The Crimes of Zhang Jun, Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Procuratorate, in Persecuting Falun Gong.

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in 36 countries recently presented their respective governments with a new list of perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The lists were submitted on and around December 10, 2021, International Human Rights Day. Practitioners requested that their governments bar the perpetrators and their family members from entering those countries and freeze their assets.

The 36 countries include the Five Eyes Alliance (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand), 23 countries in the European Union (France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Czechia, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Malta), and 8 additional countries (Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Israel, and Mexico).

Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since July 1999 (this includes torturing practitioners resulting in death, and harvesting their organs while alive). Practitioners have recently submitted numerous lists of perpetrators to various countries requesting that sanctions be imposed against these human rights violators. This latest submission of a perpetrator list marks the first time that Estonia has participated in this effort.

Zhang Jun, Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Procuratorate, is one of the perpetrators on the list.

 

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Zhang (surname) Jun (first name) (张军)
Gender: Male
Country: China
Ethnicity: Han
Date/year of Birth: October 1956
Place of Birth: Boxing City, Shandong Province

Title or Position:

1998 – 2000: Member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and Chief of the No. 1 Criminal Division
2000 – 2001: Member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and Chief of the No. 2 Criminal Division
2001 – 2003: Vice President, Member of the Party Leadership Group, and Member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court
2003 – 2005: Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Member of the Party Leadership Group
2005 – 2012: Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court and member of the Judicial Committee
2012 – 2017: Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
2017 – 2018: Minister of Justice, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group (2017.2 – 2018.3)
March 21, 2018 – Present: Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China and Chief Procurator

 

Main Crimes

Zhang Jun has long held important positions in the judicial system, including Vice President of the Supreme Court and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, both of which are directly involved in the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. He actively implemented the CCP’s persecution policy against Falun Gong as Jiang Zemin’s accomplice. In February 2017, he replaced Wu Aiying as the Minister of Justice.

During Zhang’s tenure as Minister of Justice between February 2017 and March 2018, at least 10 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in different prisons in China. They include:

Wang Youjiang
Yan Hongmei
Hu Xia
Wang Yanqiu
Wang Wenzhong
Ye Guangping
Lu Yuanfeng
Huo Runzhi
Geng Ren’e
Dong Yonghui.

Many practitioners suffered torture leading to disability, mental disorders, broken family relationships, and/or were forced into displacement to avoid persecution. Since the Chinese prison system is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Jun bears responsibility for the persecution during his tenure.

Ms. Huo Runzhi of Jilin Province was arrested in March 2016 and sentenced to three years in Jilin Province Women’s Prison. By the time she was taken home in a prison ambulance, she was incoherent and covered in bruises. She suffered from constant pain, screaming in misery. She passed away on November 14, 2017. She was 72.

Ms. Yan Hongmei of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, was persecuted to death in Chengdu Women’s Prison on December 28, 2017. When her family received notice to go to the funeral home, they saw that Ms. Yan had gauze wrapped around her head. The prison had her body cremated soon after, and her relatives were only informed that the cremation had taken place when it was time to pick up her ashes.

Days before her death, on December 25, Ms. Yan’s family were allowed to visit her. They said her whole body was swollen. Her family asked to have Ms. Yan released on medical parole but their request was denied. The prison authorities refused to release her, claiming that Ms. Yan was a political prisoner, which was more serious than if she’d been a murderer.

Mr. Wang Wenzhong of Shandong Province was sentenced to 7.5 years in Jinan Prison. The prison informed his sister of his death on January 12, 2018. She rushed to the prison to view her brother’s remains in the prison mortuary. Formerly heavily built, Mr. Wang had been reduced to skin and bones. When his sister asked if he had been starved to death, the guards claimed he had suffered a brain hemorrhage. There was no autopsy done and no medical records were provided.

Under Zhang’s command as Minister of Justice, local judicial administrative departments at all levels and the Bar Association questioned, secretly investigated, and punished lawyers who represented Falun Gong practitioners.

In less than a year, over a dozen prominent human rights lawyers were investigated and punished for untenable reasons or had their professional licenses revoked. Many law firms and other lawyers were also retaliated against in other ways, including having their offices closed.

After Zhang became the chief prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in March 2018, he continued to promote the persecution of Falun Gong nationwide.

On March 12, 2019, at the 13th National People’s Congress, Zhang slandered Falun Gong and ordered procuratorates at all levels to “actively participate in the war on cults.”

On May 25, 2020, Zhang Jun proposed “resolutely punishing Falun Gong” in his work report. He instructed the procuratorates across the country to prosecute and sentence Falun Gong practitioners, despite lack of any legal basis. A large number of practitioners were subsequently arrested and sentenced to prison.

 

2018: 931 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced

According to information collected by Minghui.org, of the 931 Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison in 2018 for their faith, 95 were aged 65 or over. Ten practitioners in their 70s were each sentenced to 7 years, and four in their 80s were each sentenced to 4 years.

Twenty-four practitioners were sentenced to prison for filing criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the Chinese communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

There were 942 trials, and practitioners were fined a total of 2,463,000 yuan (around $390,000). Their prison terms ranged from 6 months to 14 years. These practitioners came from 193 cities in 27 provinces and autonomous municipalities.

 

2019: 774 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced

At least 774 Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced in 2019, and 309 of them were fined a total of 3,731,000 yuan. These practitioners came from 171 cities in 28 provinces and autonomous municipalities. Among them, 137 were 65 or older. Mr. Zhang Xinwei, 89, of Bazhong City, Sichuan Province, was sentenced to 3 years and Mr. Guo Yunian, 85, of Jilin City, Jilin Province, was sentenced to 6 years.

 

2020: 622 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced

As the coronavirus outbreak ravaged China, the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of Falun Gong practitioners remained unabated in 2020.

According to data collected by Minghui.org, as of December 31, 2020, at least 622 Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced during that year. These practitioners came from 149 cities in 27 provinces and autonomous municipalities. Their ages ranged from 25 to 82, with 114 of them 65 or older and 11 in their 80s.

The prison terms ranged from 3 months to 14 years, with an average of 3 years and 4 months. Five practitioners were given terms of 10 years or longer. Forty practitioners were given probation, and the terms of another 18 practitioners are unknown. Additionally, 265 of those sentenced were fined an average of 10,522 yuan, totaling 2,788,234 yuan.

He Ping of Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and Chen Xiaobao of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, were each sentenced to 12 years in prison. Mao Kun of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, was sentenced to 11.5 years. Wang Molian of Yangxiang City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to 11 years.

A total of 265 of the sentenced practitioners were fined an average of 10,522 yuan each for a total of 2,788,234 yuan. One of them, Zhang Li from Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison and fined 100,000 yuan.

 

January to June 2021: 674 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced

In the first half of 2021, 674 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed to have been sentenced to prison for their faith. They came from 154 cities in 26 provinces and municipalities. At least 114 of them were 65 or over, 40 were between 65 and 70, 21 were between 70 and 75, 16 were over 80, and the oldest was 88.

Mr. Li Dengchen, an 82-year-old retired teacher from Shenzhou City, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 151,700 yuan. Ms. Zhao Hongzhi, 81, of Shenzhou City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to 4 years and fined 20,000 yuan. Ms. Zhao Yulan, 80, of Fushun City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to 3 years.

The following are selected cases reflecting Zhang Jun’s participation in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners since March 2018.

 

Deaths

 

1. Ms. Li Yanqiu

Ms. Li Yanqiu of Liaoning Province was arrested on December 14, 2018, for distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. The prosecutor moved her case to the Taihe District Court, which held a secret trial in the detention centre on January 21, 2019.

According to insiders, Ms. Li appeared to be extremely weak during the trial. She was unable to walk by herself and couldn’t express herself clearly. The judge sentenced her to five years in prison.

Ms. Li was admitted to Liaoning Women’s Prison on February 19, 2019, which was the Lantern Festival and the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday season. She died in prison 13 days later on March 4, 2019, at the age of 52.

 

2. Ms. Hou Lifeng

Ms. Hou Lifeng, from Heilongjiang Province, and her husband, were arrested by Xingfang police on June 12, 2018. Ms. Hou was interrogated in the detention centre. By the end of the interview, her arms were bruised and swollen.

On September 5, the police transferred her case to the Yilan County Court, which indicted her. Meanwhile, Ms. Hou began to suffer intense pain in her lower abdomen, heavy vaginal bleeding, and swelling in her legs and feet. She fainted several times from the pain but was denied proper medical care in the detention centre.

Ms. Hou appeared in court on September 26 and was sentenced to two years in prison. The judge also threatened her, trying to intimidate her to keep her from exercising her legal right to appeal the verdict.

By the time she was released on medical parole on March 1, 2019, Ms. Hou had completely lost the ability to take care of herself. Yet the police continued to harass her and her health rapidly deteriorated. She passed away on April 28, 2019.

 

3. Mr. Hu Lin

Mr. Hu Lin, a 47-year-old aircraft engineer, was arrested on May 23, 2019, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Mr. Hu was sentenced to two years in prison and passed away in Shenyang City’s Kangjiashan Prison on February 16, 2020. For upholding his faith, he was repeatedly harassed and arrested. He was beaten, shocked with electric batons, deprived of sleep, and forced to do unpaid labor while incarcerated.

 

4. Ms. Ding Guiying

Ms. Ding Guiying of Kunming City, Yunnan Province, was arrested and taken to Yunnan Province No. 2 Women’s Prison. She was secretly sentenced to four years in prison by the Wuhua District Court on July 10, 2020, without her family’s knowledge. A guard at Yunnan Province No. 2 Women’s Prison informed her family that Ms. Ding suffered “an acute disease” and died in mid-January 2021. The prison had her cremated on January 19 without providing any explanation as to what led to her death.

 

Arrests and Sentences

 

1. Three Heilongjiang Residents in Their 70s Sentenced to Between 7 and 9 Years 

Mr. Zhang Hongzhu, 72, was arrested on October 8, 2017, after he was deceived into going to the social security office to be fingerprinted. Ms. Wu Guizhi, 73, and Ms. Fan Shufang, 70, were arrested on September 28, 2017, at Ms. Wu’s home. All three practitioners appeared in the Yilan Court on July 19, 2018. Mr. Zhang was given nine years in Hulan Prison. Ms. Fan was sentenced to seven years and Ms. Wu to eight years in the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.

 

2. 14 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced

The police in Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province, arrested 29 locals on August 31, 2017. Fourteen of those arrested, including 13 Falun Going practitioners and a family member, were sentenced on February 28, 2019. Their terms ranged from 3.5 to 10 years, with an average of 5.8 years. Nine were between the ages of 45 and 59, and four were between 63 and 70. The average fine was 35,769 yuan. Of particular note, 65-year-old Ms. Song Yuzhi was sentenced to 10 years and fined 65,000 yuan.

 

3. 15 practitioners Sentenced in Dalian City, Liaoning Province

The Dalian Development Zone Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Domestic Security Division carried out a coordinated campaign to arrest 19 practitioners on October 8, 2017. Nine practitioners were sentenced to prison.

The terms of their sentences were as follows:

Ms. Zhou Haiyan, 51, was sentenced to eight years in prison
Ms. Jia Xiuchun, 41, was sentenced to two years
Ms. Shi Ningyao, 39, was sentenced to five years
Fang Fang (gender not known) was sentenced to three and a half years
Ms. Lin Jingping, 46, was sentenced to four years
Ms. Hu Zhiqin, 58, was sentenced to seven and a half years
Ms. Lai Guifang, 42, was sentenced to seven years
Ms. Cao E, 55, was sentenced to three and a half years
Mr. Hao Fukui, 81, was sentenced to three years

Twenty-three practitioners in Dalian were targeted in a group arrest on November 12, 2018, and six were sentenced to long prison terms.

The terms of their sentences were as follows:

Ms. Song Xuecun, 69, was sentenced to eight years in prison
Ms. Chen Yaorong, 61, was sentenced to eight years
Mr. Zhang Kexing, 40, was sentenced to eight years
Ms. Xu Yanxia, 55, was sentenced to eight years and six months
Ms. Cheng Yurong, 71, was sentenced to four years
Ms. Jiang Lianxiang, 66, was sentenced to three years and three months

4. 12 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced from 2 to 8 Years in Zunhua City, Hebei Province

Twelve Falun Gong practitioners from Zunhua City, Hebei Province, were secretly sentenced to prison on November 27, 2020, for their faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Wang Ruiling, 68, was sentenced to eight years and fined 10,000 yuan
Mr. Zhang Yuming, 65, was sentenced to seven years and fined 6,000 yuan
Mr. Wang Jian, 70, was sentenced to seven years and fined 5,000 yuan
Ms. Zhang Qin, 78, was sentenced to four years and six months and fined 5,000 yuan
Ms. Tian Shuxue, 82, was sentenced to five years and six months and fined 6,000 yuan
Mr. Ma Kuo, 68, was sentenced to five years and fined 5,000 yuan

 

5. Four practitioners sentenced to between 7 and 11 years in prison in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

Ms. Mao Kun, an accountant, was arrested at home by Jinniu Public Security Branch officers from the Chengdu City and Chadianzi Police Station on July 10, 2019. During the violent arrest, her arm was broken and her face was bruised.

Ms. Mao, Mr. Du Rong, Ms. Zhang Zhenhua, and Mr. Chen Shigui were tried in the Jinniu District Court on December 28, 2020.

The terms of their sentences were as follows:

Ms. Mao was sentenced to eleven and a half years and fined 20,000 yuan
Mr. Du was sentenced to nine years and fined 10,000 yuan
Ms. Zhang was sentenced to eight years and fined 8,000 yuan
Mr. Chen was sentenced to seven and a half years and fined 6,000 yuan

Ms. Mao was taken to a hospital emergency room around April 9, 2021. Her family was asked to apply for medical parole on her behalf. But before they were able to submit the application, Ms. Mao passed away in the hospital on the evening of April 11. She was 57.

 

6. Seven Members of an Extended Family Sentenced to Between 7 and 9 Years

Fourteen practitioners in Changchun City, Jilin Province, with seven from one extended family, were arrested in a police sweep on August 15, 2019. They were tried by the Lishu County Court on September 28, 2020. The judge barred their lawyers and family members from defending them and frequently interrupted the practitioners as they testified in their own defense. The judge sentenced the practitioners to prison on February 26, 2021.

Mr. Meng Xiangqi, 37, and his mother-in-law, Ms. Fu Guihua, 55, were both sentenced to 7.5 years. Mr. Meng’s father Mr. Meng Fanjun, 59; his sister-in-law Ms. Yu Jianli, 30; Ms. Yu’s husband Mr. Wang Dongji, 40; and Mr. Wang’s parents Mr. Wang Kemin, 69, and Ms. Wang Fengzhi, 69, were each sentenced to 7 years.

The other seven practitioners also received long terms. Mr. Jiang Tao, 46, was sentenced to 9 years. Mr. Hou Hongqing, 49; Mr. Han Jianping, 58; Mr. Tan Qiucheng, 44; Ms. Zhang Shaoping, 51; Ms. Cui Guixian, 56; and Ms. Liu Dongying (who is the mother of Ms. Cui’s son-in-law), 55, were all sentenced to 7 years each.

On July 25, 2021, two months after Ms. Fu was taken to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison, she passed away from alleged cirrhosis of the liver. Her family asked to see her body right away but the doctor told them that they needed to clean up the place first. Her family finally saw her remains several days later after repeated requests but they were not allowed to bring their cell phones or take pictures. She was 55.

 

7. Courts in Nanyang City, Henan Province, Sentence 41 Falun Gong practitioners to a Maximum Term of 13 Years

The Nanyang Political and Legal Affairs Committee and Public Security Bureau ordered a mass arrest of Falun Gong practitioners early on August 30, 2019. More than 100 practitioners were targeted and held in the Nanyang Detention Centre. Among them, 27 practitioners were sentenced by the Wancheng District Court, with prison terms ranging from seven months to 13 years. Another 14 practitioners were given sentences from two to nine years, though it’s not clear which court convicted them.