(Minghui.org) Congressman Joseph Crowley, Representative of Queens and the Bronx, urged the U.S. Department of State on July 29 to help rescue a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner arrested in Heilongjiang Province.

Ms. Meng Zhaohua of Suiling County, Heilongjiang Province is the mother of Sun Ying, who is a constituent of Rep. Crowley.

Ms. Meng was abducted from her house at around 4am on July 16, 2015. Seven more practitioners were arrested on the same day in a coordinated action organized by Yang Dongqi, head of the provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee, who also sent an agent to supervise the arrests in Suiling County.

Fearing that Ms. Meng will be tortured and possibly face organ harvesting, Congressman Crowley urged the State Department and U.S. Embassy in China to urgently look into the case and take action necessary to ensure her safety.

According to Sun Ying, Ms. Meng was first detained in local police department for a few days. Police did not notify her family of her whereabouts. She was later secretly transferred to Hailun County Detention Center.

Ms. Meng went on hunger strike to protest her illegal detention. Police transferred her back to Suiling County Detention Center, where she has been held since.

Local authorities used the arrest to extort money from Ms. Meng's family. On July 30, Guo Xudong, captain of the Suiling County Domestic Security police, threatened Ms. Meng's husband and confiscated her personal belongings without a search warrant.

The other 7 practitioners detained after the coordinated arrests were Sun Chuantong, Xiu Zhongchen, Shen Qingyun, Gu Yanwen, Wang Yanxia, Zhang Fengtian, and Wang Shufang.

At the time of writing, Ms. Meng Zhaohua and Mr. Sun Chuantang are detained in Suiling County Detention Center. Shen Qingyun, Xiu Zhongchen are held in Hailun County Detention Center. Gu Yanwen and Wang Shufang are detained in Qing-an County Detention Center.