(Minghui.org) Seven Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested by police on June 20, 2012, after greeting each other on the street.

Mr. Ma Xiquan and his wife, Ms. Wang Yuhong, from Longfeng District in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, planned to drive to Harbin to visit Mr. Ma's father-in-law, who was ill. When they were ready to leave around 9 a.m. on June 20, they met practitioners Ms. Zhao Rongjie, her daughter Ms. Qu Yanyan, Mr. Zhang Shouxian, Mr. Zhang Shoushan, and Mr. Qu Hui, who were passing by. Mr. Ma got out of his car to greet them.

At that moment, Zhang Lin and two other policemen from the Longfeng Police Department appeared on the scene and began to beat the practitioners, including Mr. Zhang Shouxian, Mr. Zhang Shoushan, and Mr. Qu Hui, who are in their 60s. Several people witnessed the incident. Sources reported that Zhang Lin had recognized Mr. Ma as a practitioner of Falun Gong and apparently assumed that those who greeted Mr. Ma also practiced Falun Gong.

Policemen forced the seven practitioners to stand against a wall. As they stood, practitioners shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” Several onlookers then also began to shout “Falun Dafa is good!” to show their support for the practitioners. Police used three vehicles to take the practitioners into custody.

That afternoon, police officers ransacked the homes of three arrested practitioners. They confiscated computers, pictures of the founder of Falun Gong, and other personal items.

Mr. Zhang Shaoshan and Ms. Wang Yuhong have now been released. Ms. Zhao Rongjie suffered convulsions at the police department. The police sent her to the hospital for emergency treatment. After she was released from the hospital, policemen came to her home to harass her.

Ms. Qu, 34, had previously been detained in the Shanghai Prison for 5 years for practicing Falun Gong. She was released this March, less than 3 months prior to being arrested again. Her current whereabouts are unknown.