(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Du Zaili was arrested by officers from the Xing'an Street Police Station on August 24, 2016, while she was putting up posters that exposed the persecution of Falun Gong. The police then ransacked her house, confiscating cash and valuables worth tens of thousands of yuan. They also arrested her sister Ms. Du Zaizhen, along with Ms. Liu Mengchun, Ms. Su Xiangqin, and Mr. Wang Xiaodong, who were visiting.
Ms. Du Zaili's daughter came home when the police had just finished ransacking the house. They refused to provide her with a list of confiscated items. They were all in plainclothes and refused to provide their names.
The police failed to notify the practitioners' families about the arrests within 24 hours, which is a legal requirement in China. When the families went to the station the next day, the police refused to provide any information. The families finally went through alternative channels and found out that the practitioners were being held at the Chifeng City Detention Center and had been interrogated.
Ms. Du Zaili was released on September 9, 2016. The four other practitioners were released on September 4.
Prior Persecution
Ms. Du Zaili was arrested in 2000 and held in the Hohhot City Women's Forced Labor Camp for two years, where she was forced to do hard labor and attend brainwashing sessions.
Ms. Su Xiangqin was arrested in March 2000 and taken to a detention center. She was held there for over 20 days, and was beaten and shocked with electric batons.
Mr. Wang Xiaodong was arrested and taken to a forced labor camp in 2000. He was tortured and shocked with electric batons for extended periods of time. He was arrested again in November 2005. The police attempted to take him to a forced labor camp, but he went on a hunger strike. The labor camp refused to admit him, and he was released.
Mr. Wang was arrested again in June 2006, and was given three years of forced labor without a trial. He was taken to the Wuyuan Forced Labor Camp. He was tortured until he was in critical condition. The officials released him in August 2006.
