Mr. and Mrs. Ma Threatened to Be Taken to Brainwashing Centre by Officials from the Political and Judiciary Committee

Several years ago, married couple Mr. Ma Junyan and Mrs. Ma Ruiling were forced to leave their home to avoid being arrested in the persecution of Falun Gong. They ended up in Huining County, Baiyin District, Baiyin City in Gansu Province, where they now run a grocery store.

Since September 2012, officers from the Baiyin District Political and Judiciary Committee, the Renmin Road Police Station and the Renmin Road Neighbourhood Committee have been going to their home to harass them. At times, they have gone once a week, sometimes every day. The officers threatened the couple, telling them that if they did not give up Falun Gong, they would close their store and force them to attend brainwashing sessions.

Three people who claimed to be professors from the Gansu Province College of Political Science and Law went to the grocery store to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Ma, in an attempt to get them to renounce their belief. But they left, unsuccessful, at around noon on October 22nd, 2012. Su, the secretary of the Baiyin Political and Judiciary Committee, threatened to close the couple's store by October 27th, 2012 and said that they would be forcibly taken to the brainwashing centre.

In March 2012, officers from the Baiyin City Political and Judiciary Committee and the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) ordered all communities and sub-district administration offices to go door to door to harass Falun Gong practitioners under their jurisdiction. The officers have continuously harassed and threatened practitioners with brainwashing if they did not write a guarantee statement to stop practising Falun Gong.

Mr. Ma Junyan, around 42 years old, was originally a cadre at the Baiyin Power Bureau and has an associate degree. In 2001, he and his wife were arrested and taken to Ping'antai Forced Labour Camp in Gansu Province. Later, they were forced to leave their hometown and move to Huining County to avoid persecution from the local authorities.

Those involved in the harassment of Mr. and Mrs. Ma include: the secretary of the Baiyin District Political and Judiciary Committee, Su; office head of the Baiyin District Political and Judiciary Committee, Liu; an officer with the last name Bai from the Renmin Road Police Station, and an officer with the last name Ding from the Renmin Road Neighbourhood Committee. Among the three “professors,” one has the last name Zhu (female), one has the last name Mu and the other one's name is unknown.