6/25/2003

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yang Shaofan was arrested by the "610 Office" in Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province for spreading truth-clarifying materials about Falun Dafa. To extort a confession about the source of the materials, the police tortured him and then illegally jailed him in a detention center.

It has been one month since he began a hunger strike to protest the brutal persecution. During this period the police broke into his house to enforce an illegal search while his family members were not at home. Yang's mother was so frightened and worried that she suffered from an agonizing heart attack again.

On June 14, Yang's mother let her daughter and son in law go to the city's "610 Office" to ask for Yang's release, but Song Shuqin, the director of the office, cursed them with nasty words. Song not only refused to set Yang free, but also had seven or eight policemen tackle the couple down, kicking and beating them severely. Yang's brother in law's mouth and nose were bleeding. He also had two swollen and black eyes.