Name: Yan Congzhi (闫聪芝)
Gender: Female
Age: 62
Address: Dazhong Township, Baiquan County, Heilongjiang Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 30, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Qiqihar No. 1 Detention Centre (齐齐哈尔市第一看守所)
City: Qiqihar
Province: Heilongjiang

Persecution Suffered: illegal sentencing, detention

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms.Yan Congzhi was arrested in September by the local 610 Office. For the past three months, her family has tried in vain to visit her. The local 610 Office, public security bureau, and detention center have shirked responsibility and has denied her family visitation rights. It was only in January 2011 that her son found out that she had been sentenced to four years of imprisonment.

Ms Yan Zhicong and her husband

To date, her family does not know where Ms. Yan is being held.

In the past ten years, Ms. Yan and her husband have remained faithful to Falun Gong. As a result, they have been constantly persecuted by the local police. The two of them were forced to leave their home. Her husband was sentenced to a forced labor camp, and the torture he suffered there caused him to become paralyzed from the waist down. Now Ms. Yan has been illegally sentenced. Her husband has to be taken care of by Ms. Yan's elderly sister who lives in another city.

Ms. Yan used to have stomach problems, arthritis and gynecological issues. When her husband began practicing Falun Gong 1996, he changed for the better physically and mentally. When Ms. Yan witnessed her husband's changes, she began to practice too, beginning in 1997. Within six months, she became healthy and energetic. She could work in the fields and became a happier person, kinder and more hardworking.

Ms. Yan and her husband used to live in Nenjiang County, Qixingpao Farm. Since the persecution started, they moved to Bei'an City and later Changzheng Village, Dazhong Township, Baiquan County.

In April 2003, Ms. Yan's husband was arrested as soon as he got off the bus on his way to Qixingpao. He was then detained in the local detention center for 97 days. During his detention, local authorities in Nenjiang County conspired to sentence him to forced labor for three years. In the same year, on July 24, he was arrested and taken to Suihua City Forced Labor Camp, where he suffered maltreatment for six months until his legs became paralyzed and he had to be transferred to a nursing home in Dazhong Township, Baiquan County.

On May 16, 2010, police from Dazhong Police Station, along with three staff members from Baiquan County 610 Office, ransacked Ms. Yan's home and took away personal belongings, as well as videotaping her home.

Early in the morning, at approximately 5 a.m. on September 30, 2010, Wang Xugang and Xiao deceived Ms. Yan into going to the township government, and when she got there, staff from the local 610 Office were there. They arrested her and took her to Qiqihar No. 1 Detention Center.

In early January 2011, Ms. Yan's son found out from a staff member in the county's court that she had been sentenced to four years of imprisonment. The family has been kept in the dark during the the process.

Phone numbers of the perpetrators:

610 Office of Baiquan County 86-452－7323831, ext.3610/3611

Zhu Qingli, director of the 610 Office: 13504825400 (cell)

Huang Zhongfu, staff member: 13504825856 (cell)