(Minghui.org) Three female practitioners from Xianghe County, Hebei Province, were arrested on February 14, 2017, and are facing indictment.

Police from the Xianghe County Domestic Security Bureau broke into Ms. Xing Lianzhen's home on February 14, 2017, and arrested her and two other practitioners, Ms. Yu Zhaoxia and Ms. Wang Jianhua, who were visiting at the time. The officers ransacked Ms. Xing's home.

Ms. Wang, who only began to practice Falun Gong in 2016, was released the next day.

Ms. Xing and Ms. Yu's families hired lawyers. Ms. Xing's lawyer went to meet with her on March 1, but Yang Yongli, the director of the Xianghe County Domestic Security Bureau, refused to allow him to see her.

Ms. Xing and Ms. Yu's arrests were approved on March 16.

Ms. Wang, the new practitioner, was told to go to the police station on March 17 and was arrested.

Ms. Yu's lawyer demanded to see his client and threatened to file a lawsuit after being turned away twice by the Xianghe County Domestic Security Bureau. Ms. Yu was finally able to meet with him on April 5.

All three practitioners are detained in the Sanhe City Detention Center.

Ms. Yu Zhaoxia: Three Arrests and One Year of Forced Labor

Ms. Yu Zhaoxia

Ms. Yu is 49. Her parents began to practice Falun Gong in 1998. After witnessing her parents recover from different ailments, she started to practice a month later. She recovered from all her health problems within a week.

Ms. Yu became a better person. She made peace with her parent-in-laws and treated them well.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1997, Ms. Yu's parents were monitored by the police around the clock.

2005: Tortured in Brainwashing Center

Ms. Yu was taken to a brainwashing center in March 2005, where she was deprived of sleep and threatened. After 38 days of torture, her weight dropped from 90 pounds to 65 pounds. She started to have symptoms of her former heart disease and was transferred to a hospital. She was mentally disoriented and heard voices.

2008: Brainwashed in Isolation Cell and Tortured in Labor Camp

Over a dozen police officers went to Ms. Yu's home on August 4, 2008, and told her to come with them. When she refused, four of them dragged her into the police car in front of her child. Her home was ransacked.

She was taken to the Langfang Brainwashing Center that day and confined in an isolation cell. About five people were involved in the daily brainwashing and they threatened her. Officials from local 610 Office transferred her to the Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labr Camp 50 days later.

Labor camp officials said they could not accept her because of her poor health. But 610 Office agents bribed them, and she spent a year in the forced labor cam.

Ms. Yu was tortured in the labor camp. She was made to sleep on the floor in the hallway for two weeks. Then she was taken to a room and surrounded by five collaborators around the clock. To try to force her to renounce Falun Gong, they verbally abused her for 20 days. She remained steadfast.

Ms. Yu was moved to a cell and made to sit on a small stool from 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. except at meal time. She developed blisters on her buttocks after a few days.

All practitioners had to work. If they refused and went on a hunger strike to protest, they were force-fed. When Ms. Yu resumed eating, she ate one steamed bun per meal but did not drink water, because practitioners were not given a restroom break.

One winter morning in 2008, with temperatures below freezing, practitioners who refused to work were taken outdoors in very little clothing.

Mid-2009: Moved to Brainwashing Center

Ms. Yu was losing her eyesight by July 2009. Her memory and hearing were deteriorating as well. She became weak and could barely walk. She was covered in scabies. But she was still forced to do hard labor. Family visits were not allowed.

After her term was over, 610 Office agents transferred her to the Weifang Brainwashing Center. By the time she was released, she was emaciated,

Ms. Xing Lianzhen: Three Arrests and Twice Brainwashed

Ms. Xing Lianzhen

Ms. Xing Lianzhen, 59, began to practice Falun Gong in March 1998 when she was near the end of her endurance because of her health issues. Within just a few days—and before she had learned all the exercises—her life turned around.

2008: Tortured in Brainwashing Center

She was arrested on August 4, 2008, while working in the fields and taken to the Weifang Brainwashing Center. She was released after being mentally tortured for 78 days. Without her to do the work on the farm on time, her family suffered a huge financial loss.

2013: Taken to Brainwashing Center

Several police officers arrived at Ms. Xing's home on April 12, 2013, and ransacked it without showing a search warrant. They confiscated all Falun Gong-related materials, a laptop, a printer, and other printing related equipment and materials. They also confiscated 700 yuan and her son's car, which they totaled.

Ms. Xing and her husband, who is not a practitioner, were arrested. Her husband was released the next day, but Ms. Xing was taken to the Weifang Brainwashing Center.