(Minghui.org) A 77-year-old woman in Chongqing was arrested at home on August 31, 2022, by police from Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, about 1,000 miles away. Ms. Lei Changrong stood trial for her faith in Falun Gong on September 5 and has since been detained incommunicado.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Lei’s ordeal dated back to June 2, 2021, when she was stopped on the street by eight officers, including both local police and their counterparts from Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The Suzhou police questioned her as to whether she mailed a letter to Zhang Neng, a prosecutor at the Wujiang District Procuratorate in Suzhou, urging him not to persecute Falun Gong. The police ransacked Ms. Lei’s home and released her on bail the same day.
Ms. Lei was arrested again on October 15, 2021, and taken to Suzhou for interrogation. She was released after five days. The Wujiang District Court in Suzhou later informed her that she was scheduled to appear in court, but Ms. Lei maintained that she hadn’t violated any law in mailing the letter and refused to go.
Two officers in Chongqing went to Ms. Lei’s home in late May 2022 and attempted to connect her to a virtual hearing. Ms. Lei refused to cooperate. The police then forced her daughter to sign the paperwork to renew her bail condition that was about to expire.
Four officers from Suzhou arrested Ms. Lei on August 31 and took her to Suzhou. She appeared in the Wujiang District Court five days later. Her family has since been kept in the dark about her situation.
Ms. Lei used to work for the Chongqing Grain and Oil Machinery Factory. She took up Falun Gong in September 1997 and credits the practice for curing her many ailments, including osteoarthritis and a severe stomach condition.
After the Chinese communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, she was repeatedly targeted for upholding her faith.
Ms. Lei went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong on September 24, 1999 and was arrested. She was held at the Nan’an Detention Center for a month after being taken back to Chongqing.
She was arrested again on September 27, 2000, and her home was ransacked. She was held at the Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp for 13 months and released in late October 2001.
Her next arrest was on September 8, 2005. She was beaten during the one-day detention at the police station, resulting in injuries to her face and arms. Her shoes were also torn.
Ms. Lei’s fourth arrest was on November 12, 2008. She was first held at the Nan’an Detention Center and then transferred to the Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp on December 9 to serve a two-year term.
The guards starved her, deprived her of sleep and restroom use, and didn’t allow her to take showers. She was constantly handcuffed, hung up by her handcuffed wrists, and held in solitary confinement. The guards and inmates beat and verbally abused her at will. She was sometimes forced to squat for long hours without moving. In addition to the physical torture, she was also subjected to involuntary drug administration. She was constantly dizzy, exhausted, emaciated, and experienced significant memory decline.
The police continued to monitor and harass Ms. Lei after she was released. She couldn’t remember how many times the officers broke into her home or threatened her over the phone. Both she and her family were deeply traumatized by the mental distress. The persecution also caused her a significant financial loss.
Jiangsu Police Travel 1,000 Miles to Harass Chongqing Woman in Her 70s