(Minghui.org) Five of the twenty-six Falun Gong practitioners in Dazhu County, Sichuan Province arrested on July 27, 2019 are still in custody and facing possible trial.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Twenty-five practitioners were studying Falun Gong books at one of the practitioners' home on the afternoon of July 27 when police officers suddenly broke in and arrested all the guests and the host. The police ransacked the residence and confiscated the host practitioners' Falun Gong books and related materials.
Around the same time, the 26th practitioner, Ms. Zhang Qinghong, the wife of Mr. Wang Haiqian, who is among the above 25, was arrested in Dazhou City about 45 miles away while caring for her grandchild.
Although most of the 26 practitioners were released in 15 days, five of them remain in custody. Mr. Wang Haiqian and Mr. Deng Mingzhi are detained at Dazhu County Detention Center. Ms. He Dacui, Ms. Zheng Zhongfen, and Ms. Lu Zhengmin are held at Dazhou City Detention Center.
It was reported that the five practitioners may have already been indicted and are now facing trial.
Mr. Wang, 56, a middle school teacher, began to practice Falun Gong in 1996, and his hepatitis soon disappeared. He was given two years of forced labor for appealing for Falun Gong in Beijing in 1999. The police frequently harassed him and sent him to a brainwashing center twice.
Mr. Deng, 53, credits Falun Gong for enabling him to take better care of his ailing wife with leukemia and his elderly parents.
Ms. He, in her 60s, was an elementary school teacher. She was fired from her position and sentenced to five years in 2003 for telling her students about Falun Gong and its principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”
Ms. Zheng, 52, a street vendor, has practiced Falun Gong for four years.
Two More Arrests
In addition to the above 26 practitioners, two more Falun Gong practitioners who are natives of Dazhu County but now reside in other cities were also arrested in late August and early September 2019.
Mr. Tang Zhikai, 69, was followed by the police to his current residence in Chongqing (about 130 miles away) on August 28, 2019 and arrested there. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his computer, media player and some cash. His two other residences were also searched and ransacked. Mr. Tang is currently held at Dazhu County Detention Center.
Ms. She Xingmin was arrested at her fur store in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, on September 10, 2019 by police from Dazhu County, nearly 1,000 miles away. The police forced her husband to take them to her home and ransacked the place. Her Falun Gong-related materials, 29,700 yuan in cash for her business, and some printer cartridges were confiscated. Ms. She is now held at Dazhou City Detention Center.
