(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Peng Yaxin and Mr. Zhang Guangjie have been illegally detained for 17 days for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Local police seized Mr. Peng's car and refused to return it, claiming that it was an “accessory used to carry out a crime.” They were going to find out if it was purchased with overseas money or with funds collected from local practitioners.

Mr. Peng Yaxin and Mr. Zhang Guangjie and two other elderly practitioners, Ms. He Shifeng and Ms. Fu Chuanyin from Jingmen City were illegally arrested when they distributed Falun Gong informational materials in Shenji Town, Shayang County on March 13, 2016.

Officers from the Shenji Town Police Station also impounded Mr. Peng's car. Dai Feifei, the deputy chief of the police station, claimed that the car was a “crime vehicle” and would not let Mr. Peng's family take it home.

The attorney Mr. Peng and Mr. Zhang hired went to the Shenji Police Station to claim the car. He encountered Chief Zhan Yun and officer Dai Feifei, who acted in a verbally and physically abusive manner. Zhan Yun allegedly attempted to beat the lawyer.

The officers said they were still investigating the case and would extend the practitioners' detention term if they had to, and that the court might decide to confiscate the car.

None of the organizations involved: Shenji Police Station, Shayang Administrative Jail, Shayang Detention Center, and Huya Detention Center had notified the practitioners' families of the arrests. The family members only learned of their loved ones' whereabouts by searching for them on their own.

Mr. Peng and Mr. Zhang are being held in different detention centers. The other two practitioners were released on bail.

Parties involved in the persecution:

Zhan Yun (詹云), head of the Shenji Police Station: +86-13971847405Dai Feifei (代飞飞), deputy chief of the Shenji Police Station: +86-13774061712