Mr. Zhou Zhigao Brutally Persecuted in Wuling Jail

Mr. Zhou Zhigao, a Falun Gong practitioner, around 56 years old, used to work in the Hunan Provincial Installation Company and lives in the company's living quarters in Changsha City. He was arrested on August 21st, 2002, and illegally sentenced¹ to a seven-year jail term by the local court in Kaifu. Mr. Zhou is currently imprisoned in Wuling Jail in Changde City, Hunan Province.

While in Wuling Jail in Changde City, Mr. Zhou was tortured and persecuted both physically and mentally because of his persistence in the belief of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."

From June 12th to 13th 2005, the provincial authority came to Wuling Jail to conduct a field inspection. Mr. Zhu was brutally beaten for refusing to wear the jail uniform. A week later, he was mercilessly beaten by prison guard Li Hui. The beating caused profuse bleeding. Another time, when he refused to comply with the roll call in the middle of the night, he was pushed from the upper tier bunk bed, causing him to fall. His subsequent injuries hindered his mobility for a week. The prison guards' cruelty toward Mr. Zhou was so outrageous that even the other prison inmates found the punishment objectionable.

For a long time, Wuling Jail used corporal punishment and regarded its implementation as an "accepted norm" in the management of the prisoners, disregarding the civil rights of the prisoners, abusing their power and violating the law. When it came to their treatment of Falun Gong practitioners, they were notorious for their cruelty.

Apart from Mr. Zhou Zhigao, other practitioners like Mr. Gu Zhihui were also persecuted severely for non-compliance with the authorities' requests. The prison guards brutally and mercilessly beat him. His hands and body were constantly tied up, and he was hung by a rope with his feet barely touching the ground. The persecution caused his hands to become swollen, and his body was covered with bruises. He was forced to kneel for long periods of time and denied sleep for up to seven days.

We hereby appeal to the world's kindhearted people to righteously condemn the atrocities taking place in Wuling Jail in Changde City.

Related telephone numbers:

Zhou Zhigao's employer:
Hunan Provincial Renovation/Installation Company: 86-731-5137630
Hunan Provincial Renovation/Installation Company's Secretary, Zhang Longquan: 86-731-4318561, (Office) 86-13607312966 (Mobile)
Changde City Wuling Jail, Third Division:
District Magistrate Wang Jian: 86-736-4336272
Prison guard: Xie Ying (Surveillance Chief): 86-736-7201792
Prison guard: Liu YongAn: 86-736-7716606
Changde Wuling Jail zip code: 415116

Note
1. Illegally arrested: Contrary to what former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who initiated the persecution, and the Chinese Communist Party would like the world to believe, practising Falun Gong is NOT illegal in China. Although the Public Security Department issued an unconstitutional set of restraints on the practice at the onset of the persecution in 1999, no laws have been passed by the only legislative body in China, the People's Congress, banning Falun Gong or granting the police the authority to arrest Falun Gong practitioners for practising the exercises or distributing flyers. For a more complete discussion of the illegality of the persecution of Falun Gong, please refer to the article "The Ban on Falun Gong—A Dictator's Whim, Not the Rule of Law". (Variation: "illegally sentenced")

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/6/13/130346.html