The Suffering of Mr. Zhou Zhi, Tortured to Death in the Second Prison of Shenyang

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhou Zhi from Benxi City, Liaoning Province was tortured to death for his firm belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," in the Second Prison of Shenyang City on August 16, 2004 (previously reported on Clearwisdom.net).

Zhou Zhi was 40 years old. He was an engineer in the Digital Control Factory of Benxi Steel Inc. of Benxi City. He was illegally arrested by the police bureau of Benxi City in May 2003. The Pingshan District Court of Benxi City secretly sentenced Zhou Zhi to 11 years in prison in November, without testimonies, notification of his family, or even a verdict.

Without any clue as to his whereabouts, his family looked for him everywhere. Finally, in April 2004, they learned that Zhou Zhi was in the Second Prison of Shenyang. When they went to the prison to see him, the police tried to force them to slander Falun Dafa. One of the family members refused to do so and was told to leave the visitors' lounge.

When his family saw him, Mr. Zhou was already as thin as a rail. He was extremely weak and was brought to the visitors' lounge with the assistance of two guards. When his family visited him again at the beginning of June, Mr. Zhou was carried to the lounge on a stretcher. At that time, Zhou Zhi could neither eat nor walk; even the intravenous drip ran out from his mouth. Knowing that Zhou Zhi was in serious condition, his family requested many times to take care of him or have him transferred to a hospital. Those requests were all denied. His family learned at the end of July that their requests could only be approved by the Prison Administration Bureau and not by the local police bureau. Thereafter, whenever his family called the prison, the answer would always be the same: further investigation was required.

When Zhou Zhi's health deteriorated to a dangerous condition, the authorities placed the responsibility on each other. The brigade leader, Li Chuang, told Mr. Zhou's family in mid-August that the Prison Administration Bureau denied his medical treatment in another hospital. His family wrote a long letter to Prison Director Zhou the next day, stating that Zhou Zhi was in serious condition. Their letter achieved no results.

Zhou Zhi became unconscious on August 16. His lower body was soaked with urine. No one had taken care of him. His family strongly demanded that he be transferred to another hospital for medical treatment. Brigade Leader Li Chuang said, "They are reviewing the case." When Zhou Zhi was finally transferred to the "739" Hospital, it was already too late. He had been in a coma for two days. His pupils were dilated. His chest was filled with fluid. Zhou Zhi died from the torture he suffered in the Second Prison of Shenyang at 9 p.m. He was survived by his 80-year-old mother, his wife and his young children.

Zhou Zhi had been subjected to savage beatings and various tortures in the prison for not giving up his belief in Falun Dafa and for refusing to implicate other Falun Dafa practitioners. Zhou Zhi protested the injustice and the lawless behaviour of the guards by starting a hunger strike. Later, he was tortured for a long time with a stomach tube inserted in him, until he died. This torture lasted for fourteen months.

The following is the story of how Zhou Zhi was slowly tortured to death, as told by his wife, Li Mei:

Zhou Zhi was 40 years old. He graduated with a college degree and was an engineer in the Digital Control Factory of Benxi Steel, Inc. Because he was steadfast in practising Falun Dafa, Mr. Zhou was detained in May 2003, arrested in June, and sentenced to 11 years in November. No one in the family had ever been notified of his sentence. His family started to search for his whereabouts in November 2003. In April 2004, a letter from Li Chuang, the brigade leader of the Second Prison of Shenyang City, arrived and informed his family that they could visit him and persuade him to "reform" [renounce Falun Dafa].

Zhou Zhi's sister and I visited him on April 14. I was not allowed to see him because I had forgotten to bring my resident identification card. Only his sister saw him. At that time, Zhou Zhi already looked very frail and he was skin and bones. Two guards assisted him to the lounge. After the meeting, my sister-in-law's face was covered with tears.

Zhou Zhi's sister-in-law and I went to see him on April 23. Again, I was unable to see him. When I walked into the lounge, I was swarmed by the police. They asked me to slander Falun Dafa and they threw me out of the lounge when I refused.

We received a phone call from Brigade Leader Li Chuang on June 3, asking us to persuade Zhou Zhi to renounce his belief. I saw my husband the next day. He was carried to the lounge on a stretcher. His hair was messy, his face dirty and he looked very thin and frail. After seeing this, I asked Li Chuang if it was possible to let us take care of him for a while so he could recover. Li refused. I raised the issue again on June 22, and Li still said no.

I went to the prison hospital to see Zhou Zhi on July 12. I found that he was unable to eat; even the intravenous fluid ran out from his mouth. I went to Brigade Leader Li and requested medical treatment outside the prison. I said, "He did not commit any crime punishable by death, and no matter what, you must try to save him." Li Chuang promised me that he would report the case to higher authorities for further consideration.

Zhou Zhi's brother visited him on July 15. His brother found him in critical condition. His brother immediately went to the brigade leader and other officials to discuss if Zhou Zhi could have medical treatment from a hospital outside the prison. At that time, Brigade Leader Li made the same promise again and asked his brother to wait for an answer. Unfortunately, we heard nothing.

Zhou Zhi's sister went to see him on July 20. She asked Doctor Deng about his condition. Deng said that his condition had improved a little. Deng also said that he received 8 oz. of intravenous fluid daily in order to meet his needs. He said that as long as he ate, his health would improve. After talking to Doctor Deng, his sister felt a little better. She came to the side of Zhou Zhi's stretcher and told him what Doctor Deng said. At that time, Director Zhou from the Prison Document Division and an officer Zhang from the 14th Prison District accompanied Zhou Zhi's sister during her visit. They asked Zhou Zhi if he would like to have something to eat. He said that he wanted to eat but that it would hurt his stomach. Director Zhou said, "You can eat a little bit and eat slowly." Zhou Zhi agreed. His sister gave him the milk she brought. He could only take it with a thin straw. After drinking about 4oz., he said that he could not drink anymore. Doctor Deng said that he could have the rest of the milk at two o'clock in the afternoon. His sister left the food she brought to the prison and went away. The prison police urged her to leave, saying that she only had 30 minutes for the visit. His sister hoped that someone could feed him in the afternoon and the next day. Later, she learned that no one ever did.

I visited Zhou Zhi again on July 28. He told me that he threw up an hour after he drank the milk. He had no idea where the rest of the milk went. I wanted to feed him something. He said that he could not eat, and if he did, he would throw up again. It was such an ordeal! Thus, he did not eat anything during my visit. I went to Brigade Leader Li and made another request to seek medical treatment outside the prison since the prison hospital had not made him any better. Li said that the Benxi Police Bureau had no authority to approve my request and they had to forward the case to the Prison Administration Bureau. I told him that it could not be delayed any longer. I demanded that he be transferred to another hospital immediately. It was urgent to save his life! Li said that he would consider my suggestions and would talk to the higher authorities. After I came home, I called several times, and they usually said that they needed more time to review his case. We realized then that they had never considered saving Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi's sister and I went to see him on August 3. He told us, "I cannot go on like this any longer. I have not eaten anything for almost a month and my stomach hurts. I can't sleep at night. I also feel dizzy." I went to Brigade Leader Li Chuang again and requested that they transfer Zhou Zhi to a different hospital for treatment. Li said that it had to be approved by the Provincial Prison Administration Bureau of Liaoning Province. He said he would give us an answer in the afternoon. Zhou Zhi's sister and I decided to wait by the gate of the administration building of the Second Prison. It was raining. We finally received a notice late in the afternoon saying that the Provincial Prison Administration Bureau had denied our request. They had deceived us! Did a transfer to a hospital have to be approved by the Provincial Prison Administration Bureau? Were they trying to put Zhou Zhi to death?

With only a slim hope, Zhou Zhi's sister wrote a long letter to Director Zhou of the Prison Document Division the next day. She described how Zhou Zhi was in serious condition, and hoped that Director Zhou could help save his life. Meanwhile, we called several times a day to inquire about Zhou Zhi's condition and the approval for transferring him to a different hospital (because the phone in our house was recordable, all our calls were recorded. The call times and content can all be verified).

Zhou Zhi's brother called the prison on August 12. Another director (also with the last name Li) said that Zhou Zhi's condition had stabilized and they were preparing to increase the dosage of his medication. When I called again to inquire about Zhou Zhi's condition and a possible visit the next day, Li said that I had to wait until Brigade Leader Li Chuang returned.

I called to speak with Brigade Leader Li on August 13. He agreed that I could visit my husband on the following Monday. He also said that some higher authorities also wanted to talk to me.

To my surprise, when I saw Zhou Zhi on August 16, he was already unconscious. His lower body was soaked with urine. No one had taken care of him. I told a caretaker nearby, "Please take good care of him." The caretaker said, "We only change him once a day." I went to Brigade Leader Li again and questioned him: "Zhou Zhi has been in such serious condition, how could they still not transfer him to another hospital?" Brigade Leader Li said that his case was still being reviewed. With my repeated requests, they finally agreed to transfer him to the 739 Hospital that afternoon. By that time, Zhou Zhi had already been in a coma for two days. His pupils were dilated, his lungs inflamed, and his chest and abdomen were filled with fluid. The family requested that all efforts be taken to save his life. Because his condition had deteriorated for so long, the rescue efforts failed. His blood pressure dropped at 6 p.m. and his heartbeat stopped at 9 p.m.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2004/12/26/92183.html