Villagers violently attacked while agitating for rights, 39 people arrested

Because the Zhaozihe Village, Datong Township, Jialing District, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province local government expropriated land to build a reservoir without fairly compensating the villagers, dozens of village representatives have gone to the construction site to protest for more than 20 days.

On Friday March 20, 2015, the protesting villagers were violently attacked by hundreds of police. Many were injured and had to be hospitalized, including a 90-year-old senior citizen. Altogether 35 people were arrested.

A villager said online: “Yesterday, brother Zhao Chaowen was arrested. His wife Wang Fang was seriously injured. Also villager Zhao Xianlong’s skull was fractured and he was detained and wasn’t given medical treatment. Afterward many people couldn’t be contacted, and some entire families were detained (for example the married couple of Zhao Chun and Wang Xiaolan, Zhao Xianhao and his father Zhao Maolin, the brothers Zhao Jinyu and Zhao Xiaoqing). It really feels like an effort to wipe out the entire family.

Another villager said: “A 70-80-year-old grandmother was lifted off the ground by the police and thrown down. She’s still in the hospital. Another 90-year-old grandmother was detained.”

That afternoon, villagers went to Nanchong City to demonstrate in front of the residential quarters of a central government inspection team. Four villagers were detained there. Until the evening of Saturday March 21, 2015, other than 17 villagers who were released, the rest of the villagers are still in custody.

A villager said online: “On Friday March 20, 2015, 39 villagers were arrested, 35 at the scene, the other four after they’d gone into the city to the residential quarters of the central government inspection team.”

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/03/201503220426.shtml