(Minghui.org) Police in Sanhe City, Hebei Province recently harassed local Falun Gong practitioners at their homes for suing Jiang Zemin. While some practitioners refused to answer police questioning because the officers did not show badges or identification, two practitioners did speak with them, but later found discrepancies in the police reports.
Harassed for Exercising Legal Rights
Since May 2015, hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens have filed criminal complaints against Jiang, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, for launching the 16-year-long persecution against Falun Gong. In many regions, however, practitioner plaintiffs are being harassed, some even detained, for exercising their constitutional right to sue.
Police from the Duanjialing Township Police Station went to several practitioners' homes in Shibaihu Village on January 6. Some practitioners refused to let the police in without a badge or identification; some didn't answer any questions or sign the police report as asked. Ms. Lei Yufang and Ms. Zhao Shufang, however, met with the police, but later found that the police reports were not true to their conversations.
Besides Ms. Lei and Ms. Zhao, seven other practitioners also received unexpected police visits on the same day. They include: Ms. Zhang Yongqing and her husband, Ms. Zhang Fengzhi, Ms. Zhang Fenglan, Ms. Zhao Shulan, and Ms. Ji Heping.
Discrepancies in the Police Reports
Ms. Zhao Shufang, an elderly practitioner in her 70's, was home by herself when the police visited on the morning of January 6. She welcomed the police warmly and told them how she and her three daughters-in-law had benefited from the practice, as well as how her family has suffered after Jiang launched the persecution. She confirmed that she had indeed submitted her lawsuit against Jiang to the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court.
The police recorded, videotaped, and transcribed the entire conversation, then asked Ms. Zhao to sign the report. She was reluctant since she is illiterate and couldn't read it to make sure it was true to what had been said. The police promised that the report was verbatim, so she ultimately decided to sign it.
The next day, three police officers re-visited another practitioner, Ms. Lei Yufang, whom they had questioned the day before. During the conversation, Ms. Lei noticed that in the police report, her lawsuit against Jiang was repeatedly referred to as “false accusations” or “false claim.” She became alarmed and pointed it out to the police.
The police were still around when Ms. Zhao, who happened to be Ms. Lei's neighbor, stopped by the latter's house. Ms. Zhao grew suspicious of the police report she was asked to sign the previous day, but the officer refused to give her a copy, claiming that her case had been closed and they did not have her report on hand.
Ms. Lei and Ms. Zhao then asked the police to stop transcribing the conversation. They explained that filing complaints against a former leader did not break the law, but interfering with citizens practicing their right to seek justice was illegal. They advised the police officers to do the right thing and stop harassing law-abiding citizens.
Background
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law now allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
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