Practitioners and Their Family Members Arrested in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province

Since June 2012, Linye Police Department in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, and the Domestic Security Division have seized several Falun Gong practitioners including Niu Huijie, her daughter, and her daughter's fiancee (who is not a practitioner), as well as another couple, Ms. Song Guiping and Mr. Qiao Zhenbin, who are both practitioners.

Ms. Niu Huijie is a resident of Hegang City. She is 50 years old and her husband recently passed away. Her daughter was planning to marry in June.

On June 1st, 2012 Ms. Niu was accompanying an elderly practitioner, 72-year-old Ms. Ren Xingqin, to Yichun Brainwashing Centre to see Ms. Ren's daughter, Jia Qiumei.

The brainwashing centre officials asked her whether practised Falun Gong. She replied that she practised occasionally for health reasons. They said that, since she was a practitioner, she had to stay in the brainwashing centre. They did not detain Ms. Ren because they said she was too old. A police officer from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) accompanied her home.

On the evening of June 2nd between 9 and 10 p.m. Hebei Linye Domestic Security Division sent seven male officers and two female officers to ransack Ms. Niu's home. They took a printer and seized her daughter and her daughter's fiance. They were interrogated.

That same day, officers were also sent to ransack the home of the parents of Ms. Niu's daughter's fiancee. This was because the fiancee had been helping Ms. Niu to hold a box from Ms. Song Guiping's home, which contained a printer, without his knowledge. Under interrogation, the fiancee told the officers that Ms. Niu had stored a few things in Ms. Song's home.

On June 3rd between 3 and 5 a.m., officers from Hebei Domestic Security Division forced their way into Ms. Song's home. They ransacked it and seized both her and her husband, Qiao Zhenbin.

On June 3rd, Ms. Niu's daughter's was released, but her fiancee was still detained.

Back in 2006 officers from Linye Police Department also ransacked Ms. Niu's home.