(Minghui.org) Ms. Jin Hong’s family was unable to take her home right away on December 3, 2023, when she completed a four-year prison term for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was instead turned over to the police, who drove her to the station to go through some paperwork before being letting her go later that day.
A Quick Recap of Ms. Jin’s Case
Ms. Jin, 56, lives in the Tiexi District of Shenyang City in Liaoning Province. She was arrested on December 4, 2019, for distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. The Tiexi District Court sentenced her to four years in September 2020 and she was transferred to Liaoning Province Second Women’s Prison on March 18, 2021.
Ms. Jin endured heinous torture in prison for not renouncing her faith and her leg was severely injured. Her family’s requests to hold the perpetrators accountable, to have a copy of her injury evaluation report, and to visit her in prison were repeatedly denied. She was only allowed four in-person visits and two phone calls with her family after her prison admission.
Despite the relentless torture, Ms. Jin never wavered in her faith throughout her entire term. The Tiexi District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), an extra-judicial agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong, thus ordered the prison to turn her over to the Xinggong Police Station, which was responsible for her 2019 arrest, when her term ended on December 3, 2023. The police then worked hand in glove with the prison to secure the transfer, despite strong protests from Ms. Jin’s family.
Ms. Jin refused to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong after she was taken to the police station. She said that she would keep seeking justice as she should never have been jailed for her faith in the first place. She also reserved the right to file complaints against the police and the PLAC for seizing her on her day of release.
Battle Between Ms. Jin’s Family and the Police
Ms. Jin’s loved ones and friends arrived at the prison before 9 a.m. on December 3, 2023, eager to pick her up after four long years of separation.
When the clock struck nine, a police cruiser suddenly pulled up and parked sideways outside the main gate. Three men and one woman jumped out and went inside the prison through a side door.
Ms. Jin’s family saw the four people talk to the guards but couldn’t make out what they said. The four people then came outside and stood by their cruiser.
Ms. Jin’s family became alarmed and asked the four people who they were. It turned out that two of them, Liu Xin and Wang Yonggang, were from the Xinggong Police Station; the third man was Gao Linze, secretary of Huabei Community, where Ms. Jin resides; and the woman was Wang Li from the Xinghua Street Committee appeals office.
While officer Wang Yonggang was in charge of public safety in Ms. Jin’s neighborhood, he let Liu do the talking. Liu said they were there to pick Ms. Jin up. Her husband couldn’t believe his ears. Infuriated, he asked, “What is your justification for picking up my wife? I’ve filed many complaints against you police and the prison for arresting and torturing her. How could you just show up here without even notifying her family first?”
Liu insisted that Ms. Jin had to go with them. Her husband showed him mail confirmation from various government agencies acknowledging the receipt of complaints filed against her perpetrators. Liu brushed him off and said, “No need to show me these. It is no use. Sue me wherever you like.”
Wang chimed in, “We must take her away today.”
Ms. Jin’s husband then asked the two officers why they were not wearing their uniforms while enforcing the law. Liu responded that picking up Ms. Jin was not enforcing the law.
Ms. Jin’s husband asked to see the officers’ IDs. Liu admitted that he was actually just an auxiliary officer with the Xinggong Police Station. Wang flashed his police ID.
Ms. Jin’s husband demanded to know on what legal basis the police were seizing her when she had already served her time. Liu pulled out his phone to show a web page about Article 300 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates that anyone using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He said that was sufficient for them to take Ms. Jin away.
Her husband argued that no law criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult. Additionally, how could Ms. Jin undermine any law enforcement when she was still in prison? He urged Liu, Wang, and the other two to not persecute Ms. Jin again, when she’d barely survived four years of torture and had sustained severe injuries.
He implored them to let his wife go home with him. Liu was still adamant that Ms. Jin had to go to the police station.
Ms. Jin’s husband eventually decided to give in as he did not want an even worse outcome.
The Prison’s Careful Plan to Ensure Ms. Jin’s Transfer to the Police
According to prison rules, inmates whose terms are up on a particular day are to be released all together at 9:30 a.m. that day. On December 3, 2023, however, the prison set all the other eligible inmates free at 8:30 a.m. while holding Ms. Jin inside so that the other inmates would not notice she was being transferred to the police.
When Ms. Jin’s loved ones were reasoning with the police outside, the prison sent out a few plainclothes guards to blend in with the crowd and pretend to be her friends. They yelled, “Let’s just cooperate with the police!” Several other plainclothes guards were also seen leaving the prison and standing two meters apart behind the crowd.
When the main gate was finally open for Ms. Jin, more than 20 guards and four armed officers rushed out, followed by Ms. Jin, who was flanked by a few other guards. Only her husband and son were allowed to greet her briefly, while the rest of her family and friends were kept away.
Despite repeated requests from Ms. Jin’s husband to have a copy of her injury evaluation report over the past few years, the guards only quickly showed him the report, without giving him a copy, after she left the prison.
Ms. Jin’s son was allowed to accompany her in the police cruiser. Her family then saw a head guard call out, “Let’s all go inside!” All the guards, uniformed and in plainclothes, then retreated inside the prison.
Ms. Jin Reiterates Her Innocence at the Police Station
Ms. Jin was hot and thirsty during the ride. She also had motion sickness. When she asked to get out of the vehicle to cool off and drink some water, officer Wang blocked the passenger door on the right and secretary Gao on the left. She asked what crime she had committed that kept her from getting out of the vehicle. Wang lied that the passenger doors were broken but relented when she insisted. As soon as she got out, Wang and the others jumped out and kept a close eye on her to prevent her from fleeing.
When Ms. Jin was reluctant to get back inside the cruiser, Wang threatened her, “No matter how long a break you take, you must go to the police station today.”
Ms. Jin complied. As soon as they arrived, Wang became a no-show. Liu complained that Wang was offloading the task of “working on” Ms. Jin to him, an auxiliary officer.
Liu then ordered Ms. Jin to write a statement to renounce her faith and said all newly released Falun Gong practitioners must go through the same formalities before they could go home. Ms. Jin wrote, “I broke no law but was sentenced to four years by the Tiexi District Court. I was brutally tortured and humiliated in the Liaoning Province Second Prison. I will do whatever it takes to hold the perpetrators responsible.” Her son warned Liu to not harass her and their family again.
Related reports:
Family's Uphill Battle to Visit Loved One In Prison
Liaoning Woman Suffers Heinous Torture in Prison
Liaoning Woman Tortured in Prison for Not Renouncing Her Faith
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