(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Jianqiao, in her 60s, was illegally arrested outside a courthouse in Nanjing on May 31, 2016. At that time, six Falun Gong practitioners were being tried. Her lumbar vertebrae were fractured during the arrest, and she ended up being detained for 23 days.
Below is Ms. Wang's account of the incident:
As I was passing the Xuanwu District Courthouse on May 31, Xiao Lingjian, an officer from the Nanjing Domestic Security Division, stopped and questioned me.
He asked why I was there and immediately contacted another officer. A car pulled up within a few seconds, and another officer told me to get in. I was unsure what was happening and refused to comply. Several men then tried to push me into the car.
I asked, “How can you force me into this car in broad daylight?”
Three officers pulled my arms behind my back and pushed me into the car. My torso was twisted, and I felt excruciating pain in my lower back. They also grabbed my handbag and pulled off my shoes.
Two men held me down in the car, and I was taken to the interrogation room at Hunan Road Police Station. They inspected my handbag and found a Falun Gong book and some informational fliers about the persecution.
My lower back started to hurt worse and worse, and I could not stand up straight.
They questioned me about the source of the Falun Gong items, but I refused to answer.
Two officers then came in and drew blood from me against my will.
The police ransacked both my and my mother's homes, confiscating a number of Falun Gong books and other personal items.
My mother is almost 90. Many of her illnesses disappeared after she started practicing Falun Gong 19 years ago.
I was detained in the police station overnight.
The police told me the next morning that I would be taken to Nanjing City Detention Center. My husband came, and I told him about my back pain. He insisted that I be taken to a hospital.
Three officers handcuffed me and took me to the Police Hospital. They only requested the required health admittance examination for detention, but refused to have my lower back checked.
I was held in the Nanjing Detention Center for seven days and could not take care of myself due to my back pain. Pan Jun and Xu, officers from the Gulou District Domestic Security Division, interrogated me several times during that period.
Because I refused to reveal the source of my books and other informational materials, I was taken to the Gulou District Brainwashing Center a week later on June 8.
My husband then insisted that the police take me to get a CT scan.
I had a CT scan on June 13 and diagnosed with a level 2 compression fracture in the lumbar vertebrae. I also had an MRI on June 19 that showed the same thing. The doctor recommended bed rest for 3 months before getting another exam.
The personnel at the brainwashing center ordered me to write a guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong before they would release me. I refused.
I was then forced to attend brainwashing sessions and was interrogated by Pan Jun every day.
I was told that the name of the officer who injured me during the arrest was Liu Jingbo. Mr. Liu even hurt his own back during the arrest.
The police forbid me from contacting other Falun Gong practitioners and from posting anything about my injury on the Internet.
My back pain was persistent, and I was released after being held for a total of 23 days.
Over 100 armed police guarded the courthouse in Nanjing on May 31 when six local women were tried for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
The supposedly “open” trial was closed to the public. Many Falun Gong practitioners were arrested as they tried to enter the courthouse to show their support. The exact number of arrested practitioners remains to be investigated.
About 20 other practitioners had previously been arrested on May 13, the original court date for these six Nanjing women. The authorities postponed the trial and threatened to arrest anyone who showed up at the courthouse.
Related articles:Nanjing: Practitioners Harassed at Trial, Blood Samples and Other Biometric Data Forcibly Taken from Area PractitionersNanjing, Jiangsu Province: Six Women Tried for Their Faith, Supporters Arrested