The course of Christians were arrested in Xinjiang

China Aid Association
They asked: What is your name? Where is your hometown? What is your education background?
Answer: I’m Ni Shimei from Chentain, Litai Village, Yanglou Township, Yidong District, Fuyang City, Anhui Province. I only finished third grade in primary school.
Question: What did you come to Urumuqi for?
I refused to answer the question. Then another person said, we are from the legal section, and we are here to check the case. Please don’t be emotional. We are in a hurry.
Answer: To seek a job.
Question: Who did you come with? When did you come? How did you come here?
Answer: I came by train two days before I was arrested with Wang Dacai and Gao Caixiu.
Question: Which train did you take?
Answer: It’s been so long; I don’t remember.
They said something like according to the twenty some article that I was to be “re-educated through labor,” and asked if I would like to make a statement. I don’t know why but I didn’t say anything. One of them said I could speak out, and that I could say that it was the first time I took part in the gathering and didn’t know it was illegal, and hoped that the related sections would deal with my case with leniency. So I parroted what he told me to put down This is in agreement with what I said and signed and pressed the fingerprint.
I was released at 6 PM, September 7, 2005. I didn’t sign anything. After I came out, they asked me if I missed my children. Then they told Zhou Li that Ni Shimei could stay at her home, since there was no one I knew here. They asked who it was, and I said it was by brother. Actually he was a brother in the Lord, and put down the name casually when helped me carry stuff. They told Zhou Li, her husband, my brother, Ni Shigang and me to go to Shaqu branch department the next day. So Zhou Li and I went. They had us wash and clean for them. Then they told Zhou Li that we had to call them every ten days before October 1. If we were going to other places before that day we would have to inform them. They also said that we could only go to the official church for gatherings, and that it was ok if I didn’t, but we had to inform them where and how many people we were to gather. If we needed help, we would have to inform them too. This is the detailed information.
Ni Shimei
My name is Zhou Li, a Christian of orthodox belief. I was arrested at 3:30 PM,. August 5, 2005 as I attended a prayer meeting at Christian Zhang Ailian’s house near the 156th group at Xishan. While singing praise songs more than ten policemen from the branch office at Shaqu District, Urumuqi and Xishan Police Department rushed into the house without showing any credentials. They just yelled that they were from the police department, and that we were to stop singing. I was ordered to go sit in another room and not to talk to anybody else. They began to register everyone’s name, address, and identity. At 4 PM two sisters and I were taken to Xishan Police Department. A policeman interrogated me. He asked who informed me to go there, what is my name, address and permanent residency was, how many times I attended the gathering, and had me photographed.
It was 11 PM when I was sent to the lockup at Shuimogou District, Urumuqi. I was found guilty of attending an illegal gathering. August 8, two policemen named Ma Shujun and Bai Gang came to interrogate me. They asked who organized it, who informed people to come, who was the host, how I went there, and how many times I went there. They were dissatisfied with my answer, so they said that I had a serious problem and was to be detained for a longer term (30 days) till September 4. I said that all I did was to take part in a prayer gathering, that I did nothing harmful to the state or other people, and that they had no reason to detain me for that long. They said that I took part in an illegal activity, I was going against the government by going to a house church rather than the official church, and that if I refused to sign, I would be detained for an even longer period, since they were investigating the case. There was nothing else I could do but to sign. A couple of days later a policeman from the national security forces of Shaqu came with two other policemen from the city police department. They were very malicious towards me, accusing me of stealing the tithes of others. I said that I did not take a cent from anybody. They said I was the one who organized the gathering. I said that I didn’t inform anyone to come. They asked why I called a couple of old peasants to blab around instead of going to the official church. I said that I didn’t know the people they were talking about. One of the policemen from the city police department started to curse me and ordered me to stand up, pointing at me and saying that if I didn’t behave myself I would surely regret it.
At 10 AM, August 17, a policeman from the national security force in Shaqu took me to Shaqu police department for further interrogation. I was kept under interrogation past 6 PM, August 18, more than 32 hours. They asked if I knew such-and-such, what role I was playing, whether I knew the people from other places, whether they were preachers, how many came to the gathering on August 5, and whom I informed, etc.
At 6 PM,. September 2, a policeman from the legal section of Shaqu came for the interrogation and made a brief record. Then I was told that I was to receive 3 years “re-education through labor.” I asked what this sentence was based on, and they replied that according to the related laws the gathering we had was illegal, and that the municipal police department would also ratify the sentence.
September 7, two policemen came and said that I was to be released. There were no release papers or procedures observed. They also said that I was to go to the national security forces at Shaqu for other reasons. So I did the next day, and they had me clean the rooms for them. They said that we were to inform them before holding meetings like that, and call them every ten days. They said that they would take me to the police department anytime, and that I had to be careful with what I did for it was not over with my bail.
Zhou Li
At 3 PM, Friday, August 5, 2005, about 50 Christians were at an elderly woman’s house singing praise songs when a group of people rushed in. Some were wearing uniforms, others weren’t. They started to search the house without showing any credentials. The house was ransacked. Then they began to take down notes and photos. They were rude and vicious. At 6 PM, more than ten believers, including myself, were taken to Xishan Police Department for interrogation.  They swore as they interrogated. The questions were mainly Who organized it? Who informed you? Who was in charge of the tithes?” I said I didn’t know. The interrogation went on till 12 PM and I was released August 24. I did not hear from them again until 5 PM, Thursday, August 25. I had just left the house when three people from the national security forces in Shaqu came and said that they would like to talk to me. They took me to Shaqu Police department without showing me a summons. Twenty miniutes later,the interrogation was over. After I signed for my confiscated property I was sent to the lockup at Xishan on the charge of “endangering social stability” and kept there until August 26. People from the national security forces came to interrogate me and asked the same questions. I still said I didn’t know and they left. August 31, a person from the national security forces named Sun came and told me to sign a one month detainment paper, which said “traveled here and there to commit offenses.” After I did, he threatened to sentence me to three years in the labor camp. Then he left. After several days, I was interrogated again and they asked me the same questions. I didn’t go through any more interrogated until September 7 when I was released. I have yet to see any release papers.
Zhang Hongxin
I went to the prayer meeting at Zhang Ailian’s one-story building at the 156th group in the afternoon of August 15, 2005. We were singing praise songs when more than ten policemen came in from Shaqu District Police Department of Urumuqi (that is, Xishan Police Department). They recorded the names of all the people there. Then Zhou Li, Ni Shimei and I were taken to Xishan Police Department for interrogation. Team leader, Ma of the National Security Forces in Shaqu and another policeman interrogated me. The questions were mainly Who informed the others to the meetings? How did you know there was a prayer meeting? Who was the host? Were there any tithes? Where did the books come from? Do you know Xia Lingzhi and Zhou Li? Then I was led to a room where my fingerprints and photo were taken. At 12:55, Aunt Xia, Aunt Lu Aunt Ye and I were taken to the detention center of Shuimogou District and kept there for 15 days. We were released August 15.
Zhao Yulian
September 12, 2005
When I was praying and singing praise songs at 3:05 PM, August 5, 2005, policemen suddenly showed up and took me to Xishan Police Department. They asked me why I joined the worship gathering. I said that I would go wherever there were worship gatherings, as long as it was not a cult. The police sent me to Liudaowan, where I was detained for 15 days.
Lu Hongying.