February 20, 2002

Ask Masooma Haq why she was held by Chinese authorities for nearly four days after three other Seattle-area followers of the banned Falun Gong movement were sent home and she can only shrug.

No one ever told Haq why she was still being detained even after her sister, Aysha Haq, was put on a plane out of the country.

When interrogated, the Seattle woman said authorities had demanded answers but never offered any of their own.

Haq, a 33-year-old teaching assistant, arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport yesterday.

She went to Beijing last week with about 100 people from 22 countries to protest China's crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is based on the principles of Truthfilness, Compassion, and Forbearance.]

[...] Haq and many others never made it to Tiananmen Square.

Walking to the square, Haq said she was accosted by a vendor selling Chinese flags. She said the man pushed her and then pushed her again. Several police officers quickly hustled Haq and her sister into a van.

"We realized then we were set up," she said. "I started yelling 'Falun dafa hao,' which means 'Falun Gong is good,' and one of the police officers kept telling me to shut up."

Haq said police took her purse and passport. They later would tell her the passport was lost, preventing her from being released earlier.

With President Bush scheduled to arrive in China this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that Beijing is eager to deflect charges of human-rights abuses, releasing a statement saying the detainees were treated humanely.

Haq and her sister described their time in detention differently.

"My arms were twisted behind my back, and they dragged me across the rooms," said Aysha Haq, 34, of Seattle. "They put their arms around my throat until I was choking. They kicked me."

One woman, she said, was punched in the face and a man kicked in the head. Masooma Haq, who said she wasn't hurt, complained more of what she described as "mental torture."

After the other three local protesters were released Friday, Haq spent the next four days being moved from cell to cell and building to building.

Several times, she said, she asked to speak with someone at the U.S. Embassy but was denied. Haq would not eat until she finally was allowed to see a U.S. official. She said police threatened to force-feed her.

Throughout her time in custody, Haq said she was subject to a barrage of insults.

The trip cost each sister about $1,000. Both had expected to be detained and then quickly expelled.

In November, a group of 35 foreign Falun Gong followers staged a surprise protest in the square that culminated in a group photo in front of a painting of Mao Tse-tung. Police expelled the group.

Forty demonstrators protested briefly Thursday before police broke it up, according to the Los Angeles Times. But many more never made it to the rally.

"We were totally surprised," Aysha Haq said of being detained before unfurling one banner or shouting one slogan. "They were much more ready for us."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/134407716_falun20m.html