Mr. Hua Lianyong and Wife Ms. Tian Zongli Arrested Again

On April 24th, 2012, Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Hua Lianyou and his wife Ms. Tian Zongli, from Beichen District, Tianjin City, were arrested by officers from the Jiarongdao Police Station in Hongqiao District. Their home was ransacked. It was said that the police station received an order from the city government to arrest them. The police confiscated personal belongings including Falun Gong books, computers, and printers. The couple are now detained in Beichen District Detention Centre.

Mr. Hua and Ms. Tian had previously been arrested in February 2001, and were sentenced to five years and four years in prison, respectively. Mr. Hua was at one time tortured to the point that he developed a mental disorder.

The couple started practising Falun Gong in 1997. Before practising, Mr. Hua had a lumbar disc herniation, which was cured within three days after he began practising Falun Gong. They have since been practising very diligently. After 1999, Mr. Hua was hit by a car twice. In one accident he had a bone fracture but he didn't ask for anything from the driver. The driver appreciated him as well as Falun Gong very much, and Mr. Hua also gave him a Falun Gong book. Afterwards, Mr. Hua stayed home to do the exercises and was back to a normal after just one month.

The couple worked as newspaper delivery persons. They were very responsible in their work and were appreciated by the management. On February 22nd, 2001, they were arrested by officers from the Tonglou Police Station of Hexi District, Tianjin City. At the time, they had just received an award at work for the excellent jobs they did.

Their child was only eleven years old at the time. After their arrest, Ms. Tian's mother and the child went to the police station, court, and Procuratorate to ask for their release. They had to walk to each of the places despite the elder's age, which left her with a leg weakness up to this day.

The child was once a top student in her class. After her parents were arrested, she experienced mental suffering and her grades at school dropped. At the time, the teacher didn't know the truth about the persecution. She said that the child had mental problems, told her classmates to isolate her, and even disallowed her from sitting in classes. Later, without notifying the family, the court sentenced Mr. Hua to five years and Ms. Tian to four years in prison. They were detained in Tianjin First Jail and Tianjin Women's Jail. Ms. Tian's mother questioned the court staff about why they did not notify the family. They said, “We had no choice.”

Mr. Hua was severely persecuted in jail. When he returned home in 2006, he had developed a mental disorder. He screamed a lot and drank dirty water from shoe-washing. This condition lasted for another six months. It is likely that the jail had injected him with some unknown drugs, which cause him to suffer a mental disorder.

Beichen District Detention Centre:
Liu Feng, director
Phone: +86-22-26817434
Dong Ping, director of Beichen District Bureau of Justice: +86-13502028888 (mobile)