(Minghui.org) Twenty-one Changsha City, Hunan Province, residents were arrested on October 27, 2020, for their faith in Falun Gong. Thirteen of them remain in custody at the time of writing and the detention centers where they're being held have barred their families and lawyers from visiting them.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
One lawyer who represented several of the practitioners went to the Changsha City Police Department and Changsha City Procuratorate on December 2, 2020, to inquire about their cases and complained about the detention centers' denying visits, only to be given the run-around between the authorities in Changsha and nearby Liuyang City around 50 miles away.
The lawyer filed complaints against the police and the detention centers with China’s Supreme People's Court, State Council, and Ministry of Public Security. On December 8, one of the detention centers, the Changsha City Detention Center, contacted the lawyer and told him that he would just have to wait for his visitation request to be granted.
The lawyer went to the Changsha City Procuratorate again on December 9 and filed another complaint against the police and the detention centers for preventing him from visiting and communicating with his practitioner clients. One prosecutor revealed that 10 of the 13 practitioners’ arrests have been approved. The names of the 10 remain to be investigated. Mr. Cao Zhifang, his wife Ms. Yang Fang, and Ms. Wen Jing remain detained but their arrests have not been approved.
The lawyer and Mr. Cao’s father rushed to the Hongshanqiao Police Station, where Mr. Cao and Ms. Yang were being held, and demanded that the police release the couple immediately.
After the police refused to comply, Mr. Cao’s father wept openly, saying his son and daughter-in-law are both good people and shouldn’t be persecuted for their faith. In his 70s, Mr. Cao’s father has had trouble eating and sleeping in the past two months following their arrests.
It was later confirmed that Mr. Cao, Ms. Yang, and Ms. Wen have been transferred to the Laodaohe Brainwashing Center after 37 days of detention.
Related reports:
Updates on Falun Gong Practitioners Targeted in Changsha City, Hunan Province Group Arrest
Changsha City, Hunan Province: Fourteen Arrested and One Harassed for Their Faith
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