80-year-old Man Dies After Repeated Arrests and Harassment for Upholding His Faith

(Minghui.org)

Name: He ZhenhengChinese Name: 何振恒Gender: MaleAge: 80City: BotouProvince: HebeiOccupation: N/ADate of Death: November 23, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 21, 2021Most Recent Place of Detention: Simencun Police Station

After the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline, in July 1999, Mr. He Zhenheng, a Botou City, Hebei Province resident, was subjected to repeated arrests and harassment for upholding his faith. He was also forced to do heavy labor without pay during two detentions. The physical and mental distress took a toll on his health. He passed away on November 23, 2022 at age 80. Even after he died, the police still harassed his family and demanded to see his death certificate to verify that he had indeed died.

The police began to target Mr. He shortly after the persecution began, and attempted to force him to renounce his faith.

In November 1999, upon learning that local Falun Gong practitioners planned to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, the police summoned Mr. He and questioned him whether he would go to Beijing.

After Mr. He said he was thinking about it, the police arrested him and took him to the Botou Detention Center, where he was forced to work for more than ten hours each day without pay. The guards beat and verbally abused him at will if he couldn’t finish the quota. He was also deprived of sleep. After strong demands by his family and village officials, the detention center released him, after extorting 4,500 yuan from his family.

One day before the communist regime’s 16th Party Congress in November 2002, the police broke into Mr. He’s home, confiscated his Falun Gong books and exercise music tapes, took him to the police station, and held him in a metal cage for a night. He was transferred to the Botou Detention Center the next day, and again forced to work without pay and subjected to beatings and sleep deprivation.

The guards also poured icy water onto Mr. He’s clothes despite the freezing weather, tied him in a spread-eagle position in a bed, and shocked him with electric batons. He was detained for over two months and extorted of another 3,000 yuan.

Torture reenactment: Electric shocks

Mr. He was arrested again around November 10, 2007, but the details aren’t clear.

His next arrest was on December 21, 2011 while putting up stickers that said “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The police interrogated him overnight in a room without any heat. He was released the next day and extorted of 10,000 yuan.

Mr. He and two other practitioners went to the nearby Simencun Town on May 21, 2021 to put up Falun Gong posters to raise awareness about the persecution. A person who claimed to be in charge of persecuting Falun Gong stopped them and called the police. A few officers soon showed up and took photos of Mr. He next to a utility pole with a Falun Gong poster, before taking him to the Simencun Police Station.

Mr. He refused to tell the police his name and address, but tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong. The police refused to listen and identified him through their massive surveillance database.

Several officers from the Simencun Police Station, along with police in Botou City, ransacked Mr. He’s home. His Falun Gong books, posters, and photos of Falun Gong’s founder were confiscated to be used as prosecution evidence against him. The police also ordered Mr. He’s son and daughter-in-law to sign paperwork for his case and released him on bail.

The police harassed Mr. He’s daughter-in-law a few days later and collected his medical record. They also tried to deceive him into going to the police station to have his fingerprints taken, but he refused to comply.

Two plainclothes officers harassed Mr. He on May 24, 2022, claiming that they were extending his bail condition after the one-year term had expired. They asked him whether he still practiced Falun Gong. He refuted that he didn’t violate any law in upholding his faith and that the government itself put up slogan that said “Spiritual belief is the hope and strength of the nation.”

The police harassed Mr. He again on June 14 and threatened his family that they weren’t allowed to practice Falun Gong. Mr. He succumbed to the mental pressure and passed away on November 23, 2022. The police demanded that his family provide his death certificate to close his case.