Three Hebei Women Detained

(Minghui.org) Ms. Shi Yujie, Ms. Dong Haiyan, and Ms. Chen Shuling who live in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province are still detained after they were arrested more than three months ago for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

A local procuratorate initially returned their case citing insufficient evidence, but the police resubmitted the cases in early July. The three Falun Gong practitioners are now facing indictment.

Ms. Shi Yujie, Ms. Dong Haiyan, and Ms. Chen Shuling were arrested together on April 20, 2023, while on their way to a shopping mall. The arresting officers from the Wuyi Road Police Station submitted their joint case to the Qiaodong District Procuratorate on May 18. The procuratorate later returned the case citing insufficient evidence, but the police resubmitted the case to the same procuratorate around July 5.

The three women’s families went to the Qiaodong District Procuratorate on July 10 to inquire about their case status and were told that the case was to be submitted to the Zhajiangkou City Procuratorate, which would then assign a district-level procuratorate to handle the case. The families returned the next afternoon and were told the same thing.

On July 14, the families learned that the case was forwarded to the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate. Prosecutor Dong Qi was assigned to handle the case.

The families urged the police and the two district procuratorates many times to drop the case against their loved ones, but to no avail.

Hit on Head, Attempted Blood Draw, and Declining Health Following Arrest

One of the arresting officers, Yin Xunguo, initially said the three practitioners would be released after 15 days of administrative detention. When their families went to pick them up on the fifteenth day, they learned that their loved ones had been given criminal detention and were transferred to the Zhangjiakou City Detention Center, where they remain.

Ms. Chen told her family that an officer hit her on the head hard following her arrest and she still suffered headaches months later. She also revealed that the detention center guards attempted to draw her blood on many occasions, but she firmly refused each time. Her family hired a lawyer for her on July 26.

Ms. Shi’s family also hired a lawyer to defend her innocence. After more than 100 days of detention, her health quickly declined. She complained about frequent headaches, chest pain and cough.

Taking Up Falun Gong

Ms. Chen had a very short temper when she was young and often fought with her husband. She also suffered various diseases, including uterine adhesions, nervous headaches, stomach problems, numbness in one side of her body, and irregular menstruation. All her symptoms disappeared after she took up Falun Gong. She also changed into a loving wife and no longer wanted to divorce her husband.

Her husband was amazed by Falun Gong’s life-transforming power and supported her practice over the years. With his wife in detention, he was so busy rescuing her that he hardly had time to look for a job (he had been doing odd jobs to make ends meet), which only made their already hard life even more difficult.

Ms. Dong began practicing Falun Gong after witnessing how the practice cured her mother’s many diseases. As she studied more of Falun Gong’s teachings, she was also drawn to its profound principles.