Ms. Yang Sulan is Tortured to Death in Zhangshi Forced Labour Camp

Ms. Yang Sulan, a Falun Gong practitioner from Chenyang City, Liaoning Province, was illegally arrested and sent to the Zhangshi Forced Labour Camp. While in the camp, they deprived her of sleep, verbally insulted her, and tortured her in other ways. On June 1, 2003, she passed away after the 50th day of her release.

Ms. Yang, from Chenyang City, was 65 years old. She started practising Falun Gong in 1997. Since then, many of her illnesses, including diabetes, had disappeared. She went to Beijing to appeal and was detained in the Dadong Detention Centre for 10 days. In May 2000 she was detained again for 15 days for distributing truth-clarifying materials. The police, her work unit and the City Political and Judiciary Committee constantly harassed her by taping her phone conversations and tracking her every move after she was released. They told her to come to their offices several times a day and also to sign a "Disassociation Statement" [A statement to declare a dissociation with Falun Gong and promise not go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong]. They told her that if she refused to sign, she would be forced to attend a brainwashing class and that her family would also suffer harassment.

On the morning of September 30, 2002, 5 or 6 people riding in two cars, including the Political and Judiciary Committee City block section head, Liu, and police officer Chen Feibao arrived at her home and forced her into a waiting car outside without her shoes and overcoat. They forced her to attend a 10-day brainwashing class and told her that she'd continue to attend brainwashing sessions as long as she would not give up her belief. They extorted money from her family and later secretly transferred her away without notifying her family.

Her family went to see the head of the "610 Office,"[1] Mr. Liu, in Huanggu section and later was told that Ms. Yang was attending a brainwashing class in the Zhangshi Forced Labour Camp. They kept her from sleeping, insulted her verbally, and constricted her upper body to cause her great pain and difficulty when breathing or raising her hands. They threatened her with hard labour if she would not give up her belief. After being tortured for more than 50 days, she was released, but the harassment continued. On June 1, 2003, and she passed away at home.

[1] "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2003/12/24/63210.html