Xin Shoulai (pseudonym, 56) and his wife Xia Chunxia (pseudonym, 54), living in Fuxin City in Liaoning Province, are both Christians of The Church of Almighty God.
A little past 4 p.m. on September 9, 2018, when Mr. Xin and his wife were arrested by 6 police officers from Jinzhou National Security Brigade, they were waiting for the train home at Jinzhou City Rail Station after dealing with some affairs in this city. The officers handcuffed the couple, pushed them into the police car, and took them to a local police station.
On their way to the police station, an officer punched Mr. Xin’s neck and shoulders and kicked his wife, threatening them, “We have spied on you for a long while. If you don’t tell the truth, you children will also be arrested and killed, but no one will be held accountable.”
After arriving at the police station, in order to pressure him to reveal the church information, the officers first made Mr. Xin to stand in a half-squat position. One officer kept tugging his handcuffs upward until Mr. Xin could not take it anymore. Another two officers held his arms and supported his knees with their legs, lest he collapse; yet another officer behind him yanked his handcuffs downward at the same time. Mr. Xin immediately felt a sharp pain in his wrists, which has caused his thumbs to numb till now. Afterward, they ordered Mr. Xin to squat again. The torment lasted for almost one hour.
After that, the police escorted Mr. Xin back to the house he rented, rummaged through the house and found two religious books. “This is the evidence,” a police officer said aggressively. The police claimed that Mr. Xin was a church leader, and then took him back to the police station for questioning the church’s information, but to no avail again.
At the same time, the police were interrogating Mrs. Xia about the same questions but were also unsuccessful. The couple were released after they were detained in a detention center in Jinzhou City for 15 days on the charge of “believing in xie jiao (heterodox teachings).”
