Ms. Li Guiqin Dies in Police Custody after Large Scale Arrests in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province

In August 2006, police from the Zhengyang Station in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province rounded up and arrested Falun Dafa practitioners on a large scale. On September 4th, Ms. Li Guqin was arrested when going to a fellow practitioner's house. On the afternoon of the same day, police ransacked her house and arrested her husband Fu Zhiming. They tortured the couple at the station.

On September 9th, 2006, the policemen continued to torture Ms. Li Guiqin and tried to force her to give out other practitioners' names. She refused to cooperate, and she died after falling from the third floor. Ms. Li Guiqin's husband is now detained in the Qiqihar City Detention Centre. Detailed information is yet to be investigated. This is the second death caused by policemen from the Zhengyang Station within a year. On December 20th, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Ma Wensheng died as a result of being tortured in Zhengyang Police Station.

Large Scale Arrests in 2005 - One Death, Several Dozen Sentenced

On May 4th, 2005, policemen from Zhengyang Station began large scale arrests (more than sixty) of Falun Dafa practitioners. Among these, more than thirty practitioners were taken to be put into forced labour in the Shuanghe Labour Camp in Qiqihar City. Mr. Dong Wenqiang and others, with more than a dozen practitioners were sentenced to prison. Mr. Ma Wensheng died.

Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Xu Jingwen was arrested and taken to the Zhengyang Police Station and locked in the "Guizi (ghost) Building" in Longsha District, where she was tortured for five whole days, with the Big Hanging Up¹. She was dying from such cruel torture, and continued to be detained under strict supervision. After one year had passed, Ms. Xu was released after holding a hunger strike for eighteen days. To avoid further arrest and harassment, she was forced to become homeless, and did not return home to live with her family.

Policemen from Zhengyang Station took Falun Dafa practitioners Ms. Li Guixian and Ms. Yan Liju to the Qiqihar City First Detention Centre. Ms. Yan Liju's husband is not a practitioner, but he was still arrested and was even sentenced to three years in prison. Ms. Li Guixian and Ms. Yan Liju were both detained for more than one year. They held hunger strikes to protest, and both became so weak that they were dying. They were released after the authorities extorted "fines" from their families. Upon returning home, they were both constantly harassed, and ultimately forced to leave home and get out of town to avoid being arrested or harassed.

Mr. Ma Wensheng, 56, formerly worked in the People's Barber Shop in Tiefeng District. At 5:00 a.m. on March 5th, 2005, he was arrested together with his wife Wang Guizhi and their child.

Police officers at the Zhengyang Station used cruel torture means such as the Big Hanging Up and others. Mr. Ma Wensheng's leg fractured and he was deformed from the brutal torture. He was sent to be detained in Qiqihar City First Detention Centre. On the morning of October 20th, 2005, guards notified Mr. Ma Wensheng's younger brother that Mr. Ma was ill in Qiqihar Railroad Hospital. He rushed to the hospital, and he saw that Mr. Ma Wensheng was unconsciousness. Before he got a chance to go get some daily needs, Mr. Ma Wensheng had already died.

Large Scale Arrests in 2006 - One Death, Several Tortured

In late August 2006, policemen from Zhengyang Station again arrested several dozen Falun Dafa practitioners. Ms. Wang Guirong (employee of Qiqihar City Farmer's Bank) and her husband (last name Tian) were arrested during the middle of the night after their house was broken into. Policemen tortured them using all sorts of means, fracturing Ms. Wang Guirong's hipbone. They are both detained in the Qiqihar City first Detention Centre.

Another Falun Dafa practitioner, Ms. Wang Guirong (with exactly the same name as the above practitioner) was arrested on August 28th, 2006 when passing out leaflets exposing the persecution, and she is now detained. Details are yet to be investigated.

Note

1. Big Hanging Up - There are two forms in this torture: (i) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frames; (ii) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. The pain is excruciating. See illustration: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/11/20/142813.html