(Minghui.org) Seven people were arrested by police at Hejiang County in Luzhou on July 12, 2017, for distributing materials that exposed the persecution of their spiritual belief, Falun Gong.

All seven people, including two in their seventies, were taken to the Jiuzhi Town Police Station and interrogated by the police. They were kept at the interrogation room overnight, and were starved and deprived of water for an entire day.

During the interrogation, the police questioned the seven Falun Gong practitioners about where they obtained the materials, how many they had distributed and who organized the seven of them. The police also forced them to sign the interrogation record.

Ms. Dong Guozhen, who was over 70, asked the police to read to her what was written on the record before she signed it. The police told her that they would read it to her after she signed it. Ms. Dong then signed five different documents, but the police never read anything to her.

Mr. Song Ping refused to sign the documents. The police forced him to lift his arms and pressed his hands and feet against the wall. They then proceeded to shock him with electric batons.

On the afternoon following the practitioners' arrests, the police ransacked all of their homes and confiscated their Falun Gong-related books and materials, which were usually used by the police to press charges against the practitioners.

The police confiscated a computer and DVD burner from Mr. Song’s home. They returned a few days later and also went upstairs to search the roof of his apartment building. They also threatened Mr. Song’s family, saying that if they didn’t turn in his printer, they would arrest another one of their family members.

On July 13, one day after the arrests, Ms. Dong Guozhen and Ms. Gao Xianying, both over 70, were released on bail. Mr. Song Ping was sent to Hejiang Detention Center and all the practitioners, including Ms. Zhou Mingying, Ms. Zhang Yuanhua, Ms. Liu Zhongfen, and Ms. Shuai Xianfang, were sent to Naxi Detention Center in Luzhou City.

On July 26, Ms. Gao was asked to go to the police station in Hejiang County. However, about 10 minutes after she went into the police station, she was forced to get into a car and driven away by the police. At the time of writing, her family still hasn't been informed by the police of her whereabouts. They suspect that she was also sent to the detention center.

On July 30, the police asked Ms. Dong to go to the police station. Her husband went with her. The police threatened that they may still detain her in the future despite her advanced age.