(Minghui.org) Mr. Niu Zhanhua, a 64-year-old disabled Falun Gong practitioner, was illegally arrested by the police in May 2018. He filed a complaint against the police for their brutal treatment of him and his friend, who was also arrested, but rather than dealing with the illegal actions taken by the police, the government indicted Mr. Niu on June 19, 2018.
Six or seven policemen from the Xiushuihezi Town Police Station in Faku County, Shenyang City, broke into Mr. Niu's home at midnight on May 12, 2018. Without showing any identification or a search warrant, they pushed Mr. Niu and his visiting friend Mr. Zhou Jianguo to the ground and handcuffed them. The policemen ransacked the house and seized Falun Gong books and 4,000 yuan in cash.
Mr. Niu and Mr. Zhou were taken to the police station where they were shackled throughout the night. The police did not provide them with any breakfast or lunch. During the interrogation, Mr. Niu asserted that he had been wrongly accused.
The police told Mr. Niu that they had to arrest him even if it were a mistake, saying, “The higher-ups assign us tasks, and we need to meet our quota.”
Mr. Zhou was released 15 days later; however, Mr. Niu has been detained ever since.
Mr. Niu filed a complaint against the police through his lawyer who submitted the complaint to the Police Department, the Procuratorate, and the Supervisory Directory of Faku County.
Mr. Niu is hearing 70, has a humped back, lives alone, and previously suffered from hepatitis B and rheumatoid arthritis. His ailments disappeared after he began practicing Falun Gong.
Persecuted Since 1999
Mr. Niu has been persecuted for his belief numerous times over the past 19 years, including arrest and detainment for ten days before being sent to the Faku County Brainwashing Center for 115 days in December 1999.
Mr. Niu was arrested by the Xiushui Police Station in August 2004, during which time the police shocked him with electric batons. He was later taken to Shenxin Forced Labor Camp for two years where he was tortured to the point of passing out.
In 2008 Mr. Niu was sentenced to four years in prison and taken to Ward No. 5 of Dongling Prison. Whilst there, the guards tortured him by burning him with cigarettes and boiling water, shocking him with electric batons, and forcing him to sit on a small bench for long periods of time.
