Ms. Zhao Lanfang Endures Harsh Interrogation Methods by Police from the Nanhui Police Department in Shanghai

On the afternoon of August 23rd, 2008, six to eight police officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Nanhui District Police Department, the Zhuqiao Town Police Station (in Nanhui District) and the Chuansha Town Police Station broke into practitioner Ms. Zhao Lanfang's home in Chuansha Town, Pudong District in Shanghai. Several officers forced her out of her home and pushed her into a car while the remaining police ransacked her home. She was then detained at the Zhuqiao Town Police Station. Her family members did not want to let the officers take her Falun Gong books and computer, so the police threatened that if they did not cooperate, they would be arrested under the crime of disrupting public order. The police made phone calls to ask for more police back up. Many people standing by condemned this action; however the police took the Falun Gong books, leaflets exposing the persecution and computer by force.

At the Zhuqiao Town Police Station, officers forced Ms. Zhao to hold a sign with her name in front of her chest and took some pictures (the procedure for criminals). Then seven or eight officers interrogated her. Ms. Zhao did not cooperate with them, and was taken to the Nanhui District Detention centre.

During the one month that Ms. Zhao Lanfang was detained at the Nanhui Detention Centre, there were eight officers assigned to her case, divided into four pairs. Each pair took turns interrogating her. The interrogation was brutal and they were very rude. They would sometimes pretend to be nice and sometimes were harsh. They tried every method they could. During one interrogation, they forced Ms. Zhao to stand in a corner for more than 6 hours. One officer poured a glass of water on her and said, "Don't worry, it will dry up." Another officer grabbed her arm and squeezed it fiercely, creating a bruise on her arm that didn't heal for two weeks. That same officer also slapped her, saying her attitude was not good. Ms. Zhao Lanfang asked, "So do you think you have a good attitude when you slap people?" The police answered, "Abusive action is allowed during interrogation, it is quite normal."

The police also mentally tortured and threatened Ms. Zhao. They told her, "If you don't tell us the source of those books and materials, we can arrest your husband, your son, your daughter and your son-in-law. We can ruin your whole family. We can send you to attend a brainwashing class for two months in the Legal Education School, and then we can send you to a forced labour camp." They also tried to trick her by telling her, "Your grandson's health condition is bad, he is sick," or, "your son is under arrest, he is under custody in this detention centre, he is sleeping in his cell near the toilet." Then they threatened that they were about to go and teach her son a lesson. On the day of the Moon Festival, the police suddenly said they would like to release her to allow her to celebrate with her family. Later, they tried to convince her to tell them where she got the Falun Gong books.

During that one month, the police switched their attitude from soft to harsh, back and forth. They never stopped mentally and physically torturing Ms. Zhao. On the day of her release, the police demanded that she sign a guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong. Ms. Zhao Lanfang refused.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/10/4/187099.html