(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Chen Xinye and Mr. Han Chunlong were illegally arrested on December 11, 2012, while visiting Dandong City on business. They were beaten and tortured in police custody and have been incarcerated in the Dandong Detention Center. Their families have filed complaints and a request for an investigation into the crimes committed by the police.
Illegally Arrested
Mr. Chen and Mr. Han worked for One Optical Spectrometer Service Center. Mr. Chen was a department manager, while Mr. Han was in charge of purchasing and driving. The two men were on a business trip in Dandong. They were staying at the Dantie Hotel in the city.
Around 9 a.m. on December 11, 2012, six or seven officers from the Dandong Domestic Security Division, Sidaoqiao Police Station and Criminal Division of the Zhenxin Police Station broke into their rooms at the hotel. Without showing any legal documents, the officers arrested Mr. Chen and Mr. Han and took them to the Sidaoqiao Police Station, located in Zhenxin District of Dandong City. They also confiscated two laptops, two cell phones, wallets, cash, bank cards, network cards and other personal property, without listing any taken items as required by law.
At the Sidaoqiao Police Station, officers claimed that the Internet police had detected that Mr. Chen and Mr. Han sent emails “promoting Falun Gong and protesting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)” and tried to pressure the two practitioners to confess. However, Mr. Chen and Mr. Han denied the accusations, explaining to the police, “We did not violate any law. We did not send such emails, and you do not have any evidence to prove that we sent such emails.”
Beaten and Tortured in Police Custody
When Mr. Chen and Mr. Han did not admit to violating any laws, two policemen began to beat and slap them. Once other officers reminded them that there was a monitor in the room, they took Mr. Chen out of the monitored area to torture him further.
Afterward, police tried to force the two practitioners to press their thumbprints on the documents with fabricated confessions. Mr. Chen and Mr. Han refused to cooperate. A young policeman slapped Mr. Han and pushed him to the ground, and six or seven other officers joined in to beat him, grabbing his hand to make the thumbprint. They also sprayed his face with pepper spray, which was painful and made him cough non-stop.
Later the same day, the police sent the two practitioners to the Dandong Detention Center. At that time, Mr. Han's blood pressure was 191 mmHg, and his heart rate was 130 bpm. One of his legs was severely swollen from the beating, and he limped while walking. In addition, he lost his hearing from being forcefully slapped in the head.
Mr. Han has been on a hunger strike since his arrest. He is now extremely thin and weak. He can barely talk and cannot walk. His family has gone to the police station every day to ask for his release.
Families File Complaints to Protest Police Abuse
The two practitioners' families hired two lawyers from Beijing to seek justice for their loved ones. The lawyers met with Mr. Chen and Mr. Han on December 17, 2012. Both men told the lawyers that they had been beaten and tortured at the Sidaoqiao Police Station.
The lawyers could not find any law that the two practitioners may have violated. However, they saw that the police and the prosecutor had violated many laws, including Articles 35 and 36 of the Chinese Constitution and criminal laws. Their crimes included disregarding the citizen's constitutional right of freedom of belief, breaking into a residence without a warrant, illegal search, robbery, abuse of power, illegal arrest and detention, and unlawful prosecution.
Mr. Chen's and Mr. Han's families have filed complaints to demand an immediate release of the two practitioners and return of the stolen personal property. They also requested an official investigation into the crimes committed by the police. They call on the benevolent people of the world to help their case.
Parties involved in the persecution:
Yu Tiemin, Sidaoqiao Police Station, Dandong City: +86-13842536782 (Cell)
Wang Hui, Sidaoqiao Police Station, Dandong City: +86-13942539107 (Cell)
Please refer to the original Chinese text for additional parties involved in the persecution.
