75-year-old Woman and Her Daughter-In-Law Face Prosecution for Their Shared Faith—Son Harassed by Police

(Minghui.org) A 75-year-old Changchun City, Jilin Province resident and her daughter-in-law were arrested in November and December 2020 respectively for their faith in Falun Gong. They are now facing prosecution after being indicted.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zhao Shanying lives with her son Mr. Zhu Xiaoguang and daughter-in-law Ms. Yang Li. She was arrested on November 26, 2020 by police who had followed her home. Seven officers ransacked her place and took her to the Changchun City No. 4 Detention Center.

Officers from Rongguanglu Police Station called Ms. Zhao’s family on November 27 and asked them to pay her bail bond. When her family refused to comply, the police called again the next day and asked them to pick up her clothes and shoes. The police also told Ms. Zhao’s family that she had developed high blood pressure and was taken to the Changchun Central Hospital.

Ms. Zhao is currently being held on the sixth floor in the hospital. Known as a dental clinic to the outside, the sixth floor has mainly been used by the police to detain Falun Gong practitioners.

Concerned about Ms. Zhao’s health, Mr. Zhu went to the Rongguanglu Police Station several times to demand her release, but to no avail.

During this time, many local and overseas Falun Gong practitioners called Feng Xianlong, head of Erdao District Procuratorate who orchestrated Ms. Zhao’s arrest, and demanded her release. Feng instead threatened Mr. Zhu that he would retaliate against Ms. Zhao.

Just as Mr. Zhu worked hard to seek his mother’s release, the police arrested him and his wife on December 16, 2020. Five officers from the Hongqijie Police Station ransacked the couple’s home and confiscated their Falun Gong books, computer, cellphones, five flash-drives, and two portable hard-drives.

While Mr. Zhu was released that evening due to a health condition, Ms. Yang was kept in custody and has been transferred to the Changchun City No. 4 Detention Center. She has been indicted by the Chaoyang District Procuratorate, which has been assigned most of the Falun Gong cases in the Changchun region.

On December 25, an officer surnamed Hu told Mr. Zhu that they had submitted Ms. Zhao’s case to the Erdao District Procuratorate, which forwarded her case to the Chaoyang District Procuratorate on February 9, 2021 for indictment.

Mr. Zhu returned to the Hongqijie Police Station and demanded the return of his personal belongings, but the police rejected him and said they were no longer in charge of the case after it was submitted to the Procuratorate.

Officers from the Shenzhenjie Police Station called Mr. Zhu again on January 18, 2021 and asked for his address and whether he practiced Falun Gong. They also asked Mr. Zhu to go there and fill out a registration form. The officers revealed that Mr. Zhu’s personal information was provided by the Hongqijie Police Station.