Taxi Driver Brutally Tortured in Detention for Two Months

Mr. Zhao Fuqiang, a Falun Gong practitioner from Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on June 14th, 2013. He was brutally tortured, including being shocked with electric batons and force-fed, during the two months he was detained in the Hegang City Second Detention Centre and the Hegan City Brainwashing Centre.

Tortured in Detention Centre

Mr. Zhao is a taxi driver. He was arrested at work on June 14th, 2013, and taken to the Nanshan Police Department. He was interrogated the next day. One officer handcuffed his hands behind his back, while another stood on a chair and roughly pulled Mr. Zhao's hands up, causing excruciating pain. They did this three times.

Mr. Zhao was transferred to the Hegang City Second Detention Centre on the afternoon of June 16th, 2013. When he held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards force-fed him highly concentrated salt water three time per day. The director of the detention centre pried his mouth open with pliers and showed the criminal inmates how to force-feed him. They did that for 20 days.

Shocked with Electric Batons in Brainwashing Centre

Mr. Zhao was later transferred to the Hegang City Brainwashing Centre. He was forced to watch videos that defamed Falun Gong all day even though he was extremely weak.

Guard Zhang Zilong once shocked him twice with electric batons. Zhang ordered three guards to hold Mr. Zhao down while he shocked him. His body was full of burn marks. Guard Ai Hongwu cursed at and humiliated him.

Mr. Zhao continued his hunger strike at the brainwashing centre. The guards handcuffed him to the bed and force-fed him. They also handcuffed his wrists behind his back, and tied his waist and the handcuffs to the chair he sat on from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day. His whole body was in extreme pain as a result of this torture.

They also threatened to sentence him to prison. They brought his daughter to the brainwashing centre to try to force him to give up practising Falun Gong. He eventually signed the letter to stop practising, against his will, due to the relentless torture and intense brainwashing tactics.

Mr. Zhao was released on August 16th, 2013.

Prior Arrest

Nanshan Police Department and Tiexi Police Station officers broke into Mr. Zhao's home on July 22nd, 2008, and arrested him. They confiscated his computer and two mobile phones.

He was taken to the Tiexi Police Station and handcuffed to the leg of a table. An officer then slapped him.

He was transferred to the Hegang City Second Detention Centre in the evening.

At the detention centre, Mr. Zhao was forced to sit on the wooden bed board from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day.

He was transferred again 18 days later, this time to the Hegang City First Detention Centre. He was tortured and given very little to eat.

Mr. Zhao was tried in the Nanshan Court on November 27th, 2008. His lawyer made a strong defence and proved that practising Falun Gong and distributing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong weren't a crime. However, Mr. Zhao was still sentenced to three years in prison and transferred to Jiamusi Prison.

He was forced to do slave labour from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and given only a very short time to use the restroom or wash himself.

He was once tortured with the “flying airplane,” where he was forced to bend over at a 90-degree angle with his arms lifted up behind his back. The section chief then jabbed him on the back with his elbow, making him fall down. He was repeatedly “knocked down” this way. He was in so much pain that he had difficulty breathing for two weeks. He was, however, still forced to work.

When Mr. Zhao refused to do the forced labor, he was put in solitary confinement for 15 days. The small cell was cold, damp, and dark. He was only allowed to wear a single layer of thin clothes.

He went on a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment for six days and was force-fed salty water. Afterwards, he felt as if he was burning up and was in a lot of pain.

After the hunger strike, he was given only a bun to eat at every meal.

Mr. Zhao was released at the end of his three-year term.

Bad Habits Disappeared through Falun Gong Practice

Mr. Zhao used to smoke and drink. After he began to practise Falun Gong in 1998, his bad habits disappeared. After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, he was forced to give up the practice due to pressure, and all of his bad habits returned.

He felt empty and lost, so he decide to start practising Falun Gong again.

Mr. Zhao follows the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in his daily life. As a taxi driver, he has never deceived his customers and he always tries his best to return any items left in his car.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:

Name: Zhao Fuqiang (赵福强)
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation : Taxi Driver
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 14th, 2013
Most Recent Place of Detention: Hegang Brainwashing Centre (鹤岗洗脑班)
City: Hegang
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered : Electric shock, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, and detention
Key Persecutors: Zhang Zilong (张子龙) and Ai Hongwu (艾洪武)
Defence Attorney: Unknown