(Minghui.org) Ms. An Lianyu and Ms. Kan Hongxia, Falun Gong practitioners from Tanbu Town, were illegally arrested in December 2017 for talking to people about Falun Gong and its persecution by the communist regime. They have been detained at Linyi Detention Center for nine months.

During their detention, police officers interrogated the two practitioners and brought false charges against them. The police submitted their case to the procuratorate. The procuratorate took the case to the court, which did not accept it. Police refused to release the two practitioners.

Arrest and Detention

The two practitioners were talking to people about Falun Gong at the Gaozhuang farmers market on December 25, 2017, when local police arrested them. Officers ransacked Ms. Kan's home and confiscated two bags filled with personal items. They were first taken to the Yishui Detention Center and denied family visits. They were later transferred to Linyi Detention Center.

They were subsequently interrogated by police, who told them they would be treated with leniency as long they cooperated and turned in information on the source of the Falun Gong informational materials and the contact person.

The officers fingerprinted them and submitted their case to the Yishui County Procuratorate. The procuratorate charged the two practitioners with “using a cult organization to undermine enforcement of the law,” a generic charge leveled against Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist regime, and took the case to court. The court refused to accept the case. The police officers refused to release the two women, intending to “collect more evidence.”

Previous Persecution for Their Faith

Ms. Kan Hongxia is from Xixiya Village, Tanbu Town, Mengyin County. Ms. An Lianyu is from Laishiwan Village, Tanbu Town. Both in their 50s, the two women have been arrested, detained, beaten, blackmailed, and harassed multiple times for their faith. Ms. Kan, Ms. An, and their families have lived in fear amid the persecution.