72-year-old Ms. Wang Lianzhi Is Imprisoned

Ms. Wang Lianzhi, a 72-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Kunming City, Yunnan Province, was illegally arrested in April 2008. At the end of November, the prison administration suddenly informed Ms. Wang's son that she had developed mental illness, but denied her son any visitation. Ms. Wang's situation is still unclear and her family very worried about her.

The police illegally arrested Ms. Wang on April 15, 2008. Around 6 p.m., officers Cheng Kunguang, Shen Minggui and Wang Weichu went to Ms. Wang Lianzhi's home to arrest her. Ms. Wang's son requested that they identify themselves first. Cheng from Xishan (Westmoutain) Police Branch reluctantly showed his ID (ID number 016026); Shen cursed and showed a card with No. 008, but Wang did not show any identification. When Ms. Wang asked to see an arrest warrant, Cheng opened a clip, flashed it quickly and immediately closed it before Ms. Wang had a chance to read it. Because the officers did not show the required legal documents and gave no reason, Ms. Wang's son let them to leave.

The police left and then hid downstairs for an ambush. They abducted Ms. Wang the next time she left the house. Two days later, around 10:20 p.m., officer Chen Rui from Jinbi Community delivered an arrest warrant to Ms. Wang's family. The date and time on the warrant was 7 p.m. on April 15, 2008. Although the law requires that the family be notified within 48 hours of the issue of a warrant, Chen offered no explanation as to why the family had not been informed earlier, and took Ms. Wang away.

In mid-October, while Ms. Wang's son attempted to deliver clothes to the detention center for his mother, he was informed that she had been transferred to the 2nd Women's Prison on August 7, two months prior. He went to the prison but the prison administration denied him visitation and claimed that detainees could not have any visitors for three months. During the afternoon of November 10, after running back and forth between the prison and the local police office all morning, Ms. Wang's son finally saw his mother. He saw that she was a little thin and pale, but mentally fine.

On November 27, 2008, Ms. Wang's son received a call from the prison (86-871-5126191) which requested that he come down to the prison. As soon as he arrived, Guard Liu asked him to sign a statement. When the son asked for the reason, he was told that his mother was sick and might need to apply for release on bail for medical reasons. The son demanded to know what her illness was. Yang Huan, the head of the guards, told him it was mental illness. Ms. Wang's son was shocked because not ten days earlier his mother's mental health was normal. How could this have happened? He asked who had made the diagnosis. The guards told him it was the city mental hospital and quite reluctantly show him the medical report.

Because the whole thing was so suspicious, Ms. Wang's son did not sign the document at that time. Later, he thought that the most important thing was to get his mother out of jail and get her medical attention as soon as possible. So, he signed the document and requested to visit his mother on December 1. The prison administration denied his visitation request, telling him that the release on bail for medical reasons needed to be approved by a higher authority, and it would take more than two months.

Now, more than a month has passed. Ms. Wang's son is in a constant state of worry about his mother. Ms. Wang's family has requested that the prison administration guarantee Ms. Wang's safety and for her immediate unconditional release.