Barbaric Acts by Staff at Baoding Forced Labour Camp

The following is an account of persecution against a Falun Gong practitioner by the staff at the Baoding Forced Labour Camp.

Mr. Zhang Qingchun

Mr. Zhang Qingchun is a Falun Gong practitioner in his 50's. On April 5, 2003, Mr. Zhang refused to put on the inmate's uniform at Baoding Forced Labour Camp in Hebei Province, because he had not committed any crime. The Captain of the First Brigade at Baoding Forced Labour Camp, Liu Qingyong, had Mr. Zhang handcuffed to the rails of the staircase for three days and two nights as punishment. In addition, Mr. Zhang was subjected to beatings by prison guards, including Liu Qingyong, Li Dayong, and Wang Lei, because he refused to answer a questionnaire about Falun Gong in accordance to what was written in the prison's propaganda materials. Because Mr. Zhang tried to avoid their punches, they pressed his body against the ground and kept shocking him with an electric baton until the battery ran out. Then they changed the battery and resumed the torture. These three prison guards changed the battery three times during this torture session. By the time they were finished, they had made more than 20 visible burn marks on Mr. Zhang's back, and more than ten on his chest and abdomen. During the torture, they held Mr. Zhang face down on the floor, stepped hard on his lower back, and pulled his head and shoulders backwards forcefully. This forceful bending of his upper body caused severe injury to Mr. Zhang's lower back. After that, Mr. Zhang could not walk or stand for over one month, and had to be carried by two men each time he needed to use the toilet. Even to this day, Mr. Zhang is still suffering from the impact of the torture on his lower back. After that incident, Mr. Zhang lost consciousness twice. He would sometimes just look straight ahead with a blank expression and had heart problems. In addition, Mr. Zhang was unable to extend his arms behind his body or away from his sides. He can barely manage to extend his arms forward. This also means that Mr. Zhang has been unable to do any of the Falun Gong exercises.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/4/20/72768.html