Three practitioners recently died within two weeks in Jiamusi Prison. In order to achieve a “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] rate of 85 per cent, Jiamusi Prison set up the “Strict Management Ward” in February 2011. The brutal persecution started on February 21st. Mr. Qin Yueming, 47, died five days later on February 26th. Mr. Yu Yungang, 48, died on March 5th, and Mr. Liu Chuanjiang, 55, on March 8th.
The guards selected Falun Gong practitioners from all the other wards and sent them to this ward, where each practitioner is monitored and harassed by several prisoners, who endlessly pressure and torture them to write statements promising to stop practising Falun Gong. Those practitioners were not allowed to bring with them any personal belongings or daily necessities. They were also not allowed family visits or phone calls, or to purchase daily necessities.
Mr. Qin Yueming's Body Bruised All Over
Mr. Qin Yueming's family received a phone call from Jiamusi Prison on February 26th, 2011, notifying them that Mr. Qin had died from heart problems. It was unclear how this could have occurred, as Mr. Qin had previously been healthy.
Mr. Qin's family went to the prison on the afternoon of February 27th. Yu Yifeng, head of the training team, and Shen Qingxin, instructor of the training team, received them. The guard on duty came later as requested. There were apparent disagreements between their stories.
Mr. Qin's family was allowed to see Mr. Qin's body after some strong requests. Mr. Qin's lips were purple. Blood came out of his mouth and nose when his body was turned over. There were bruises all over and he had wound marks. Even the guards present were shocked to see it.
Mr. Qin's family asked for an explanation for the bruises. The guards said that the bruises are the usual marks on a corpse, and that blood came out of his nose because they had turned him over. When the family asked for more details, the guards told them to go to the Procuratorate if they had any objections.
Mr. Qin's family wanted to take pictures of the body but the guard would not allow it. The family asked to see the video recording from the time Mr. Qin transferred into the ward to the time he died. Yu Yifeng agreed initially. He then said he needed to check with his supervisor before they could see it. He could only provide the video recording from the time Mr. Qin got sick until the time he died. Mr. Qin didn't move at all from the start to the end of the video.
When Mr. Qin's other family members from Shandong arrived on March 3rd, 2011, they went to the prison to see Mr. Qin's body. They discovered that the sheet with blood on it had been changed and the bruises on his back and legs had been treated. Mr. Qin's family again asked to see the video recordings from the time Mr. Qin transferred into the ward to the time he died. The prison provided the same video recording. The family asked for a written report explaining the cause of death, but the prison refused, saying that they would not provide a written report with their stamps or signatures, according to a prison rule. When Mr. Qin's family asked which rule that was, Liu Xibo, head of the Politics Division, said the family was not allowed to know that.
Mr. Qin Yueming was from the Jinshantun District in Yichun City, of Heilongjiang Province. He was sentenced to three years of forced labour in October 1999 and brutally treated and tortured in Yichun Forced Labour Camp. Kang Kai, Qi You, and other officers from the Political Security Section broke into Mr. Qin's home in April 2002. They removed Mr. Qin, Mr. Qin's wife, and their 14-year-old daughter Qin Rongqian from the property. Cui Yuzhong, head of the police department, and Meng Xianhua, head of the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), ordered officers to beat Mr. Qin. They tortured him on a tiger bench1, and tortured him with "rope tying" (see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/9/18/52553.html). His legs and ribs were broken in several places and he could no longer walk. He was later sentenced to ten years in prison and was in Jiamusi Prison until he was tortured to death. His wife and their two daughters were left on their own.
According to reliable sources, the practitioners who were admitted to the second division of the Strict Management Ward on February 21st, 2011 included Mr. Wang Lansheng, Mr. Qin Yueming, Mr. Fu Yu, Mr. Shang Xiping, and Mr. Yu Yungang. They were taken to the prison hospital and force-fed on February 25th, 2011. Mr. Qin was carried to a washroom on the first floor, where four people held down his body, and another held his head. He was forced against the back of a chair. They pinched his tongue with forceps and stretched it out. Two inmates inserted a nasal tube. Zhao Wei, the prison doctor; Yu Yifeng, head of the ward; and other guards were present. They then poured milk and salt down the tube. Mr. Qin gave out sad cries. He kept crying even after he was taken back to the ward. Two monitors couldn't sleep at night because of his crying. They asked for Zhao Wei, the prison doctor. Zhao Wei said, “Why was the tube inserted into his lung?” Mr. Qin died in the morning. Mr. Qin's family was notified in the evening.
Mr. Yu Yungang Tortured to Death and His Body Robbed
Mr. Yu passed out due to torture at around 3:00 p.m. on March 1st, 2011, and was rushed to the Second Hospital affiliated with Jiamusi University. He was taken into surgery, where the doctor took out a piece of his skull. The doctor issued a “Notice of Critical Condition” to his family and suggested that they prepare for the worst. After the surgery, Mr. Yu was sent to the Intensive Care Unit, which was heavily guarded by plainclothes officers and those in uniforms. The doctors and nurses were very quiet about this case, and no one was allowed to enter his room without permission. After making an urgent request, his family was allowed to visit briefly, but they saw Mr. Yu had thick gauze on his head and he could not recognise them.
The doctor gave Mr. Yu another emergency treatment at around 4:00 p.m. on March 3rd, 2011. By the afternoon of March 5th, several dozen officers surrounded the ICU, and did not allow his family to contact anyone outside. Officers took Mr. Yu's clothes from his family and quickly changed him. They were about to carry him away when his family realised he had died. They demanded to see his body in the ICU, but were not allowed to. Officers carried his body downstairs and into a police vehicle, and ordered his family to sign the death certificate. His family was very angry and refused to sign. An officer closely watched Mr. Yu's family, following them everywhere, and videotaped them.
Mr. Yu's family demanded that the authorities wait for the whole family to arrive. The deputy prison director said, “I will only give you five minutes to view his body.” After Mr. Yu's family saw him in the vehicle for five minutes, the vehicle took off.
Mr. Yu Yungang was arrested in February 2009. He was badly beaten and tortured by being hung up by his handcuffs. He was sentenced to six years in prison on July 7th, 2009, by the Xiangyang District Court and taken to Jiamusi Prison.
According to mortuary personnel, a prison guard appeared and gave directions about the placement of a corpse. They directed that the corpse be placed in the basement and to not let anyone see it, not even his family. When the person asked why, the guard said that the body was that of a Falun Gong practitioner. In the end, the corpse never appeared. We later learned that the prison was afraid that Mr. Yu's situation would become known.
Mr. Yu's family talked to the prison many times, but the prison refused to provide any written material regarding the cause of Mr. Yu's death. They would not let them see the video either, saying that they did not save the video, that it had been deleted. Mr. Yu's family asked to see the body one more time. The warden said that two persons could see it, but they could only see the face, not the body.
According to reliable sources, Mr. Yu's ear was bruised due to the beatings with a water bottle.
The prison had a meeting with all the guards after Mr. Qin and Mr. Yu's deaths. They claimed that one of them did not eat and died from heart problems and the other one died from high blood pressure, which caused the brain to bleed.
Mr. Liu Chuanjiang's Body Cremated
While Mr. Qin Yueming and Mr. Yu Yungang's families were having talks with Jiamusi Prison officials, the third practitioner, Mr. Liu Chuanjiang, died on the morning of March 8th, 2011. The prison concealed the news and deceived Mr. Liu's family into approving of the cremation of the body.
Mr. Liu was severely tortured in Jiamusi Prison. The guards shocked him with four electric batons until they ran out of power. They beat him, tortured him, and broke one of his arms. When he was transferred from the Strict Management Ward to the third ward, four inmates were ordered to monitor Mr. Liu. The inmates saw that his buttocks were covered with bruises which were caused by beatings with police batons and electric batons. Wang Zhiyong, deputy director of the third ward, always said, “Falun Gong practitioners should be beaten to death. It's good beating them to death!”
Mr. Liu Chuanjiang's bloodstained clothes (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/12/14/121936.html)
Mr. Liu Chuanjiang was sent to the Jiamusi Prison emergency room around 10:00 p.m. on March 7th, 2011. He said he felt as if he was suffocating and asked the doctor to give him oxygen. The hospital was out of oxygen at the time, and the doctor said “He is dying and cannot be saved. It's useless giving him oxygen.” According to an eyewitness, Mr. Liu died in a short while. “He was bruised all over. It was terrible!”
The prison guards ordered all the inmates not to disclose the facts and to say that those practitioners died from heart problems. The inmates were threatened, “You will be punished if you tell the truth!”
After Mr. Liu's body was cremated, the prison ordered the third ward to institute a search to rectify the order. Another practitioner in the third ward was found to have scars on his face. In order to conceal the facts and create an impression that Falun Gong practitioners died from high blood pressure, the prison started to take blood pressure twice a day of Falun Gong practitioners in all the wards. They ordered the practitioners with high blood pressure to take some unknown drug which was said to lower blood pressure. They were given the drug by force if they refused to take it. The guards also videotaped the proceedings.
In order to conceal the facts, Jiamusi Prison was in lockdown. The inmates are not allowed to move around, and the guards seldom talk with each other. The guards of all wards were having conversations with Falun Gong practitioners in their ward, trying to prevent them from disclosing the facts to any related unit.
The Persecution Continues
Thirteen Falun Gong practitioners were sent to the Strict Management Ward on February 21st, 2011, including Mr. Wang Lansheng, Mr. Fan Qiang, Mr. Qin Yueming, Mr. Li Shaozhi, Mr. Tan Fengjiang, Mr. Fu Yu, Mr. Shang Xiping, Mr. Liu Junhua, Mr. Chen Dong, Mr. Liu Zhenchang, Mr. Yu Yungang, Mr. Liu Chuanjiang, and Mr. Bao Yongsheng.
They were not allowed to bring with them any personal belongings or daily necessities. They were not allowed family visits or phone calls or to purchase daily necessities. Each practitioner is monitored and harassed by several prisoners, who endlessly pressure and torture them, attempting to force them to write statements saying that they will stop practising Falun Gong. The guards promised to reduce the terms of the inmates and encouraged them to persecute practitioners using whatever methods they wanted. The practitioners were beaten and sworn at, deprived of sleep, had limited restroom time, and were made to stand for long periods of time. Many practitioners started hunger strikes to protest the persecution.
After the news of the three practitioners' deaths was published, Jiamusi Prison had to dismiss the Strict Management Ward on March 9th, 2011 under the pressure from the society and the world. The practitioners returned to their ward, however the persecution continues.
Many detained Falun Gong practitioners' families went to Jiamusi Prison to visit the last few days. Some practitioners were not allowed family visits. Some families were forced to slander Falun Gong, or be denied visitation. The guards selected a few members from some families and refused others. During the visits, most practitioners didn't dare say anything when being asked whether or not they had been beaten in prison. The unusual behaviour worried their families, as they knew the practitioners must be under great pressure.
Practitioner Mr. Jiang Botao's family of ten from Qitaihe City went to Jiamusi Prison on March 11th. The prison only let two non-practitioner family members go in and ordered them to slander Falun Gong. The two family members asked Mr. Jiang whether he was beaten. Mr. Jiang confirmed that he was beaten on his head and chest. The family asked that Mr. Jiang be examined. The prison agreed grudgingly. It was later heard that orders were given to the guards in the registration room that they should quickly change into plainclothes and that they had work to do. One family member waited outside and heard someone speaking to the others, “Choose the younger ones to hit.” More than ten plainclothes officers started to hit some of the family members. One relative just had surgery and was kicked to the ground by an officer.
Two other family members went into convulsions and threw up after the beatings. Even a teenager was beaten. One family member videotaped the scene and shouted, “You claimed that you don't hit prisoners. Now you're hitting their family members.” One relative was calling the police and another one was calling the Prison Management Bureau. Several hours passed and no one answered. The beaten family members went to the hospital afterwards.
The brutality was not limited to the Strict Management Ward. Mr. Hou Xicai was previously a guard in Mudanjiang City Prison, but he is now a Falun Gong practitioner in Jiamusi Prison. At around 7:00 a.m. on February 17th, 2011, Mr. Hou Xicai delivered a truth clarifying letter to the Fourth Section, Second Ward guards while getting breakfast. Guard Ren Yanfeng grabbed Mr. Hou and took him back to the office, brutally punching and kicking him while cursing, until Mr. Hou passed out on the floor.
Practitioner Mr. Jiang Botao in the First Section of the Ninth Ward was brutally beaten on the night of February 28th, 2011. Those in other cells heard him screaming and yelling.
Mr. Shang Xiping used to be the deputy director of the Huanan Forestry Police Station. He also was taken to the Strict Management Ward on February 21st, 2011. He has been on a hunger strike to protest the brutality and was force-fed and given intravenous injections. He was hard to recognise due to the cruel torture.
Mr. Li Shaozhi, Mr. Chen Jizhong and Mr. Gao Yongsheng were severely tortured. Mr. Tan Fengjiang was beaten.
Calling For Help
Yu Yifeng, head of the training team, promised Mr. Qin Yueming's family that they never mistreated practitioners. After Mr. Qin's death was exposed, the prison started to threaten Mr. Qin's family not to contact the local Falun Gong practitioners. Qin Handong, head of Jinshantun District 610 Office, called Mr. Qin's family several times and told them not to seek legal action against Jiamusi Prison.
There are still 73 Falun Gong practitioners being held in Jiamusi Prison.
Person involved:
Ye Feng, Jiamusi Prison warden: 86-454-8816001, 86-13351666999 (Mobile)
Shen Qingxin: 86-454-8816673, 86-13846148765 (Mobile)
Yu Yifeng: 86-454-8816998, 86-13351663968 (Mobile)
Related articles:
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/3/15/123817.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/3/12/123761.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/3/10/123724.html
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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/3/16/237664.html
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