(Clearwisdom.net) [Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website, the Chinese version of this website.]

Mr. Zhang Dequan, 71, is a practitioner from Jiutai City, Jilin Province. He was persecuted because he remained steadfast in his belief in Falun Gong. The authorities arrested him and ransacked his home many times. Zhang was also illegally sentenced to forced labor.

On the morning of May 14, 2006, local police officer Gu Xianghua searched Zhang’s home and found Falun Dafa books and other related materials. Local police chief Zhang Yanhui and Zhang Yanchun led a group of people to Zhang Dequan’s home, where they conducted a search. Afterwards, they took Zhang Dequan to the police station for interrogation and detained him. They released him on May 24, but he was then sentenced to a forced labor camp for thirteen months.

Zhang Dequan and his family have been persecuted for years by their local police officers and street committee members. On the evening of February 9, 2002, local police ransacked Zhang’s home. During the same night, Zhang Dequan and his spouse were sentenced to fifteen days of detention. The police sent Zhang to the Second Prison of Jiutai City, and two months later Zhang Dequan was sent to Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp for two years. While Zhang Dequan was at a labor camp, local police and street committee members regularly went to his home to intimidate his family. They prevented Zhang Dequan from getting his worker’s pension, and they also prohibited Zhang’s children from going to school, rendering them unable to graduate. They used intimidation to continuously create obstacles and harass Zhang’s family.