(Minghui.org) Fifteen Falun Gong practitioners from Hengshui City, Hebei Province were arrested on August 21, 2015, and one of them died just hours later. At the time of this writing, 13 of the practitioners remain in detention.
Mr. Yuan Shuchen Dies on Same Day of Arrest
Mr. Yuan, 65, suddenly passed away on the day of his arrest, with the police blaming the death on a “heart problem.” His family is working to find out the true cause of his death.
Prior to his arrest, Mr. Yuan had his home ransacked by local police on June 18. The officers confiscated many of his personal belongings, including two laptop computers, two printers, one CD burner, and three paper cutters. They tried to take Mr. Yuan away as well, but were stopped by his family members.
Non-practitioner Wife Seized while Trying to Stop Husband's Arrest
Close to three dozen agents descended on Mr. Xie Xingguo's house at around 4:00 a.m. on August 21. They scaled the fence and broke into the home. When Mr. Xie's wife, who is not a practitioner, tried to stop the officers from taking away her husband, she was also arrested. She was held by police until later that day.
Thirteen Other Arrested Practitioners
In addition to Mr. Yuan and Mr. Xie, 13 other practitioners from Hengshui were also arrested on the same day, including Liu Xiuming, Wen Ping, Liu Yuping, Zhang Jinshan, a practitioner surnamed Feng, Yan Jun, Wei Xiubian, Xiu Yanhua, and five members of the same family (Wang Fulu and his wife Zhang Lanjun, along with their two sons and one daughter-in-law).
Except for Mr. Wang's daughter-in-law, who was released later on August 21, the rest of the practitioners remain at various local detention centers at the time of this writing.
PLAC Secretary Behind Arrests
According to insiders, Dai Guohua, secretary of Hengshui City Political and Legal Affairs Committee, was the official behind the arrests. He has held many meetings since June to plot surveillance and arrests of local practitioners suspected filing lawsuits against Jiang Zemin. He ordered local post offices to stop processing criminal complaint letters submitted by practitioners, and also directed local counties to set up new brainwashing centers to hold arrested practitioners.
