(Minghui.org) A 65-year-old woman has been held in a brainwashing center for more than 20 days for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Linju, a resident of Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, was arrested on November 8, 2019 and taken to the brainwashing center that day.
Ms. Yang’s family has gone to the brainwashing center several times to request her release. Staff members from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), an extra-judiciary agency tasked with carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong, said that they could only release her if she writes a statement renouncing Falun Gong.
The PLAC staff member also said that they had prepared prosecution materials to submit to the court, and that they could sentence her at anytime.
Ms. Yang's latest arrest took place less than four months after her earlier arrest on July 22, when she was released hours later. The police took her photo and fingerprints during the interrogation. Ms. Yang refused to answer their questions, and just explained what Falun Gong is and how it was wrong for the communist regime to persecute it.
That afternoon, the police drove her to Erehu Brainwashing Center, which refused to accept her. They brought her back to the police station and interrogated her for another three hours, before releasing her in the evening.
Ms. Yang, a retired employee of a local pharmaceutical company, has been repeatedly persecuted for her faith during the past 20 years.
Paralyzed during Detention in 2005
She was arrested on November 15, 2005 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police ransacked her home, carried her downstairs from the third floor, and took her directly to a detention center.
Ms. Yang became paralyzed shortly after she was taken to the detention center. She regained her mobility after practicing Falun Gong.
The police, staff members from the 610 Office (an extralegal agency created specifically to persecute Falun Gong), and residential committee members continued monitoring and harassing her after her release.
Ms. Yang was arrested again shortly afterwards. As she was still recovering, she lost consciousness in custody and became paralyzed again. She was able to stand up from practicing Falun Gong afterwards, but never regained her full strength.
Drugged in 2011
Ms. Yang was arrested on July 24, 2011 by the Domestic Security Division and taken to the Erehu Brainwashing Center.
She was injected with drugs that were damaging to her central nerve system and internal organs. She was later released as a result of the tireless efforts from her family to rescue her.
Constant Harassment in Recent Years
The police constantly harassed Ms. Yang in recent years. They often took photos of her and her home, and recorded video of her.
The police sometimes called her and threatened to arrest her again if she went out to talk to people about Falun Gong.
Ms. Yang was arrested and held briefly at the police station on November 27, 2018.
