Domestic Security Division Carries Out Latest Arrests of Falun Gong Practitioners in Lanzhou

(Minghui.org) More than ten Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested in Lanzhou on September 15, 2014. The Domestic Security Division (also known as the 26^th Section of Lanzhou) carried out the arrests.

Latest Arrests

On September 15, after months of close monitoring and preparation, the 26^th Section, acting on orders from the Gansu Province 610 Office, arrested the targeted practitioners.

At around 6:00 a.m. four police officers broke into the home of 53-year-old Ms. Wang Yurong. Without showing any ID or an arrest warrant, they handcuffed Ms. Wang and took everything of value, including a TV set. They also videotaped Ms. Wang and took photos of her before taking her to the 5^th Floor of the Lanzhou Police Department, where the 26^th Section is located.

At around 9:00 a.m. more than ten police officers broke into practitioner Tu Yuchun's home, and searched and ransacked it until 4:00 p.m., during which time, they also arrested practitioner Ms. Du Lanping and another young man who happened to visit Tu Yuchun. The police took away two carloads of Tu's personal belongings without a warrant. These practitioners were also taken to the 26^th Section.

That same day, about 20 police officers broke into the rental residence of Jiao Lili and Li Yu and arrested them. The police then waited in their residence, and ambushed and arrested five or six other practitioners and took them to the 26^th Section.

At around 7:00 p.m. a male practitioner was punched and kicked outside his house, before being taken away by police from the 26^th Section. The police also hid around the entrance of the supermarket run by the practitioner, intending to ambush other practitioners who had contact with him.

After the arrests were made, team leader Chen at the 26^th Section kept calling local police departments, brainwashing centers, and detention centers to urge them to get involved.

Eventually, several Pyongyang Police Department officers came and picked up Li Yu; Pingchuan Police Department officers in Baiyin City came and got practitioner Li; and the Lintao Police Department took practitioner Sang Chengzhou. Jiao Lili, Wang Yurong, Xiao Luo, and Du Lanping were taken to the Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center, and Tu Yuchun was taken to the Jiuzhou Detention Center. The whereabouts of the rest of the arrested practitioners are unknown.

Systematic Persecution of Falun Gong

The 26^th Section of Lanzhou is a driving force for the persecution in the area. It is known to prepare for months for larger operations.

The latest arrests are a case in point. In May and June, it issued a “Guarantee to Resist Cults” document, ostensibly from the Lanzhou Education Bureau, to schools. The pupils were told to take it home for their parents to sign.

On July 25 and 26, an announcement was published, supposedly from the Lanzhou Public Security Bureau, in the Lanzhou Evening Press and Lanzhou Morning Herald, slandering Falun Gong. The intent was to mislead people to justify the 26th Section's actions in arresting practitioners.

At the same time, the 26^th Section instructed local police stations to closely monitor practitioners' movements and report on them. The section would then decide who to arrest and whether to send them to a brainwashing center, a detention center, or a forced labor camp.

The 26^th Section of the Lanzhou Public Security Bureau was also responsible for the death of Yuan Jiang, a 29-year-old graduate of Qinghua University, who died in November 2001 after severe torture by the police.

Partial List of Parties Involved:

The 610 Office of Gansu ProvinceDuty office: [phone]Fax: [phone]Ma Xiangxian (马湘贤) director: [phone]; 13909318007Ji Ping (姬平) deputy director: [phone]; 13119311704

Gansu Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeZe Bazu (泽巴足) secretary: 0931-8416011Ma Xiangxian (马湘贤) deputy secretary: [phone]; 13909318007

Lanzhou Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeTel: [phone]Jin Xiangming(金祥明) secretaryZhang Mingquan (female) deputy secretary: [phone]、13993141199

Lanzhou Public Security BureauHuang Dagong ( 黄大功) deputy secretary: [phone]; 13399316001 (Cell)Li Wuping (李武平), deputy head: [phone]; 13399319616 (Cell)Wang Yudi (王毓弟), deputy head: [phone]; 13399310205 (Cell)Zhou Hong (周 宏), deputy head: [phone]; 13399311777 (Cell)

Please see Chinese version for more contact details.