Mr. Wang Jianfu and his wife Ms. Zhang Zhiyun, over 30 years old, residents of Xigao Village, Donggaocun Town, Pinggu District in Beijing

Ms. Zhang and Mr. Wang both started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. Since 1999, when the Chinese government started persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, the authorities from the local police stations have frequently harassed and persecuted the couple. In the summer of 2001, Mr. Wang was arrested and severely tortured. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison and is still detained in the Tianjin Prison.

Ms. Zhang was sentenced to forced labor for one and a half years at the end of 2001. After she was released in 2003, her life was very harsh. Nevertheless, the village committee and police officers from the Donggaocun Town Police Station continued to harass her.

In early 2005, when informational materials exposing the persecution against Falun Gong were found in the village, the authorities suspected that Ms. Zhang had something to do with it. Without any evidence and despite her daughter having no one else to look after her, the authorities detained Ms. Zhang in the police station for over a week. Ms. Zhang protested with a hunger strike and the police released her; however, they still kept harassing her. The severe hardships in her life and the long-term harassment from the police traumatized Ms. Zhang, which eventually led to her having a mental collapse.

Type = Case, Torture; Type = Case, Violence Against Women; Location = Beijing