(Minghui.org) It has been over seven months since sixteen Falun Gong practitioners were illegally detained at the No. 1 Detention Center of Qinhuangdao. The local Domestic Security Division not only refused to release them, but they have also denied them their right to family visits. Some of their family members haven't even received a detention warrant, let alone have any idea of the accusation made against them. Thousands of people have signed a petition to demand their release.

The families of eight of the practitioners hired defense attorneys for them. Between September and October, five lawyers went to the Procuratorate of the Haigang District of Qinhuangdao to view their files, but were rudely prevented from seeing them by the Procuratorate who used all kinds of excuses.

4984 people signed a petition to demand the release of 16 Falun Gong practitioners

More and more people and lawyers are stepping forward to support Falun Gong. Many people expressed their anger at the Political and Judiciary Committee, the police, Procuratorate, court, and the Domestic Security Division, for their frenzied persecution of Falun Gong. To date, 4984 kindhearted local citizens have signed a petition to call for the release of the illegally detained practitioners.

Background

Police from the Qinhuangdao Police Department and the Domestic Security Division drove three unmarked cars to the house of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Pang Shuyue around 7 p.m. on June 10, 2012, pretending to read the water meter. Ms. Pang didn't open the door, so the police broke the lock and went inside to search and ransack her house.

All her Dafa books, computer, printer, cash, bank books, jewelry and her relative's property ownership certificate were confiscated. The police also broke the wires under the wheel of their car, making it unusable, and took away the car keys.

Ms. Pang's 14-year-old son was also taken away that evening and was kept in detention for two to three hours. It took a few months for the boy to recover from the terrifying ordeal.

Ms. Pang used to have a happy family. Her husband was a university lecturer and she was a lawyer. However, after the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, her attorney's license was suspended and she lost her job.

After her parents passed away, her husband divorced her for fear of being retaliated against. Since then Ms. Pang has raised her son alone.

Arrests of Other Practitioners

Ms. Zhang Xiaojie who was arrested on the same day, used to work as a lecturer at the Senior Technician School of Qinhuangdao and was selected as “Model Teacher” for many years in a row. She was suspended from teaching in late May 2006 for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong in class. Her bonuses and employee benefits were stopped during her suspension. Her home was also ransacked when she was arrested on the evening of June 10, 2013.

Mr. Lian Baochang used to be an employee at a railway transportation sub-company of Qinhuangdao Port Group Co., Ltd. He was forced to leave home because of the persecution in 2006 and has been unable to return home. He was arrested on June 10, 2013 at a highway toll gate by police from Port Police Station, who also brutally punched and kicked him. Six other practitioners in the same vehicle were also arrested. All their personal belongings including 140,000 cash were confiscated.

Police officers Fu Xiaobin and Meng X violently beat Mr. Lian. They slapped and punched his face and hit the back of his head. They also dragged him to the basement of the police station for even more violent beating. The police forbade him to use the toilet for six hours and deprived him of sleep in order to force him to sign on the fabricated documents.

Ms. Zhao Guohua from Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province came to Qinhuangdao for a visit, and was also arrested on June 10. Ms. Li Xueying, an employee of Qinhuangdao Tobacco Machinery Co., Ltd, was also arrested on the same day. Her husband Hua Zhikai, a lecturer of Senior Technician School of Qinhuangdao, was arrested a few days later. Their house was ransacked and robbed, and their car is also missing.

It has been over seven months since the arrests of 16 Falun Gong practitioners: Pang Shuyue, Lian Baochang, Gao Jihong, Li Xueying, Hua Zhikai, Zhang Xiaojie, Zhao Guohua, Wang Xin, Li Lili, Wang Yong, Zhang Xingang, Wang Yongzhen, Ye Suxia, Sun Guozhong, Zhang Shuzhen and Bo Changcheng. Two others have been released due to their poor health.

Since the lawyers were refused access to relevant files by the procuratorate, they had no other alternative but to hold banners in front of the office to protest the staff's unlawful conduct.

The files were said to have been returned to the police department in late September, but were brought back to the procuratorate recently. One cannot help but wonder what new charges the Domestic Security Division has fabricated against these practitioners.