(Minghui.org) A woman in Sichuan Province was arrested after being caught by a surveillance camera putting up posters with details about the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese communist regime. She was tortured during interrogation and later released after police extorted funds from her family.
Ms. Yan Qiongfang, 57, was arrested on February 17 while working at her market stall. Officers took Ms. Yan to her apartment, broke in, and seized her Falun Gong books, bank books, cell phones, and other personal belongings.
After the persecution began in 1999, Ms. Yan was forced to leave her hometown to avoid being arrested for practicing Falun Gong. She returned home in 2013, two years before this arrest.
Violent Interrogation
At the police station, officers showed her surveillance footage showing Ms. Yan and another practitioner putting up posters about the persecution of Falun Gong. Officer Liu Yong asked where she got the posters. When Ms. Yan refused to answer, Liu hit her in the temple with a rock, knocking her out.
After she regained consciousness, Liu continued to interrogate her. Ms. Yan still refused to divulge information about the other practitioner. Officers then stomped on her feet, struck her with a metal bar, and used other forms of physical abuse.
That night, Ms. Yan's husband went to the police station to demand that she be released, as she had been arrested solely for her belief in Falun Gong. He provided his medical records showing how he had almost fully recovered from cancer after starting to practice Falun Gong.
The police refused to release Ms. Yan and instead took her to a hospital for an exam. When Ms. Yan asked why, officer Zhou Lin explained, “To check which of your organs are good.”
Ms. Yan was then taken to Yongxing Detention Center in Suining City, where officers Zhou Lin and Tan Xing interrogated her three times to find out the source of the materials she had been posting.
Police Extortion
On March 25, after Ms. Yan had been detained for a month, officers Zhou and Tan threatened to send her to a forced labor camp for years unless her son-in-law paid 5000 yuan. Ms. Yan's family gave in to the pressure and paid what amounted to a ransom.
When she was released, officers continued asking her where she's gotten the items she posted. Ms. Yan didn't reply to the question, just explained to them how Falun Dafa was being persecuted by the communist regime.
To avoid further harassment and arrest, Ms. Yan was forced to leave home with her husband.
