Ms. Zhang Ruixia, born in 1961, was a native of Qingfeng County, Puyang City, Henan Province. She joined The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in 1991. In June 2014, more than ten policemen, headed by Captain Ma Zhihong of Linzhou City Public Security Bureau’s National Security Brigade, arrested Zhang because of her belief in Almighty God. Zhang was tortured to death during detention at the age of 53. It was not until half a year later that Zhang’s family heard the news. According to Zhang’s family, her body was emaciated and unrecognizable. It had bruises all over. Her abdomen was dented and there was a long sewed up scar on it. The internal organs were suspected to be taken out and removed. The following is the process of Zhang Ruixia being persecuted to death by the police of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On June 25, 2014 at about 5 p.m., the Christians Zhang Ruixia and Xiaoying (an alias) from The Church of Almighty God went to another Christian’s place at a community in Linzhou, Henan Province. About an hour later, the police forced the door open. Led by Ma Zhihong, captain of National Security Brigade of Linzhou Public Security Bureau in Anyang, Henan Province, a dozen policemen forcibly rummaged the house without showing any documentation. They arrested Zhang Ruixia and Xiaoying and took them to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Linzhou Public Security Bureau. A policeman said that they tracked Zhang Ruixia all the way from Xinxiang to Linzhou.
On June 25 at about 7 p.m., the Christians Xiaoqing (an alias) and Xiaohong (an alias) from The Church of Almighty God were also tracked and arrested by the police.
According to Xiaoqing, on June 25 at about 11 p.m., Xaioqing was taken to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Linzhou Public Security Bureau for interrogation. When she went to the toilet, she saw Zhang Ruixia, Xiaoying and Xiaohong were detained respectively in three different rooms. Zhang Ruixia was handcuffed to a tiger bench, with her head down. There were four or five plain-clothes policemen in their twenties in the room. She heard a policeman roaring at Zhang, “Don’t keep your head down in silence. We have a lot of ways with you.” As soon as Xiaoqing went back to her interrogation room, she heard that Zhang uttered a cry in misery and then everything was in silence in Zhang’s room. Afterward, she heard a policeman say, “The woman is really tough. She did not even cry when being beaten. She is really hard to deal with.” Xiaoqing never saw Zhang Ruixia again after that.
About two or three months later in the Detention Center, Xiaoqing met Xiaoying, who was arrested together with Zhang Ruixia, and learned from her that Zhang Ruixia had been killed by the police.
About twenty days after Zhang Ruixia was arrested, four policemen from a police station in Macun Village, Qingfeng County, Puyang City, Henan Province, went to Zhang’s for house-ransacking. There was no one at home, so they wanted to borrow ladders from Zhang’s neighbors to climb over the wall to get into Zhang’s house but were turned down. Then the police went to Zhang’s mother-in-law’s place. They rummaged her house but searched out nothing.
After Zhang’s family learned Zhang had been arrested, they inquired many times where Zhang Ruixia was being detained from the village cadre Liu. But Liu refused to tell them anything. It was not until at the end of January 2015 when Xiaoqing, who had been arrested together with Zhang Ruixia, was released, that Zhang’s family knew Zhang’s death. By that time, Zhang had been dead for half a year. As stipulated in the PRC Criminal Procedure Law, the family of the detainee shall be notified of the detention of the detainee within 24 hours. However, the authorities of Linzhou Public Security Bureau of Henan Province not only did not notify Zhang’s family after she was arrested, but they did not even inform them after she died.
Later, at a hotel opposite Linzhou Public Security Bureau, the family of six met Ma Zhihong, captain of the National Security Brigade of Linzhou Public Security Bureau, who arrested Zhang Ruixia. They made a request to see Zhang’s remains. Ma Zhihong turned them down first. Eventually he allowed only one family member to go to see it. Afterward, Zhang’s younger brother saw a skinny, desiccated body. Its face, hands and feet were so small that they were just like a child’s, without any flesh. It was hardly recognizable and only the jaw and teeth showed that she might be Zhang Ruixia. The body was covered with bruises. Her abdomen was dented, and there was a long sewed up scar on it. The internal organs were suspected to be taken out and removed. Through a DNA test, it was identified that the body was Zhang Ruixia’s.
Later, Zhang’s family were not allowed to see Zhang’s remains again. They questioned how Zhang died and why the police did not notify them of her death in half a year. Ma Zhihong said: “Her belief in Almighty God amounts to engagement in counterrevolution and law breaking. We had been hunting for her for two years as she was a head.” Ma lied that he did not know Zhang’s home address. He also excused that Zhang had been sick and was sent to hospital the following day after she was arrested, and that they also had the video of her interrogation as evidence. When Zhang’s son made a request to see the video, Ma Zhihong made another excuse, “I will discuss it with my leaders for permission.” But they never gave the video of Zhang’s interrogation.
In March 2015, over twenty people of Zhang’s family and neighbors went to Linzhou Public Security Bureau to demand justice for Zhang, holding banners and wreaths. The policemen gave Zhang’s younger sister and nephew some punches and kicks and threatened them, “You’re disturbing the social order. We’ll arrest all of you if you keep making trouble here!”
Zhang’s family wanted to take her remains home but were refused by the authorities of Linzhou Public Security Bureau. Eventually, Zhang’s remains were cremated in Linzhou City.
