Mr. Ai Lihua and His Family Brutally Beaten and Sentenced to Forced Labour

Names: Mr. Ai Lihua, wife Gu Junqing, and daughter Ai Xuelian
Age: 56/57/32
Address: Anshu Town, Dongliao County, Liaoyuan City in Jilin Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 30th, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoyuan City Detention Centre /Baiquan Forced Labour Camp /Changchun City Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Home ransacked, torture, interrogation, beatings
Key Persecutors: An Chunfa, director of the Baiquan Police Station

Mr. Ai Lihua, his wife Ms. Gu Junqing, and daughter Ms. Ai Xuelian, were arrested and taken to the Baiquan Police Station on July 30th, 2009. Mr. Ai is currently imprisoned at the Baiquan Forced Labour Camp in Liaoyuan City, and his daughter Ms. Ai Xuelian is being held at the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp.

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on July 30th, 2009, five officers from the Baiquan Police Station in Dongliao County, including Zhang, Shi Guang, and another officer in his thirties (wearing police badge No. 404153), stormed into Mr. Ai Lihua's home and ransacked it. They turned the house upside down, and even rummaged through the family's funeral clothes.

After the officers confiscated some of the family's personal items, one of the officers phoned An Chunfa, the director of the Baiquan Police Station. Shortly after, An arrived accompanied by three officers and began arresting and forcing the family into his police car.

When Mr. Ai and his daughter resisted being taken away, the officers dragged them all the way to An's car, causing Ms. Ai's arms and feet to become badly bruised, turning black and blue. Then An drove the family to the Baiquan Detention Centre.

After they arrived at the police station, Mr. Ai sat on the floor. An officer ordered Mr. Ai to stand up. When Mr. Ai did not listen, two other officers entered the room and tried to tie him up to a tiger bench¹.

Mr. Ai strongly resisted but the officers overpowered him then pushed him to the floor, face down. They began roughly taping Mr. Ai's ankles together, then used his belt to tie his hands behind his back. After that, they taped his arms close to his body then brutally beat Mr. Ai, while they tied him to the tiger bench.

While Ms. Ai was being interrogated, she was slapped on the face over ten times then dragged by her hair and slammed into a wall. An Chunfa slapped her face an additional ten-plus times then kicked her and hit her with a water bottle. Later, the whole family was taken to the Liaoyuan City Detention Centre.

Mr. Ai Lihua was later sentenced to 15 months of forced labour, and Ms. Ai was sentenced to one year of forced labour.

Related personnel:
An Chunfa, director of the Baiquan Police Station, and two police officers with badge ID Nos. 404153 and 404120

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/9/14/208310.html