(Minghui.org) A Cangzhou City, Hebei Province resident in her late 60s was arrested at home on November 16, 2020, for her faith in Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang Rufen sustained injuries on her back and head. She also felt tightness in her chest. Although the police released her on the same day, they returned three times in the next few days and harassed her.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhang was cooking at home around noon on November 16 when a dozen officers broke in and ordered her to go with them to the police station to answer some questions.
Ms. Zhang asked where they came from as she didn’t know any of them. A plainclothes officer pointed at an officer in uniform and said, “Look, that’s our ID.” Ms. Zhang asked to see their actual police IDs, their names and phone numbers, but none of them responded.
In recent months, Ms. Zhang had been harassed several times. Officers once ransacked her home when she went out, and they confiscated her MP3 player, media player, and other personal belongings. Suspecting that these officers had come for the same reason–to have her write statements to renounce Falun Gong, Ms. Zhang told them that Falun Gong teaches people to be good and that it was being persecuted.
As she was talking, two officers went behind Ms. Zhang. One of them was later confirmed to be Wang Yungang, the chairman of local people’s congress.
Wang called out, “Stop talking! Take her away! Let’s talk after we get back!” He grabbed Ms. Zhang’s left arm, and an officer grabbed her right arm. They tried to take her away but couldn’t move her.
Ordered by Wang, eight officers came over and carried Ms. Zhang out. She firmly resisted and condemned their violence. While struggling, her clothes was torn off and her back was exposed.
After the officers finally carried Ms. Zhang downstairs and pushed her into the police car, they shut the door while her feet were still outside. She screamed from the pain. Being confined in the car, she had significant back pain and wanted to stretch her body, but Wang refused to make room for her.
When the car arrived at the police station, Ms. Zhang had pain all over her body and was unable to move. Several officers came over and dragged her out of the car by her legs. Her head hit the concrete ground and she passed out.
When she woke up, she was lying on the concrete ground in the yard of the police station. Her back was exposed. One sleeve of her winter jacket had been torn off. She had difficulty breathing, shivered, and couldn’t move due to the pain. She also had severe swelling on the back of her head that didn’t go away for days.
Seeing that she had woken up, several officers came over and attempted to drag her to the interrogation room. She screamed from the pain. The officers then ordered her to stand up, but she almost fainted again. Her chest was very tight, and she felt her back was broken.
Just then, her sister rushed to the police station. She was outraged to see Ms. Zhang’s condition: her face was covered with tears and dirt; half of her body was exposed; and she was lying on the concrete ground, barefoot. She shouted at the officers, “I need to talk to your director. What crime has my sister committed? Why did you do this to her? What would you do if anything happens to her?”
The officers remained silent. Geng Jun, the head of the police station, came over and put Ms. Zhang’s shoes on her. “This is the first time I’ve helped someone put on their shoes,” Geng said. Wang also took some napkins and cleaned the dirt on Ms. Zhang’s face.
They said to her, “Get up. Your family has come to take you home.”
Having recovered some strength, Ms. Zhang said, “My family has been destroyed by you. I don’t have a family anymore. My husband divorced me and my son disowned me [for fear of being implicated by my practice of Falun Gong]. When will you stop persecuting me?”
After Ms. Zhang returned home, she was unable to move for a few days due to severe strains in her back and legs. She still has pain in her back at the time of writing.
Wang and other officers returned three times between November 19 and December 1 to harass her. Wang said to her, “We didn’t do anything to you the other day. I just held you to get into the car.”
