Two Hebei Province Falun Gong Practitioners Pass Away after Suffering Severe Abuse in Labour Camps

It was recently confirmed in Hebei Province that Falun Gong practitioners Gao Shiping and Li Shuli died in December of 2003 due to the abuses they suffered in Baoding City Gaoyang Labour Camp and Tangshan City Hehuakeng Labour Camp. Currently there are as many as 89 confirmed deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province due to the persecution.

Ms. Gao Shiping, 58 years old, lived in Qiaoxi District of Zhangjiakou City. In February 2001, officials and police from Shenjiatun Town detained the Falun Gong practitioners of Zhangjiafang Village in the village committee for several days, trying to force them to sign their names on a banner slandering Dafa, and to write what they call the "Three Statements." [Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practise Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.] At that time, Ms. Gao Shiping did the Falun Gong exercises and refused to sign her name. Two months later, Shenjiatun Town Police Station sent her to Baoding City Gaoyang Labour Camp.

Ms. Gao was detained in the labour camp until the spring of 2003. Her health was severely damaged both physically and mentally in the labour camp, and she never recovered after she was released. Ms. Gao died on December 19, 2003. We called Zhangjiafang Village Committee Office (phone: 86-313-4090190) and confirmed Ms. Gao's death.

We learned from insiders that the parties who participated in the persecution of Ms. Gao and are responsible for her death include:

Li Shengke, former head of Town "610 Office"
Zhang Jiuquan, former director of Town Police Station
Peng Guanghai, director of Town Judiciary Department
Zhang Kaibin, former Zhangjiafang Village Supervisor
And the people at Baoding City Gaoyang Labour Camp

Mr. Li Shuli lived in Changli County of Qinhuangdao City. On December 10, 2001, he was arrested by city police and sent to Tangshan City Hehuakeng Labour Camp in Hebei Province. He suffered three months of ruthless torture in Division No. 6 of the labour camp, including being locked up in a small cell, "Tightening Rope" and "Stretching Bed." Under the abuses of guard Wang Yuling and criminal detainee Huang Yongxin, Mr. Li Shuli's health was severely damaged both physically and mentally. He was suffering from tuberculosis by the time he was transferred to Division No. 4. In June 2003, Mr. Li was sent to a hospital outside the labour camp, and he passed away in December 2003.

We called Changli County "610 Office" (phone: 86-335-2023052) and the man who answered the phone admitted it was a government office at first. As soon as he heard we were calling about the cause of Li Shuli's death, he told us "this is a residential phone number."

The torture method "Tightening Rope" utilizes a finger-size hemp rope soaked in water. The persecutors set it on the Dafa practitioner's neck, and tightly wrap it around the arms. In order to maximize the pain for the victim, they often strip the practitioner down to his underwear. Usually, more than three people work together to apply this torture. When the rope reaches the wrists, it is tightened. They pull the practitioner's hands behind his back, both ends of the rope are inserted through the portion of the rope on the neck, then two persecutors forcefully pull down both ends of the rope as hard as they can and then tie it. At this time, the blood circulation is being choked off and the victim will experience increased heart rate, excruciating pain in both arms and within a few minutes, heavy sweating.

In order to make sure the rope is as tight as can be, the persecutors insert glass bottles and wooden sticks under practitioner's wrists, so the rope will sink deep into his flesh. Meanwhile, they also slap the practitioner's face and shock him with electric baton(s). Each session of "Tightening Rope" lasts ten to twenty minutes. After the rope is loosened, the victim has lost the feeling in his arms, and it takes a long time to regain it. For those who have experienced this torture, their arms are often disabled in severe cases, or they cannot raise their arms or they lose some function in the arms. The marks left on the arms by the rope usually don't disappear for one or two years.

In the torture method "Stretching Bed," the victim is stretched out flat on a bed and his feet are tied to two opposite bed poles; then his hands are stretched above the head and cuffed to the other two bed poles, so the practitioner cannot make the slightest movement. They put bricks under the practitioner's body; they hit his legs with wooden rods, they order inmates to stomp on his body and they poke his ribcage with their hands or with sticks. In the heat of summer, they cover the practitioner with several layers of quilts and don't give him any water. Many practitioners who suffered the "stretching bed" torture could not lift their arms because were extremely sore and numb.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/29/66049.html