(Minghui.org) One day before a court in Shandong Province was set to have a hearing of a case against a married couple in April 2022 for their shared faith in Falun Gong, the husband, who had been struggling with a heart condition, suffered a stroke and became incapacitated. The judge deferred the hearing of the wife’s case until September. It’s not clear whether the case against the husband has been dropped due to his condition.

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

Arrest and Interrogation

Mr. Geng Shoutian, in his 60s, and Ms. He Boqing, in her 70s, were seized by the police on April 23, 2021 during a group arrest of 21 Falun Gong practitioners in Shengli Oilfield, Shandong Province. Both Mr. Geng and Ms. He are retired employees of Shengli Oilfield and have been targeted before for their faith.

The police confiscated a large amount of the couple’s personal belongings during the latest sweep, but they did not include the seized van and 15,000 yuan in cash on the list of confiscated items. 

Mr. Geng was interrogated at the police station for three hours. Before officer Xia Guangbin left at midnight, he ordered his subordinates not to allow Mr. Geng to sleep. Mr. Geng was left in the interrogation chair overnight. 

The next afternoon, Mr. Geng was taken to the “Shengcai Care Center,” a brainwashing center in disguise, and held there for two days. Several people took turns watching him around the clock. 

Entrance of “Shengcai Care Center”

While Mr. Geng was released on bail days later due to his poor health, Ms. He has been held at the Dongying City Detention Center since her arrest. 

Between April and June 2021, the police interrogated Mr. Geng six times. The mental pressure caused him to develop a severe heart condition. He had two heart surgeries in May and June and had five stents installed. 

At the detention center, Ms. He was forced to stand for long hours every day and was not given hot water to drink, despite the cold weather. 

Fabricated Confiscation List and Blocked Legal Representation

Before Mr. Geng was released, he was forced by police officer Ma Jian to sign a new list of confiscated items on April 26, 2021. He noticed that the police added more than 50 Falun Gong-related items, compared to the previous version he’d signed three days before. He said he didn’t remember the police taking those things from his home and it was obvious to him that the police fabricated the new list in order to frame him and his wife. 

With the help of his lawyer, Mr. Geng filed a complaint on October 25 against the police for fabricating evidence, and demanded that they return the confiscated items. 

In retaliation, officers Yue Qianli and Xia Guangbin summoned Mr. Geng to the police station on November 22 and questioned him as to who prepared the complaint for him. Mr. Geng refused to answer. 

Several days prior, on November 19, Mr. Geng had been summoned by the Dongying District Procuratorate and questioned by a female prosecutor and Wu Kai, assistant to another prosecutor named Ren Yaohai. 

Instead of questioning Mr. Geng himself, prosecutor Ren talked to the couple’s non-lawyer defender (who is a family member) and ordered him to quit representing the couple. The family defender refused to comply and said his responsibility was to protect the couple’s legal rights and prevent them from being wronged. Ren refused to accept his representation document. 

After the talk with the family defender, Ren tried to pressure Mr. Geng to accept the government-sponsored free legal service, instead of using his family defender. Mr. Geng refused.

Shortly after, Mr. Geng and his family defender filed a complaint against prosecutor Ren with the Dongying District Court, demanding that he be recused from the case. 

On November 29, 2021, Mr. Geng was summoned by police officer Yue to the police station again. Li Dezhi, who identified himself as a prosecutor, and a woman named Li Yaping were there. Li announced to Mr. Geng that it was illegal for him to hire a family defender, without explaining how it was illegal. Li also rejected his request to have prosecutor Ren recused from his case, without explaining why. Mr. Geng demanded that Li issue a formal notice about his decision, but Li refused.

Mr. Geng later confirmed that Li was the vice president of the Dongying District Procuratorate. He said he couldn’t understand why Li didn’t summon him to the procuratorate, but found him through the police. 

In early April 2022, Mr. Geng was notified by the Dongying District Court that he and Ms. He were scheduled to appear in court on April 25. The day before the hearing, Mr. Geng’s neighbors found him lying on the ground at home. They called an ambulance for him. The doctor confirmed that he had a stroke. Although he survived, he has become incapacitated. The judge thus postponed Ms. He’s hearing until September 15. Further details about the couple’s case aren’t clear.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Ren Yaohai (任耀海), prosecutor, Dongying District Court, who indicted Mr. Zhou: +86-546-3012109Zhang Ting (张婷), presiding judge, Dongying District Court, in charge of Mr. Zhou’s case: +86-546-8265070, +86-15154638966Ji Penghui (纪鹏辉), judge, Dongying District Court: +86-546-8265069, +86-15865455757Yan Xiaohui (闫晓辉), judge, Dongying District Court: +86-546-7035198An Maosen (安茂森), head, Domestic Security Office: +86-18205461695, +86-546-8268076

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)