Woman Previously Jailed Three Times Detained Again for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 71-year-old resident of Shihe District, Xinyang City, Henan Province was arrested on May 16, 2023, while talking to people about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

The arresting officers were from Yangshan Police Department in Pingqiao District, Xinyang City. They turned Ms. Zhang Qiuju over to their counterparts at the Gongqu Road Police Station, Shihe District. She was later transferred to the Xinyang City Detention Center, where she remains.

This is not the first time that Ms. Zhang has been targeted for upholding her faith in Falun Gong.

She was arrested in 2000 by agents from Shihe District Domestic Security Office. They took her to a remote area to torture her. They punched her so hard that her face was badly bruised. They also yanked out some of her hair. In order to prevent others from hearing her screams from the torture-induced pain, they covered the windows with comforters. Ms. Zhang was sentenced a few months later, though the exact prison term was unclear. When her family visited her, her face was still deformed and the bruises were still visible.

Ms. Zhang’s next arrest was on June 10, 2009, again by agents from the Shihe District Domestic Security Office. She was later sentenced to three years in Henan Province Women’s Prison (located in Xinxiang City).

Ms. Zhang was distributing informational materials about Falun Gong on February 17, 2015, on Dongfanghong Boulevard in Shihe District, when she unknowingly handed a copy to an agent from the Shihe District Domestic Security Office. He seized her on the spot. She was later sentenced to five and a half years in Henan Province Women’s Prison by the Shihe District Court.

Perpetrators’ Contact Information:

Gongqu Road Police Station: [phone]Shen Yang (沈阳), chief: [phone], [phone]Ma Tao (马涛), deputy chief: [phone]Peng Yeyong (彭业勇), deputy chief: [phone]Mao Yongde (毛永德), deputy chief: [phone]Shihe District Domestic Security Office: [phone]Wang Junjie (王俊杰), captain: [phone]