Falun Gong Practitioner Charles Lee Released, Expelled to the United States

January 30, 2006

Falun Gong practitioner Charles Lee arrived in San Francisco on January 21 after Chinese authorities released him from prison and expelled him from China upon completion of his three-year sentence, according to a Radio Free Asia report (in Chinese) and a Falun Dafa Information Center news release (in Chinese) dated the same day.

Falun Gong practitioner Charles Lee arrived in San Francisco on January 21 after Chinese authorities released him from prison and expelled him from China upon completion of his three-year sentence, according to a Radio Free Asia report (in Chinese) and a Falun Dafa Information Center news release (in Chinese) dated the same day.

Chinese authorities detained U.S. citizen Charles Lee, a Falun Gong (FLG) practitioner, in Guangzhou municipality, Guangdong province, on January 22, 2003, formally arrested him on January 29, and indicted him on March 5, according to reports from Xinhua appearing on the Ministry of Justice Web site (in Chinese), Reporters Without Borders, and the Friends of Falun Gong. Lee admitted in court that, as alleged by the procuratorate, he intended to interfere with cable television transmissions in Yangzhou city, Jiangsu province, in October 2002; his goal was to broadcast messages on Chinese government persecution of FLG practitioners. On March 21, 2003, the Yangzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Lee to three years in prison for "sabotaging broadcast and television facilities," a crime under Article 124 of the Criminal Law. Lee denied any intent to "sabotage" equipment. Credible reports suggest that prison authorities subjected Lee to both mental and physical abuse because of his Falun Gong beliefs. U.S. consular officers met with Lee several times during his imprisonment, pursuant to the provisions of a bilateral consular convention.

Lee said he was beaten, deprived of sleep and food, and handcuffed in painful positions during his prison sentence, according to a January 24 International Herald Tribune report. Lee also said, "I'm also concerned and worried because the persecution is still going on and there are so many practitioners who have been physically and mentally tortured."