(Minghui.org) A 36-year-old man in Jinan City, Shandong Province, has been held incommunicado since his arrest on October 4, 2022 for practicing Falun Gong. As the city was recently locked down due to the “Zero-COVID” policy, Mr. Xu Wenlong’s family said it has been even more difficult for them to locate and rescue him.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Xu, a native of Muling City, Heilongjiang Province, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in July 2010. He was arrested in June 2011 and later sentenced to an eight year prison term for practicing Falun Gong. He moved to Jinan and stayed with his cousin after being released.
Mr. Xu was arrested again in April 2022 for distributing QR codes to access anti-Internet censorship software, and given six months of house arrest. The police have since summoned him several times and attempted to force him to plead guilty. He refused to comply and urged the police not to participate in the persecution.
On October 4, when the six-month house arrest was about to expire, the police took him back into custody. They handcuffed him and put heavy shackles on him. They also collected a blood sample and threatened to kill him. According to Mr. Xu’s cousin who was arrested with him, although the police weren’t medical personnel, they were very proficient in drawing his blood. The cousin, who didn’t practice Falun Gong, also had her blood drawn.
The cousin said that while they were held at the Zhiyuan Police Station, she overheard two officers talking about a kidney selling for 400,000 yuan. She asked if they were talking about harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners. They didn’t reply.
Even more alarming for the family was that the police took Mr. Xu to the Qianfoshan Hospital to have a physical examination. While there were many hospitals and medical clinics around the police station that could easily handle a basic physical examination, the family questioned the police about why they took Mr. Xu to the Qianfoshan Hospital, which is reported to have been engaged in organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners for years.
The police later told Mr. Xu’s family that he was being held at the Silijie Police Station and given six months of residential surveillance. The family went to the police station to look for him, but didn’t find him.
The authorities initially promised to allow the family to visit Mr. Xu, but they soon walked back their promise, citing the pandemic as an excuse. Even the lawyer wasn’t allowed to visit him. The family is still being kept in the dark regarding Mr. Xu’s whereabouts and not allowed to deliver any daily necessities or clothes to him.
Luan Zhen (栾震), chief of Zhiyuan Police StationSun Lianyou (孙连友), head of Silijie Police StationCui Yue (崔越), director of Lixia District Domestic Security Office
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