Atrocities at Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp: Burning Fingernails, Using People as Punching Bags, Violent Beatings

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) arrested Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhang Xiangfu from Fangzheng County, Heilongjjang Province four times because he persisted in practising Falun Gong. At the Fangzheng Detention Centre he was forced to carry a stick on his back. At Tiananmen Square, a police officer pushed him to the ground, stepped on his head and beat him until his face became deformed. At the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp the guards burned his hands until they turned black and his fingernails fell off. The back of his hands were scorched and he was also forced to sit in a metal chair for 15 days straight. The perpetrators also invented a torture. They put handles on needles and shot them at the practitioners like darts. The needles stuck deep in the flesh and caused excruciating pain.

Mr. Zhang Xiangfu started practising Falun Gong in July 1998 and benefited tremendously from the practice. He was arrested for the first time in September 1999, shortly after the persecution began. Chou Yongsheng, head of the Political and Security Section from the Fangzheng County Police Department led people to arrest him at home and sent him to the No. 2 Detention Centre in Fangzheng County. They released him on October 8th, after extorting over 200 yuan¹ as a food fee. During detention, Mr. Zhang was forced to carry "The Stick" for doing Falun Gong exercises. "The Stick" is similar to a handcuff, except the part that connects the two rings is not an iron chain but a steel bar. Mr. Zhang was handcuffed behind his back for three days. His hands were severely swollen as a result. While kept in this position, he could not eat, relieve himself or even sleep. After three days, the perpetrators cuffed Mr. Zhang's hands in front of his body for about one week.

In October 1999 Chou Yongsheng led a group to break into Mr. Zhang Xiangfu's home and asked him, "Do you still practise Falun Gong?" Mr. Zhang said, "Yes." They then took him to the Shahezi Police Department and handcuffed him to a torture chair for a whole night. The next day the perpetrators sent him to the Fangzheng County Custody Centre where they held him for over one year. Mr. Zhang held several hunger strikes during detention and was force-fed. They pried his mouth open and inserted a thick tube through his mouth into his stomach. His mouth was severely scraped and he vomited and almost choked. His throat made loud noises that could be heard from far away. The inmates also beat and kicked Mr. Zhang.

Brutal persecution in Beijing

In 2001, Mr. Zhang Xiangfu went to Beijing to peacefully appeal for Falun Dafa. On July 1st the police savagely beat him in Tiananmen Square when he was doing the Falun Gong exercises. The police struck him to the ground and hit his head with police batons. They stepped on his head, gagged him and beat him until his head became deformed. They took him to the Tiananmen Police Station where they demanded to know his address. He refused to reveal his address because if he did, he would be sent back to his local region and his family and acquaintances would be punished. The perpetrators again beat his head before sending him to a small building at the Yanshan Police Department. About five men in security officer's uniforms started beating him in the afternoon and didn't stop until the next morning. The perpetrators pinned him to the ground, beat him and kicked him. They put an electric fan in his face and handcuffed him to a metal chair. The next morning, about three perpetrators beat him and banged his head against the wall. They also hit his head and face. Mr. Zhang's face was bloody and swollen. The beating lasted late into the afternoon, when the perpetrators kicked his chest with both feet and elbowed him. They yanked out clumps of his hair and kept kicking his legs with their hard police boots.

After 48 hours of torture, Mr. Zhang was sent to the No. 2 Detention Centre of the Yanshan Police Department where inmates often beat him. Mr. Zhang protested the persecution, so the perpetrators handcuffed him to a metal fence so high that he felt as if he was being torn in two. At the same time he was wearing shackles. Around 1:00 a.m. the head of the detention centre let him down and put him in a chair. He ordered Mr. Zhang to stretch out his arms and handcuffed him to a railing for three days.

Mr. Zhang showed symptoms of severe illnesses and was sent to a hospital where he was diagnosed with hypertrophy of the heart. The doctor said Mr. Zhang had cancer. They at first planned to take him back to the Yanshan Police Department, but two police officers threw him out of the car soon after they left the hospital. Mr. Zhang's clothes had been taken away at the custody centre. Although it was August, he was wearing a sweater and short trousers. The patrolling police mistook him for a beggar and sent him to a shelter. He was later sent home.

After he returned home, the police arrested Mr. Zhang and sent him to the police department. He was later detained at a detention centre. The next day Chou Yongsheng and Li Kun interrogated him. Li Kun whipped Mr. Zhang with a cattle prod until his arms and back were swollen and covered with bruises. They sent him to the No. 1 Detention Centre and handcuffed him to a chair. Two guards almost broke his arms by violently pushing them backwards and upwards. Ten minutes later the guards sent Mr. Zhang back to the No. 2 Detention Centre where he was held for the next seven months. He was released after holding a hunger strike.

In June 2002 a group led by Chou Yongsheng arrested Mr. Zhang when he was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution. He was detained for three months and then sentenced to three years of forced labour. He was sent to the Group Drill Division at the Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. Five days later he was sent to Division 5 of the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp.

Tortured at Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp

Division 5 at the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp was established for the express purpose of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. It is also called a Special Control Group. The perpetrators at this division are hardcore criminals who invented many torture methods. On arriving, two inmates dragged Mr. Zhang to a room and tortured him.

They used one of the cruelest torture methods on him. They pushed his shoulders and legs until they almost dislocated the bones. Then they pushed him to the ground and asserted brute force on him to cause internal injuries. After a while they took him to another room where they forced him to squat on a brick. They whacked his back with a long wooden stool. They beat and kicked him if he made the slightest movement or if his feet left the surface of the brick.

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Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Huang Tiecheng was tortured until his knees were injured and he couldn't stand up. He couldn't climb the stairs and the inmates beat him and didn't let him eat breakfast. Division head Yang Yu handcuffed him to a bed and shocked him with electric batons for a long time. Because he had difficulty standing, for three days and nights, his whole body weight was shifted to his hands. Two inmates monitored him. One day when inmate Zhao Shuang was on duty, he shocked Mr. Huang's body including his private parts and poured cold water over him. The inmates who monitored him didn't let him sleep. A group of inmates hit his chest and face until his lips bled profusely. They poured lots of cold water on him and then opened the window to expose him to the freezing temperatures. They hung him up by his hands and took turns shaking his arms once in a while when he lost feelings in them. Due to the savage torture he could not eat and vomited everything. After he was let down he passed out and vomited bile. He was diagnosed with liver damage at the clinic. The perpetrators are continuing to persecute him.

Note:

(1) "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/7/19/106446.html