(Minghui.org) Two elderly Falun Gong practitioners from Luzhou City were illegally arrested, detained and now are awaiting trial.
Ms. Liang Wende, 62, was arrested on December 25, 2015, and is being held in the Naxi Detention Center.
Ms. Luo Shuizhen, 61, was arrested on March 17, 2016.
Both of the women's lawyers said that it was difficult to talk to their clients through a bullet proof glass during their visit on June 22, 2016.
Ms. Liang Repeatedly Persecuted For Her Belief
Ms. Liang was a government employee at the Administration of Industry and Commerce and began practicing Falun Gong in 1997. At work, she was known as an official with moral integrity.
After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, she was unjustly fired from her job, taken to a brainwashing center five times, arrested three times and taken to a forced labor camp twice. Her home was also ransacked five times and she was given a four-and-a-half year prison term.
While incarcerated, she was deprived of food, physically assaulted, denied restroom use and forced to stand, sit, and kneel, as well as being handcuffed for a long time.
Since the persecution began, Ms. Liang has also suffered financial loss of more than 100,000 yuan.
Ms. Luo Arrested and Tortured
Ms. Luo was a construction worker who appealed for the right to practice Falun Gong after the persecution began in 1999. As a result, she was arrested, taken to a brainwashing center, detained in a forced labor camp twice, and was given a five year prison term.
While in detention, the guards put mosquito repellent oil into her eyes and slapped her face. Eight criminal inmates were ordered to torture her. Thus, they kicked her face.
Other torture methods used on Ms. Luo included being forced to stand on one foot for a long time, sleep deprivation, forced labor, and restricted use of the restroom.
Her husband, also a practitioner, served two years in a forced labor camp followed by a seven-year jail sentence. He was finally released in September 2015.
Persecution of Other Local Practitioners
Falun Gong practitioners who are still detained in Luzhou City:
Mr. Wang Manqun is serving his second prison term of three-and-a-half years.
Liao Ting is awaiting the court's verdict.
Ms. Zhang Guangxian, 67, is awaiting trial.
Ms. Liu Xiaolin, a school teacher, has been detained for eight months for filing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin.
