Ms. Hu Zhongtian Arrested while Visiting a Friend in Shanghai

Shanghai Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Hu Zhongtian, in her 30s, went to visit Ms. Zhang Yi and was arrested by the Changning District police on February 2nd, 2012. Ms. Zhang was unaware that Ms. Hu had been arrested the day before. Officers approached Ms. Hu trying to seize her bag but she resisted. Ms. Hu was pushed to the ground and her hands were pinched and bloody. She was then handcuffed and forced into a police car. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Hearing the commotion, many of the neighbours came out and witnessed the arrest. They complained, “These police officers are unlawful. Is it a crime to visit someone? Can they search others at will? The male officers even resorted to violence. What kind of law is that?”

Ms. Hu is from Wuhan City, Hubei Province. She graduated from the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts and was an art editor at a magazine in Wuhan. She began practising Falun Gong in 1996. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the suppression of Falun Gong, she was forced to quit her job for being steadfast in her belief. She has been working in Shanghai ever since.

In 2001, Ms. Hu was sentenced to three years in prison for sending emails that contained information exposing the persecution to former classmates. She was incarcerated in the Shanghai Women's Prison. Her mother died during her imprisonment.

Ms. Hu has been living alone in Shanghai since being released from prison. Officers from Shanghai and Wuhan often harassed her. Wuhan officers threatened to cancel her residence registration. Before the 2008 Olympics, an officer from Wuhan traveled to Shanghai to harass her, stating that his supervisor ordered him to go.

Parties involved in the persecution:

Yuan Guixiang, chief of the Domestic Security Division of the Changning District Police Sub-Bureau: +86-21-62906290 x 39206 (Office)
Jun Meijuan, Changning District 610 Office: +86-21-52171531 x 36038 (Office)
Changning District Detention Centre: +86-21-62394720

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2012/2/13/253016.html