Recent News on the Persecution of Practitioners Held at Hebei Provincial Women's Forced Labour Camp

Over 400 Falun Gong practitioners are currently detained at the Hebei Provincial Women's Forced Labour Camp. Most were sent to the camp prior to the Olympic Games. Every day the number of newly-detained practitioners in the camp ranges from a couple to twenty. The vast majority of detained practitioners uphold their beliefs in Falun Gong and resist the persecution. At around 3:00 a.m. on September 26th, 2008, over twenty practitioners were secretly sent to the camp from an unknown location.

On July 17th-19th, 2008, thirty practitioners went on a group hunger strike for three days to protest camp guards Zhu Liying and Liu Juan brutally beating practitioners Sun Tao and Lu Suhua. Another guard, Liu Ziwei, kicked Lu Suhua and injured her ribs. After the beating she could walk only with assistance.

Because Ms. Lu Suhua did the Falun Gong exercises, she was handcuffed to a radiator and a window frame by guards led by Liu Ziwei and an inmate named Liu Juan. Her arms were stretched to the maximum between the radiator and the window frame. Guard Liu Ziwei said, "We must not let her get comfortable. We should leave her unable to stand or squat down." When Ms. Lu Suhua shouted, "Falun Gong is good!" the guards stuffed a cloth in her mouth and sealed it with tape. Then Liu Ziwei and Liu Juan kicked her face, causing her vision to blur for the next six days.

Liu Ziwei also cursed Ms. Lu Suhua and kicked her in the chest. Afterwards, even breathing aggravated the pain in Ms. Liu's ribs. She asked permission to make a telephone call to her husband, but was denied by camp director Feng Kezhuang. Later, she was told she could write to her husband, but her letters were censored by the camp guards. It is likely that the camp authorities didn't actually mail the letters, because the steadfast practitioners' families seldom receive letters from inside the labour camp.

Liu Ziwei announced in a staff meeting, "We should be harsh on Falun Gong practitioners. Beat them if they don't obey. If you don't want to beat them yourselves, ask Zhu Liying (an inmate) to do it." At the time of the earthquake on May 12th, 2008, camp director Feng Kezhuang allowed only non-practitioner inmates out of their cells. Practitioners were forced to stay inside the building.

Practitioner Zong Canying, 61, is from Fucheng County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province. She was arrested by officers from the Red Flag Street Police Station right outside her home. At the time of the arrest, the police didn't let her inform her family. Her son and paralysed husband were left at home. In the police station, she was handcuffed to a steel chair with her hands and feet restricted, from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. the next day. She wasn't allowed to use the toilet and had to relieve herself in her trousers. The police also beat her on the face until it turned purple and she lost consciousness. She was later sent to the hospital. After she regained consciousness, she was sent to a local detention centre and held there for a week. Then she was sentenced to forced labour and transferred to the Hebei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp.

Main officials of Hebei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp:

Feng Kezhuang, Director, 86-311-83939177
You Jie, head, Division of Camp Management: 86-311-83939125, 86-311-83939124, 86-311-83939133
Division of Education head: 86-311-83939129, 86-311-83939130, 86-311-83939162
Division of Security head: 83939143, 83939121, 83939122
Liu Ziwei, captain of the First Team (where practitioners are detained): 86-311-83939136

(Previous report available at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/8/26/100140.html)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/10/8/187321.html