy Director of the Hunan Province Women's Prison, phone number: 86-731-2323007(office), 2323878(home), 86-13308498728(cell phone), home address: Hunan Province Women's Prison Dorm, Building 10, 3-506

5. Liu (last name), the Director of the Hunan Province Women's Prison

Description:

On July 14, 2007, officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Tianxin District Police Department and the Qingyuan Road Police Station arrested Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xie Wutang and his wife Ms. Tan Xiangyu. Because they have been telling people the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Xie was detained at the Changsha City Detention Center in Changqiao, Changsha County, Hunan Province. Ms. Tan was taken directly to the Hunan Province Women's Prison and imprisoned in the Sixth Ward.

Mr. Xie went on a hunger strike to protest the imprisonment. Details are not available because of the information blockade at the detention center.

On September 14, 2007, the Tianxin District Court secretly tried Mr. Xie without informing any of his relatives or friends. On October 9, 2007, Mr. Xie was sentenced to a term of four years and eight months. Even though, the Chinese Criminal Law states the first trial should be open to the public. When Mr. Xie's family asked Judge Huang Jueping for an explanation, he responded, "We don't inform anymore."

Mr. Xie believes that calmly telling people who are unaware of the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong is simply not illegal. Mr. Xie has appealed to the Changsha City Intermediate Court, asking it to reverse the verdict and for him to be released without charges.

Ms. Tan Xiangyu was taken immediately to the Hunan Province Women's Prison on July 14, 2007. Her relatives tried to see her many times, but the guards refused all visitation rights. Before this arrest, in 2004, Ms. Tan had been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. She was tortured and released for medical reasons in September 2005. From November 2004 to September 2005, she had holes in her lungs, vomited blood, couldn't swallow, suffered liver failure, and couldn't walk unaided. A doctor diagnosed her with tuberculosis and jaundice hepatitis. She was skin and bones after her 2005 release.

On October 17, 2007, her children tried to visit their mother and deliver warm winter clothes to her. The prison guards refused to let them in and refused to take the clothes. Ms. Tan's children worried about their mother's health and went to see Zhao Lan, the Deputy Director. Zhao's attitude was belligerent and he ordered a guard to remove Ms. Tan's children from the prison.

On November 16, 2007, Ms. Tan's children appealed to the Hunan Province Judicial Department, explaining that the staff at the women's prison had deprived them of their right to visit their mother. They were redirected to the Hunan Province Prison Administration Bureau. Director Cao talked to them and asked prison director Liu to arrange a meeting for Ms. Tan and her family. That afternoon, Ms. Tan's children went to the prison. Director Liu avoided them, and a guard from Ms. Tan's team told them that she was under "strict management" and was not allowed to have visitors.

On November 19, Ms. Tan's children visited the prison again, wanting to see her. They learned that Ms. Tan had been tortured while under "strict management" and was in a brainwashing class session.

Ms. Tan’s children have tried to visit her many times but their requests were always turned down. Since they learned that she was both tortured while under "strict management" and brainwashed, they are very worried about her safety and are calling on people who believe in justice to help stop the persecution.

Posted on August 3, 2008