(Minghui.org) When Ms. Wu Weiming was released from prison in 2006 after four years of imprisonment because of her spiritual belief in Falun Gong, she found herself in a terrible situation. Her father had passed away, her mother was seriously ill, her husband had divorced her, her son was forced to leave school, and she had been fired from her job.

Now, she is among the 146,000 Falun Gong practitioners who have filed criminal complaints against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin, for launching the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

Arrested, Imprisoned, Home Ransacked

Ms. Feng Xilan was arrested 11 times and sentenced twice for a total of 12 years since 1999, because she did not give up her belief in Falun Gong. She was tortured and in critical condition both times she was wrongfully imprisoned.

“I was arrested in October 2000. The police ransacked the house in front of my mother,” she said.

“My mother was so terrified, she couldn't speak and just kept shaking. While I was detained, she was extremely worried. She walked around our home again and again, absentminded. She fell and broke her right wrist.

“The police harassed her in 2005 and she thought they had persecuted me to death. She could not calm down and walked around outside our home. She was so terrified that she did not talk for a long time. After that, her health deteriorated quickly and she passed away, grief-stricken and sad,” recalled Ms. Feng.

Four-Year-Old Child on Her Own

Ms. Luan Qingling described what happened to her four-year-old daughter after her husband was forced to divorce her while she was imprisoned.

“My daughter stayed at home by herself most of the time. She often went outside to look for me. When I finally saw her after I was released, she told me she cried every day in her little bed.

“She said to me with tears in her eyes, ‘Everyone's mom came to take them home every day after school. But I was always alone. No one ever came to take me home. I missed you so much, Mom.'

“That was such a heart wrenching moment for me,” said Ms. Luan.

Broken Families, Broken Hearts

Because of the persecution, many Falun Gong practitioners’ families fell apart.

When practitioners were arrested or imprisoned, their family members were regularly harassed because of the Communist regime's guilt by association policy. The mental torment was no less than any physical torture.

Many of the practitioners’ elderly parents suffered mental breakdowns. Their health deteriorated and they passed away.

“In the days just before she died, my mother could not speak or eat. She just looked at me with a grief-stricken stare, tears streaming from her eyes. My heart was broken,” said Ms. Feng Xilan remembering her mother's last days.

Many practitioners recounted how practicing Falun Gong saved their marriage. However, because of the persecution, they were forced to divorce. Many of their children were left unattended. They missed being brought up by parents who loved and cared for them. They could not attend school. Instead of a happy and carefree childhood, they faced discrimination and humiliation.