(Clearwisdom.net) Ten years ago on February 14, 2002, Andre Huber, a Falun Gong practitioner from Germany, went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest the Chinese Communist regime’s illegal persecution of Falun Gong. He was joined by three practitioners from Sweden, one from the U.S., and one from Japan. The Chinese policemen unlawfully arrested, imprisoned, and repatriated them. During his arrest and in police custody, Huber was beaten and insulted.

“I held up a yellow banner that says ‘Falun Dafa is good’”

“At 2 p.m. on February 14, 2002, I held up a yellow banner that says ‘Falun Dafa is good’ on Tiananmen Square and shouted ‘Falun Dafa is good!'” Huber paused here. His mind seemed to go back to ten years ago. “Just like I expected, in less than ten seconds, policemen jumped upon and held me down on the ground,” Huber continued.

Policemen Fiercely Elbowed My Neck and Head

According to Huber, a few seconds after he raised his banner, several policemen from 50 yards away were immediately alerted and rushed toward him. The police knocked him down, seized his banner, and tried to drag him into a police vehicle. He got away and tried to stand up. The group of police grabbed his arms and legs and picked him up. Huber was put in a second police car. “I grabbed a handle on the door and tried to escape but they pulled me away,” Huber remembered. In a photograph taken at the time of his arrest, he counted seven policemen holding him.

Huber was pushed down on the floor of the police car. “My head was pressed down between my legs and a policeman sat on my back. I couldn’t move and had a hard time breathing. Before the car took off, the police in the driver seat hit my head and neck with his elbow fiercely. Other police kept hitting my head.”

The police grabbed Huber by his collar and dragged him into the Tiananmen Police Station. “At the moment, I realized that I had only one shoe on, my belt and sweater were torn, and my backpack was missing,” Huber remembered. He was photographed and interrogated before he was put into another vehicle. This time, about 15 police officers went into the vehicle with him. No one told him where they were going, why he was captured, what would happen, and how long it was going to take.

Police: In China, there is no such thing as international law

Huber and his fellow practitioners from outside China were taken to a building near Beijing Airport that “looked like a hotel but was empty inside.” Three officers interrogated him, asking for his name, address, and passport. He told them that he would not answer any questions before he contacted the German Embassy. The police threatened to imprison him in China for a long time. Huber told them it was his civil right to contact the German Embassy and it was also his basic human right according to international law.

As they entered a gate, Huber thought he was being taken to a prison. He told an officer, “I don’t want to go to a prison, why do you imprison me? I am protected by international law.” The officer told him, “In China, there is not such thing as international law. The UN has no say here. You will be locked up for five years and no one will know where you are.”

The Prison Was Very Cold and Smelled Like Feces

Huber, along with a Swedish and a Japanese practitioner, were locked in a cell less than 15 square feet. There were a total of ten people locked in the cell. The walls were cracked and the ceiling was full of spider webs. There was a surveillance camera on the ceiling to monitor their every movement. There was a hole in the ground, which served as the ‘toilet’ and shower drainage. The cell smelled like feces. Huber remembered it being very cold. Everyone could only sleep on his side against one another. Still they often woke up at night freezing. During the day, they had to sit on the ground facing the toilet all the time if they were not eating or resting. They were not allowed to go outside.

Chinese Cell Mates Found that the Foreigners Were Normal and Polite

Huber discovered that the practitioners' appearance surprised their Chinese cell mates. The Chinese inmates wondered why there were so many Westerners practicing Falun Gong and why they came all the way to China to protest the persecution. They found that these practitioners were “normal, healthy, rational, polite and sincere, unlike what it says on TV.” A young inmate who spoke good English translated for Huber and helped him clarify the facts about the persecution to the other inmates.

Huber noticed that every time he mentioned Jiang Zemin, the Chinese leader who launched the persecution of Falun Gong, the inmates began to actively engage in conversations to criticize Jiang. There were many jokes that belittled Jiang. Huber remembered one of them clearly to this day, “Every day Jiang wakes up and the first thing he asks is: Where did the Falun Gong practitioners protest?” Huber realized that Falun Gong had great impact in China and Jiang’s regime was being laughed at for being scared of Falun Gong.

Beijing Police Violated My Human Rights Because I Practice Falun Gong

Huber was detained for three days. On February 17, he was taken to a representative from the German Embassy. Only then did the German consul learn that Huber was locked in a detention center. On February 18, he boarded a plane and headed home. “I was illegally detained in Beijing for 94 hours, including the 60 hours in a detention center. The Chinese police beat me. I remained polite and non-violent. I did not insult any police. They police in Beijing violated my human rights only because I am a Falun Gong practitioner,” said Huber.

A Steadfast Falun Dafa Practitioner

Huber has shown an interest in Buddhism since he was young. His mother introduced him to Falun Dafa in 1998. For the past 14 years, he has been a steadfast and diligent practitioner. He is a school teacher and when he has a chance, he tells the facts about Falun Dafa to other teachers and students. He has also spoken about Dafa to the city mayor, the city councilors, and the media.