Detention and Imprisonment Suffered by Mr. Xu Xudong from Hubei Province

Mr. Xu Xudong from Shiyan City in Hubei Province was arrested on February 26th, 2013 by Jin Fangji, head of Yun County Domestic Security Division, and officers Feng Wenhui and Wang Jun. They were given direct orders by the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). Mr. Xu was first taken to Yun County Detention Centre before being transferred to Hubei Province Law Enforcement Education Centre (aka Banqiao Brainwashing Centre) in Wuhan City on March 25th.

Upon arrival at the brainwashing centre, guards injected Mr. Xu with an unknown substance. He was later assaulted by several people. In an attempt to get him to renounce his belief, guards forced Mr. Xu to watch videos slandering Falun Gong every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Police also verbally abused his elderly father and teenager daughter in front of him.

After Mr. Xu’s family hired two lawyers to represent him in court, officers from Yun County Police transferred him back to Yun County Detention Centre on April 27th. In an effort to obstruct legal procedures, officials from the Shiyan City and Yun County Justice Department put pressure on the lawyers’ law firm and told local police and village officials to harass Mr. Xu’s family members. The head of Baofeng Town Police Station Shao Yiyin took two officers and the head of Yazijie Village Communist Party branch Shi Congping to Mr. Xu’s home to harass them.

Mr. Xu, his wife and their daughter were forced to leave their home to avoid further harassment. They could not stay in one place for too long either, as the police were constantly looking for them. As a result, they have been unable to visit their elderly parents for years.

When the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Xu went to Beijing several times to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested on January 8th, 2000. In a closed-door trial in September 2001, he was sentenced to five years in prison. There were no lawyers or audience members allowed during the hearing. While serving his term at Duanqinkou Prison in Wuhan, he suffered various forms of torture, such as being beaten, forced to stand for extended periods, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, forced labour, and long-term exposure to the burning sun. He was frequently forced to write reports about his thoughts.

After Mr. Xu had served his sentence and returned home, local police frequently harassed him. To avoid the police, Mr. Xu took temporary jobs in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan. On June 16th, 2008, Yun County Liupi Town police officer Jin Jie and five accomplices from the town government drove about 125 miles to Mr. Xu’s hometown to harass his father, telling him to bring his son home or face the consequences.