(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Qingyu was arrested by Domestic Security officers from Renqiu City, Hebei Province on July 17, 2017, for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang is imprisoned in the Shijiazhuang City Women’s Prison.
Officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Renqiu City Police Department broke into Ms. Zhang's home and arrested her. The local community office notified her husband that Liu Haibing and others arrested his wife. He was told that he could ask judge Zhang of the Renqiu City Court for more details.
Ms. Zhang's husband was notified by judge Liu of the Renqiu City Court the next day that his wife had been taken to the Renqiu City Detention Center, but was turned away due to high blood pressure.
The police demanded that Ms. Zhang sign a confession agreement in exchange for delayed detention, but she refused. They then took Ms. Zhang to the Shijiazhuang City Women’s Prison in Hebei Province.
Family visits are not allowed and the family worries about the possibility of Ms. Zhang being tortured.
Past PersecutionMs. Zhang clarified the truth about Falun Gong to construction workers in Yinbian Village on July 7, 2013. She was arrested and taken to the Domestic Security Division of Renqiu City. Captain Wei Haiyan kicked her in the legs then grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall. Ms. Zhang's legs bled badly and she became very dizzy. Several officers fingerprinted her. They also found her home address online and ransacked her home without a search and seizure warrant.
Domestic Security officers tried to detain Ms. Zhang four times. However the detention center refused to take her due to high blood pressure.
Ms. Zhang was under house arrest and monitored under order from the Renqiu City Procuratorate since April 1, 2014 and by the Renqiu City Court since October 15, 2014. The Renqiu City Court notified Ms. Zhang in March 2016 that she was scheduled for trial on April 1, 2016. However, Ms. Zhang did not attend.
She was reported to the police and was arrested by officers from the Beixinzhuang Police Station for talking to people about Falun Gong at Denghekou Village, Beixinzhuang on June 1, 2016. The police, Domestic Security Division and court staff put her on trial at the Renqiu City Court the same afternoon. The detention center refused to accept her due to high blood pressure.
Judge Zhang and clerk Liu from the Renqiu Court had the court verdict delivered to Ms. Zhang on December 23, 2016, notifying her of a two-year prison term and a 2,000-yuan fine. Ms. Zhang was informed that she had 10 days to appeal and after that she would be imprisoned immediately.
Two officials from the Renqiu Court tried to arrest Ms. Zhang on January 3, 2017, but she was not at home. The Domestic Security officers harassed her son in order to find her. Two personnel from the local community office harassed her again in mid-January. Ms. Zhang went into hiding to avoid the harassment and persecution.
Background
Ms. Zhang Qingyu, 69, is a retired worker from the Huabei Oil Field. She used to suffer from many illnesses such as knee, neck and hip hyperplasia, high blood pressure and chronic atrophic gastritis. After she started to practice Falun Gong, she recovered from her illnesses.
