72-Year-Old Woman, Who Lost Right Foot Due to Toxic Injections in Detention, Faces Renewed Prosecution for Her Faith (Graphic Photos)
(Minghui.org) A 72-year-old resident of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province was released without charges on October 25, 2021, only to find herself facing prosecution one and a half years later for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Song Huilan was initially arrested on September 29, 2021. When she was released on October 25 that year, the police promised her daughter that she would not face any further prosecution. They, however, deceived the younger woman into signing a “released on bail pending trial” form on April 8, 2023, effectively starting the prosecution of Ms. Song.
In September 2023, the police and the local procuratorate ordered Ms. Song to sign the list of items confiscated during her 2021 arrest. She refused to comply. They returned one month later and ordered her to sign a new “released on bail” form. She again said no. They harassed her again in February 2024 but Ms. Song remained adamant that she was not going to sign any paperwork.
This is not the first time that Ms. Song has been targeted for her faith. She was previously arrested multiple times and held at a labor camp for three years. She was injected with unknown drugs at the Tangyuan County Detention Center on February 23, 2011. Her right foot suffered severe tissue necrosis as a result. It blackened and fell off on May 25, 2011.
Ms. Song Huilan lost her right foot after toxic injections.
Released Without Charges Following Latest Arrest
Ms. Song was arrested on September 29, 2021, after being reported for distributing calendars bearing information about Falun Gong in the local Xinglinhu Park. The Baowei Police Station officers transferred her to the Huanan County Detention Center the next day.
Ms. Song’s family, lawyer, and friends worked tirelessly to seek justice for her and she was released on October 25, 2021. Her daughter, Ms. Wang Hui, signed her release form. An officer surnamed Li from the Baowei Police Station said to Ms. Wang twice that Ms. Song was released unconditionally and faced no further prosecution.
Daughter Deceived into Signing “Released on Bail” Form and Two Other Documents
Officer Li called Ms. Wang on April 7, 2023 and ordered her to report to them to sign some paperwork on behalf of her mother. She was busy at work and did not go. Li called again the next day and she went this time.
Ms. Wang was surprised when Li told her to sign a “released on bail” form on behalf of her mother. She reminded Li that he was the one who told her that her mother’s release was unconditional. Li claimed that the form was just some sort of formality and he again promised to not arrest Ms. Song. Ms. Wang thus signed the bail form.
Another officer from the Baowei Police Station called Ms. Wang on April 11, 2023 and said that the Xiangyang District Procuratorate was set to visit her mother that day to process some more paperwork. The officer also promised to not arrest Ms. Song.
Two people from the procuratorate and an officer from the police station soon showed up at Ms. Song’s home (which she shares with her daughter) and ordered her to sign two documents, one being a “Notification of the criminal suspect’s legal rights,” and another, “Notification of lenient punishment for pleading guilty.” They also told her that she was now under house arrest while on bail. She refused to sign the paperwork and they deceived her daughter into signing on her behalf.
Procuratorate’s Failed Attempts to Force Ms. Song to Sign List of Confiscated Items
Officer Song Weijie from the Baowei Police Station called Ms. Wang a bit past 3 p.m. on September 4, 2023 and said that the procuratorate needed to see her mother. He asked when would be a good time. She said she was at work and officer Song proposed the next afternoon. She agreed to be home at 1 p.m. the next day.
Li Lifeng, the public prosecution section chief of the Xiangyang District Procuratorate, led about five people and showed up at Ms. Song’s home at 1:10 p.m. on September 5, 2023. Li said they were there to have Ms. Song sign some paperwork.
Ms. Song stopped Li from talking further and shared how Falun Gong restored her health but the communist regime persecuted her to the point that she lost her right foot.
She said that her nephritis, breast lumps, cervical erosion, hepatitis B, and rheumatoid arthritis all disappeared in less than two months after she took up Falun Gong. She also learned to be a more considerate person and stopped fighting with her husband. She, however, was arrested multiple times for upholding her faith after the persecution began in 1999. In particular, she lost her right foot three months after she was given toxic injections at the Tangyuan County Detention Center on February 23, 2011. She showed the uninvited visitors her right leg and the picture of her blackened right foot before it fell off.
Ms. Song’s right foot suffered severe tissue necrosis as a result of toxic injections.
Ms. Song added that her left foot still had no feelings due to lack of blood circulation and that she would not even know if the shoe fell off her left foot.
Ms. Wang spoke up and said that her mother often woke up from sleep due to chest pain, which she developed while held at the Tangyuan County Detention Center in 2011. At the time, Ms. Song’s EKG revealed abnormal heart readings.
Li asked if Ms. Song had her medical record and she replied that the Baowei Police Station had long seized her record. She also complained that she had been suffering from uterine prolapse as a result of being forced to sleep on a cold wood board at the Huanan County Detention Center following her latest arrest in 2021. It was very painful when she walked.
Li said they needed Ms. Song to sign the list of items confiscated from her home following her arrest in 2021, including several hundred DVDs, several hundred brochures, several Falun Gong books, and some tabletop calendars bearing Falun Gong messages.
Ms. Song acknowledged that the Falun Gong books and table calendars were hers, but pointed out that she never owned the said DVDs and brochures. Additionally, she pointed out that no law in China has criminalized Falun Gong, so the books and calendars were her lawfully-owned assets and could not be used as evidence of illegal activity.
Li insisted that the items were evidence against Ms. Song and again ordered her to sign the list. She refused, after which Li and others left.
Li called Ms. Wang one morning in October 2023 and said that the Hegang City Police Department was to visit her mother in the afternoon to sign some additional paperwork because she had been under house arrest for six months. Li then asked if Ms. Song had recovered and Ms. Wang replied that she was still suffering from chest pain and still woke up in the middle of the night.
Around 5 p.m. that day, two officers from the Hegang City Police Department showed up and produced a form for Ms. Song to sign. When she refused to sign, they turned to her husband. She stopped them and said her husband was illiterate and would not sign on her behalf. They then threatened to make her daughter sign but Ms. Song condemned them for harassing her daughter. They then left.
Ms. Song Defies Court Order to Sign Bail Form
Two officers from the Baowei Police Station showed up at Ms. Song’s home a bit past 9 a.m. on February 6, 2024. She was not in and they told her daughter Ms. Wang that they were there to take Ms. Song’s picture and notify her to go to the Xiangyang District Court to sign a new “released on bail” form.
At around 1 p.m. that day, two men and one woman from the Xiangyang District Court arrived. Ms. Song still had not returned home, and they told her daughter that they needed her to sign her bail form. Ms. Wang overheard one of the male officers murmuring to himself, “This old woman would never sign the form.”
Two officers from the Baowei Police Station showed up at 2 p.m. the next day and said that the Xiangyang District Court had instructed them to get Ms. Song to sign her bail form. She again explained how she benefited from Falun Gong and how she lost her right foot in the persecution.
They appeared sympathetic and wondered why she did not go after the Tangyuan County Detention Center. She asked to know their names and they only revealed their surnames as being Yue and Jiao, respectively.
Ms. Song again refused to sign the bail form and the two officers left.
Related Reports:
Personal Account of the Persecution Suffered by Ms. Song Huilan from Heilongjiang Province
Song Huilan, a Farmer from Heilongjiang Province, Illegally Arrested and Persecuted Again
Ms. Song Huilan's Right Foot Falls Off Due to Forced Drug Administration