Family Extremely Concerned About Man's Mental Health after Two Years of Prison Abuse

Mr. Zhou Bo's family has become alarmed over his mental state two years into his imprisonment for refusing to give up his belief in Falun Gong, a spiritual practice being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.

A once healthy man, Mr. Zhou now sits for hours on end with a blank look on his face, and is also suffering from insomnia.

Mr. Zhou, a resident from Fushun City, was arrested on November 20th, 2011 while distributing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. He was subsequently sentenced to four years and sent to Shenyang Prison on March 28th, 2012.

He was transferred again about twenty days later, this time to Xihu Prison in Benxi City. Section chief Zhao Xuezeng ordered several criminal inmates to beat him and to deprive him of sleep.

Guard Wu Dang of Division Seven often forced Mr. Zhou to do hard labour for long periods of time. During a family visit on August 12th last year, Mr. Zhou complained to his family that he was exhausted from the forced labour. He also expressed frustration at the endless harassment from an inmate named Li Haijun, who was directed by Wu to repeatedly tape paper slips with humiliating words on his body.

Mr. Zhou's family was turned away when they tried to see him again one month later. The guards claimed that he disclosed “prison secrets” during the previous family visit, and was thus subjected to a three-month suspension of visitation rights.

Mr. Zhou insisted on seeing his family that day, but was shocked with electric batons instead. The flesh on his back was burnt as a result, but the guards moved him to solitary confinement without rendering any medical care. By the time he was let out of confinement seven days later, the wounds on his back had already become infected. Even today there are still visible scars on his back.

The physical and psychological abuse has clearly taken a toll on Mr. Zhou's mental health. His family is extremely concerned about his well-being.

Benxixihu Prison:

44-46 Caidong Road, Benxi City, Liaoning Province 117003

Hu Dang prison guard director in 7th District: +86-156-41400731