Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Yu Shujin at Brink of Death From Cirrhosis As A Result of Torture at Shulan Detention Centre

On June 25th 2004, police from Shulan City arrested Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yu Shujin from Yongji County, Jilin Province. He was tortured until he developed liver cirrhosis and abdominal fluid retention after twenty days of detention. In December 2004, a Shulan City Court sentenced him to twelve years in prison and sent him to the Tiebei Prison in Changchun City for further persecution. He was at the brink of death. On November 10th 2005, being at death's door, the authorities from the Tiebei Prison were afraid of taking responsibility, and sent Yu Shujin home.

Dafa practitioner Yu Shujin

On June 25th 2004, Yu Shujin was savagely tortured after his arrest. Within twenty days of incarceration in the Shulan Detention Centre, he experienced severe chest, liver and stomach pain. He developed fluid in his abdomen and was sent to the Shulan City Hospital. The diagnosis was liver cirrhosis, fluid retention, heart disease and stomach disease. His internal organs hurt severely whenever he coughed slightly.

In December 2004, the Shulan City Court illegally sentenced Yu Shujin to twelve years in prison. Despite his condition, the Shulan City evildoers sent him to Tiebei Prison where the authorities knew of his condition, but they still held him at the prison hospital for as long as one year.

Yu Shujin's family learned of his plight. They went to the Tiebei Prison and pleaded for his release. Yu Shujin later showed symptoms of critical illness. The prison authorities were afraid of taking responsibility should Yu Shujin die at the prison and released Yu Shujin on medical parole on November 10th 2005. The Tiebei Prison officials tried to extort 7,000 yuan from Yu Shujin's family but his family refused to pay. The authorities were afraid Yu Shujin would die on his way home, so they sent him home in a prison car accompanied by prison guards and doctors.

Yu Shujin's condition worsened after he went home. He had liver cirrhosis and his whole body had fluid retention and oedema. Following are some details of his life:

Yu Shujin is 56 years old and lives at a family dormitory of the No. 1 Kouqian Town Water and Electricity Bureau in Yongji County, Jilin Province. On June 25th 2004, Yu Shujin was moving to another place in Shulan City when two police officers from Shulan City broke into his home and found some Dafa materials, Dafa books, cassettes and VCDs. Several other Falun Gong practitioners were also present. Yu Shujin was standing by the door of the outer room. He could have escaped first but he stayed to help the other practitioners leave. The police grabbed the last practitioner. Yu Shujin ran up to the police and pried one officer's fingers away. The other practitioner struggled to free himself and escaped. The police officer was able to get a choke hold on Yu Shujin and they sent him to Beicheng Police Station in Shulan City.

Police there first took Yu Shujin's cell phone, keys, and about 90 yuan in cash. They then beat and kicked him and asked him for the source of the truth clarification materials. Yu Shujin said, "I am validating the greatness of Dafa! I didn't commit any crimes. There is no need for me to tell you this information." One young police officer violently kicked his chest, and subsequently Yu Shujin experienced terrible chest pain. Because he refused to say anything, the police sent him to the Shulan Detention Centre.

On June 26th, agents from the Shulan City Legal Section interrogated Yu Shujin. They claimed they had found over 500 copies of Falun Gong books, and more than 20,000 flyers, cassettes, VCDs, banners and other things. They decided that Yu Shujin must have printers and asked him where he hid them. They exhausted all manner of interrogation methods, but Yu Shujin refused to tell them.

On June 27th, Yu Shujin shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" The police took him to the office, told him to say "report" and he refused. Five police officers including two officers with the surname Ma, one surnamed Xu, and one officer whose nickname is "the vicious old Wang" approached Yu Shujin. They pinched his neck, hit his head, wrung his arms, and beat and kicked him. Officer Xu especially hit his chest. Yu Shujin rolled on the ground from pain. The police told Yu Shujin that all inmates have to say "report" when they enter the door. Yu Shujin said, "I'm not an inmate! I'm a Dafa practitioner! I didn't commit any crimes, so why should I say 'report'?" The police again beat him but Yu Shujin still refused to cooperate with them. The police then put him in shackles weighing more than 19 pounds, but Yu Shujin still shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!"

On June 28th, people from the Legal Section again interrogated Yu Shujin. They tried to bribe him and also beat him, but he still refused to cooperate with them. He told them about the wonders of Falun Dafa and told them that they would receive blessings if they remember, "Falun Dafa is good."

Later, officials from Shulan City reported Yu Shujin's case to a Jilin City government division in charge of persecuting Falun Gong. On June 29th, Jilin City Police Department sent a few people from Division 5 to take him to a quiet room.

At about 1:00 p.m., they put many bottles of water on the table in the room with ice, towels and many bottles of mustard oil. There is a certain torture tool made from a wooden plank, which a person is strapped onto, and the person is immobilised at the waist and feet. Only his hands and his upper body are free to move around. People who were tortured in the past know that the police officers at Division 5 from the Jilin City Police Department are vicious and cruel.

One person who looked like a section head said to Yu Shujin, "Quick! Tell us! I have many tortures at my disposal. Are you sure you can endure all of them?" Yu Shujin said, "I won't tell you anything. I'm a Dafa practitioner! I'm clarifying the truth and rescuing people. If all people would conduct themselves according to Truth-Compassion- Forbearance, they would become good people and improve their moral characters. Why are you accusing me for doing something good?" The man said, "Oh, cut it. Are you going to tell me or not?" Yu Shujin said firmly, "No!" The police locked him in the wood torture device. Two people approached him. One of them twisted his right arm behind him and pushed it upwards, and another person pulled his left arm, forced it over his shoulder and then pushed it downward. Yu Shujin is 55 years old, and his arms could not bend to that extent. Two more people joined the torture and forced his right arm up and left arm down. He felt as if his arms were going to break. Ominous noises came from his skull and his ribs. The four evildoers took a long time to force his hands to join behind his back, and then handcuffed them together. This torture is called "big back-cuffing."

About six officers proceeded to stab Yu Shujin's ears and nostrils with broomsticks until blood gushed from his nose. The evildoers also hit his head with water bottles filled with large ice chunks. This torture causes great head pain but leaves no visible scars no matter how hard one hits. They also pinched his neck and wrapped his mouth with two towels, so he could only breathe through his nose. They dripped mustard oil inside his nose whenever he took a breath.

Yu Shujin felt his body was on the verge of breaking down. He didn't know if the mustard oil entered his stomach or his lungs. The oil made tears gush from his eyes. He had difficulty breathing and he almost became unconscious. About thirty minutes later the evildoers saw that he was about to lose consciousness. They removed the handcuffs and the towels for a 15-minute "break." Four people pushed and raised his arms. It took them a long time to unlock the handcuffs, because his arms were twisted to the maximum extent and were locked in the handcuffed position. They forced his arms back to their original position, which caused great pain. Yu Shujin screamed repeatedly. About fifteen minutes later they again tortured Yu Shujin the same way as before, which caused even greater pain this time.

Yu Shujin felt like he was going to lose his mind from the pain. Despite his screams, the officers forced more mustard oil down his nose. About thirty minutes later they again uncuffed him for fifteen minutes. This time Yu Shujin was not able to think clearly and felt unbearable pain. They tortured him repeatedly until 6:00 p.m. when they unlocked him for the fourth time. Those evildoers were exhausted from administering the torture. They could not get any information from Yu Shujin. Before they left, they said to him, "Yu Shujin, you suffered a lot today."

The guards at the detention centre saw that Yu Shujin could not move, so they unlocked the 19-pound shackles. After he was taken back to the detention centre, Yu Shujin experienced severe chest, liver and stomach pain and could not move his arms. He couldn't sleep at all.

Right after breakfast the next day, on June 30th, Yu Shujin was again interrogated, this time in a different room. The same people from Division 5 and some others from the Shulan Legal Section again brought mustard oil, the wooden torture tool and water bottles with ice inside. The officers shouted, "Are you going to tell us or not?" Yu Shujin refused to speak. They tortured him. Yu Shujin's swollen arms hurt terribly when they were again twisted, and his chest and stomach hurt, even when he took a breath. The officers knew that he could not withstand further torture. They pushed and pulled his arms until he again almost lost consciousness. He didn't even have the strength to scream.

Within twenty days of detention at the Shulan Detention Centre, he developed fluid in his abdominal cavity and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and [other] fluid accumulation. He also developed symptoms of heart disease and stomach disease. His body hurt whenever he coughed slightly. His right hand was numb for about 45 days and he could not use it. Six months later he was sentenced to twelve years in prison by the Shulan City Court. He was detained at Tiebei Prison in Changchun City, Jilin Province.

Because Yu Shujin was tortured to the brink of death, he was released on medical parole on November 10th 2005. He is still suffering from liver cirrhosis and whole-body edema.

Shulan City Party Committee Office, Address: No 4504 Shulan Street, Zip code: 132600
Office: 86-432-8258000

Shulan City Politics and Law Committee, Address: No 104 Shulan Street, Zip code: 132600
Phone: 86-432-8258078

Shulan City Government, Address: No 101-8 Shulan Street, Zip code: 132600
Mayor's public hotline: 86-432-8212345

Shulan City Police Department, Address: No 29 Shulan Street, Zip code: 132600
Office of head of police department: 86-432-8224808
Office of deputy head: 86-432-8224793, 8218390, 8230606, 823562
Legal Section: 86-432-8234799
National Security Division: 86-432-8225509
Patrol Division: 86-432-8218251
Custody Centre: 86-432-8251226

Detention Centre: 86-432-8251265, 86-432-8251225
Shulan City Judicial Bureau, Address: No 101 Shulan City, Zip code: 132600
Office of bureau head: 86-432-8258237, 8258238

Shulan City People's Court, Address: No 31 Shulan City, Zip code: 132600
Head of court: 86-432-8237701, 8237623

Shulan City People's Procuratorate, Address: No 103 Shulan Street, Zip code: 132600
Main switchboard: 86-432-8225577, 86-432-8222718
Head of Procuratorate: 86-432-8250026

Tiebei Prison in Changchun City
Address: No 2050 Yataibei Street in Changchun City, Jilin Province Zip code: 130052
Main switchboard: 86-431-5870891, 5870892, 5870893, 5870894

Zhou Zhong: head, political head, 86-431-5870601 (Office)
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0601

Main prison officials
Zhang Yueqing: 86-431-5870602 (Office)
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0602
Sun Zhi: 86-431-5870604 (Office)
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0604
Liu Kuikuan: 86-431-5870606 (Office)
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0606
Wang Xuejun: 86-431-5870608
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0608
Ge Baozhong: Political Secretary in charge of "reform," 86-431-5870605

Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0605

He Dan: head of the Prison Administration Section, 86-431-5870628 (Office), 5870629, 5870631
Attack Office: especially established to persecute determined Falun Gong practitioners
Jun Hailin: 86-431-5870648 (Office)
Internal phone line: main switchboard, 86-431-5870891 ext. 0648
Head of the prison hospital: 86-431-5870672
Deputy head of the prison hospital: 86-431-5870673

Prison prosecutor: 86-431-5870678