Ms. Zhao Suzhen from Anguo City of Hebei Province Sentenced to Forced Labour

At around 8 p.m. on December 21st, 2008, officers from the Yaoshi Police Station arrested Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhao Suzhen of Xifuluo Township, Anguo City, Hebei Province, when she was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. She was detained at the Anguo City Public Security Bureau Detention Centre. After seven days, on December 27th, she was taken to the Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labour Camp for one year of forced labour.

On the night of September 14th, 2006, Ms. Zhao Suzhen, her sister Zhao Suqing, and Ms. Qiu Jingrui and Ms. Qiu Yanting, both over 60 years old, were watching Falun Gong lectures at home. Tian Xu, the Xifuluo Township Police Station director, and a police contingent broke into the private residence, handcuffed the ladies and took them to the police station. They ransacked Ms. Zhao's home and confiscated a TV, VCD, tape recorder and Falun Gong materials. They also wanted to arrest Ms. Zhao Suzhen's mother. However, the lady's state of health was such that the police let her go. Ms. Zhao Suzhen and Ms. Zhao Suqing were handcuffed to a heating pipe.

The practitioners later escaped and took the confiscated Falun Gong material with them when they left. Tian Xu was angry and felt that he had lost face. He found Ms. Zhao Suzhen's 17-year-old son at school and took him to the police station. He kicked, punched and threatened the teenage boy with an electric baton and forced him to admit that he also practised Falun Gong. Then, Tian Xu extorted 3,500 yuan¹ before releasing him.

The police issued a warrant for the arrest of Ms. Zhao Suzhen and her sister and published it on Internet. The ladies then were forced to become homeless and destitute. During the Beijing Olympics, police again persecuted practitioners in the name of "safeguarding the Olympics." On the night of June 26th, 2008, Anguo City police broke into the Zhao family residence by climbing over the exterior wall. Ms. Zhao Suzhen had already left home, but on the night of December 21st, police found and arrested her.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/1/8/193124.html