(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old resident of Yi County, Liaoning Province was issued a formal arrest warrant around February 3, 2024 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

While Mr. Qin Shuhai was facing indictment, his wife, who had been incapacitated for years and relied on him for care, died on February 13, 2024, which was the fourth day of the Chinese New Year and 26 days after his arrest.

Mr. Qin’s family requested that he be released temporarily to tend to his wife’s funeral, but captain Liu Haizhi of the Yi County Domestic Security Office said it was no longer his business, as the case had been submitted to the Linghai City Procuratorate. Both Yi County and Linghai City are under the administration of Jinzhou City, with Linghai designated to handle all Falun Gong cases in the greater Jinzhou region.

Arrested on January 18, 2024

Mr. Qin’s arrest stemmed from an incident in October 2023, when he and another practitioner Ms. Liu Yulan went to nearby Maling Village and ran into the village secretary. As the secretary did not recognize them as being from that village, he stopped them and questioned whom they were visiting. He then searched their tricycle and discovered four boxes of table calendars bearing Falun Gong messages. He confiscated the calendars and let them go. He later reported the two practitioners to police.

More than ten officers, many of them in plainclothes, broke into Mr. Qin’s home on January 18, 2024 and raided his home. They did not show their IDs or a search warrant.

Mr. Qin’s 81-year-old mother, who lives with his family, shook in fear. The police arrested Mr. Qin and two other practitioners, Ms. Li Guibin, 75, and Ms. Chu Hongfen, in her 60s, who happened to be visiting him. Ms. Li and Ms. Chu were both given 15 days of detention, but were released on the 8th or 9th day after their families each paid a 15,000-yuan bail bond.

Also on January 18, the same group of officers arrested Ms. Liu at home, before proceeding to arrest another practitioner, Mr. Shi Baoshan.

Both Mr. Shi and Mr. Qin are currently held at the Yi County Detention Center, while Ms. Liu is being held at the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center.

81-Year-Old Mother Interrogated

Four officers returned to Mr. Qin’s home on January 19, 2024, the day after his arrest, and asked his mother if she knew where her son and Ms. Liu got those four boxes of calendars. She said that she had no clue. The police ordered her to sign their interrogation records and she told them that she was illiterate. They then had another elderly woman, who happened to be visiting, sign Mr. Qin’s mother’s name. Then they forced Mr. Qin’s mother to fingerprint the document.


Mr. Qin's mother

Incapacitated Wife Dies 26 Days after Husband’s Arrest

Mr. Qin’s wife was not only incapacitated, but also had an intellectual disability. Her condition worsened after his arrest. She cried for him every day. Her mother-in-law struggled to care for her. She died on February 13, 2024, the fourth day of the Chinese New Year and 26 days following her husband’s arrest.