(Minghui.org) Many Falun Gong practitioners have filed lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese dictator who launched the persecution of Falun Gong 17 years ago. As they used their real names and addresses in their criminal complaints, they have been retaliated against for exercising their constitutional right to hold Jiang responsible for infringing upon their freedom of belief.
In Qiancao Town, Sichuan Province, the authorities have deceived and threatened the local practitioners into signing documents that claimed they “repented” filing their lawsuit, that the lawsuit was false, or that they denounced Falun Gong.
The authorities in Guangming Community called a practitioner to the community office. They convinced her that they needed to see her about compensation for her land. She unknowingly signed a statement saying that she “repented” practicing Falun Gong.
The director of Jinsha Community told a practitioner to sign unknown documents and that, if she did, the harassments would stop. The practitioner and her family were not told what the documents said before or after signing them.
Another practitioner from the same community was told to sign a statement. The document said, among other things, that she had been deceived into suing Jiang and that she had decided to sever ties with Falun Gong. The practitioner refused to cooperate.
Besides deceiving practitioners, the Jinsha Community authorities tried to coerce the practitioners into signing the false statements in other ways.
A practitioner was the sole caretaker for her husband who had cancer and her paralyzed daughter. The authorities threatened to put her away in a brainwashing center.
The authorities threatened to fire a practitioner's son who worked for the town government. The son had to force his mother into signing the documents.
After the authorities frequently broke into a practitioner's home and harassed her and her family, her son and daughter-in-law were terrified. They not only signed the documents against the practitioner's will, but also prohibited her from meditating or leaving the house.
Authorities in Ebaoshan Community threatened to revoke the local practitioners' pensions if they refused to sign. They also ordered a practitioner and the family to turn in their personal identifications until the practitioner signed.
Some authorities were unwilling participants in persecuting practitioners. Many times they told the practitioners that they were under pressure from their superiors to get their signatures. They had to ask the practitioners to stop practicing Falun Gong because it was causing them “a lot of trouble.”