(Minghui.org) “My cousin was arrested on May 29, 2012, while visiting a friend. He was brutally beaten during the police interrogation and died the very next day. He was only in his 50s.”

The above is an excerpt from Ms. Wang Lihua's criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong. Both she and her cousin Yu Xuezhong had been repeatedly arrested for refusing to give up their faith. While she was lucky enough to survive her detention, Mr. Yu lost his life at the hands of the communist authorities.

Ms. Wang is holding Jiang responsible for her cousin's death and her own ordeal. Below is her personal account of what she went through.

Illegal Arrests and Detention

In mid-January 2000, I was illegally arrested at another practitioner’s home and detained for 10 days. My home was also searched and ransacked. I was later taken to a brainwashing center.

On November 20 that year, when I went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong, I was arrested by plainclothes officers on Tiananmen Square. They took me to the Qianmen Police Station. I was later transferred to the Xuanwu District Detention Center.

Tortured in Detention

Police officers slapped my face and kicked me savagely. They used bamboo sticks to hit the bones in my feet and hands until they were covered with blisters. They also tried to force me to burn a portrait of Master Li Hongzhi (the founder of Falun Gong) by pouring cold water down my collar into my clothes until my pants were soaked.

I was tortured deep into the night. Later, they locked me in a windowless room. It was so cold that I couldn’t stop shivering. While in detention, 14 people had to share one toothbrush.

Family Destroyed

My home was ransacked and confiscated because I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. My husband was forced out of our home, and we both became homeless.

The persecution caused us enormous mental torment and financial losses in addition to physical suffering. Jiang Zemin must be brought to justice for the harm inflicted upon us and other Falun Gong practitioners.

Related Reports:

Mr. Yu Xuezhong Persecuted to Death in Gaoxin Police StationMr. Yu Xuezhong Dies in Detention One Day after His Arrest

Background

In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.

The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.

Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.

Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.