Details of the Persecution of Mr. Zhao Shifeng and Mr. Huang Tiebo in Heilongjiang Province

In early April 2008, several sentenced practitioners were transferred from Hulan Prison to Daqing Prison.

Mr. Zhao Shifeng from Xinzhao Township, Zhaoyuan County, Severely Tortured

Mr. Zhao Shifeng, 36, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment and is currently being held in No. 3 Division in Daqing Prison.

On the afternoon of September 7th, 2008, two policemen from Xinzhan Township, Zhaoyuan County found Mr. Zhao out in public and told him to go to the police station to "have a chat." When he refused, one of the policemen called for more officers. Mr. Zhao was subsequently taken away by officers from the Zhaoyuan County Farm Police Station. On the same day, the police ransacked his home and took Falun Gong items, a cassette recorder, and other items.

In the evening, officers from the Suihua State Farm Police Department and the Suinong 610 Office¹ inhumanly tortured Mr. Zhao. Four or five of them punched and kicked him and then used electric batons to shock him. Several officers held Mr. Zhao to the floor and forcibly pulled his legs in opposite directions, injuring him to the point where he is now unable to stand up. After the repeated torture, Mr. Zhao had difficulty moving, had a dull look in his eyes, his mouth watered, his nose kept running, and his clothes were soaked in sweat. Even then, the officers from the Suihua State Farm 610 Office were still swearing at him and ridiculing him. They didn't stop torturing him until he no longer reacted when they shocked his face and burned his eyes with cigarette butts. They then carried him to a sofa and handcuffed him to a radiator.

The following day when the head of the Suihua Police Department found out that Mr. Zhao was conscious, he transferred Mr. Zhao to the farm's detention centre. Three officers from the Suihua State Farm 610 Office collaborated with officers from the state farm criminal police station to mistreat him once again. They first said that they wanted to talk to him and then tried to force him to list his so-called "contacts," including both his leaders and his underlings." One of the officers threatened him by saying, "I've sentenced a lot of criminals to death and all of them confessed. Do you know that 15 practitioners died in Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City?" After this threat, they began torturing Mr. Zhao.

In late February 2007, Mr. Zhao Shifeng was sentenced to five years of imprisonment by a judge from the Suihua State Farm Court, which is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Mr. Zhao is still in prison.

Mr. Huang Tiebo from Acheng District, Harbin City

Mr. Huang Tiebo, 36, is a practitioner from Acheng District, Harbin City. On July 24th, 2007, he went to a village to distribute leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong to the villagers. He went with another practitioner, Mr. Huang Fujun, who later died as a result of inhuman torture. They were reported and then arrested by officers from the local police station. The police tried to extort a confession by torture. Mr. Huang was tied up with a very thin rope, his hands behind his back. The police slapped his face and stepped on his face, but this failed to make him talk. He was then escorted to the Acheng Police Department. Policeman Xi Jinglong (a member of the Acheng 610 Office who had persecuted practitioners many times and is now a member of the Judiciary Office) recognized Mr. Huang and transferred his file from where he was held previously. Then Mr. Huang was sent to the Acheng No. 2 Detention Centre.

Mr. Huang began a hunger strike to protest his detention. On the sixth day, several criminals dragged him to a room and attempted to force feed him. Since he resolutely resisted, their attempt failed. Then the police took him to the Acheng No. 1 Detention Centre. The detention centre head dared not take him in because of his poor health. With instructions from the head of the Acheng Police Department, he was eventually escorted to the Harbin No. 1 Detention Centre and secretly locked up with criminals that had been sentenced to death and separated from the outside world.

Mr. Huang was sent back to the Acheng Detention Centre, where he was held for more than five months, before he was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment. He exposed the CCP's crimes in the court and pointed out that it was not a crime to have a belief. He told the judge, "I haven't committed any crimes whatsoever, so you are not qualified to try me." The judge offered the lame excuse that it was a crime to possess flyers. Mr. Huang asked him, "Didn't you commit a crime when you read the flyer?" The judge was speechless. Then he flared into a rage, and court had to be adjourned.

On January 2nd, 2008, Mr. Huang was escorted to the "Intensive Training Centre" in Hulan Prison, Heilongjiang Province, which was a centre for torturing practitioners. He was subjected to a new round of tortures. The living conditions were extremely bad and the detainees weren't allowed to speak to each other or to wash their clothes. They were forced to sit on a board,with their backs straight, no movement allowed. Twelve to fifteen people were squeezed into an area about the size of a double bed. Every day, the inmates were forced to do extremely labour-intensive jobs, and if the quotas were not met, the result was corporal punishment or severe beatings. The inmates often did not have enough to eat. Detainees who suffered from scabies, coughs, lice, or other illnesses were all held together. Usually six or seven people would be squeezed into one double bed all year long. Since the detainees were not allowed to take showers or wash their clothes, it was very smelly in the scorching hot summer. Everyone had only three minutes to use the toilet. These practitioners not only suffered from the poor living conditions but also from being tortured by the prison guards and the criminals alike.

On January 2nd when Mr. Huang first arrived at the "Intensive Training Centre," he was forced to take off all his clothes and was searched. They printed "Inmate" on his clothes and he was forced to stand, facing a wall. The guards also threatened him, shocked him with electric batons, and tried to force him to write the so-called four statements, promising not to practise Falun Gong, stating regret over practising in the past, declaring separation, and denouncing Falun Gong. In the afternoon, criminal Shen Gang, under orders from the prison guards, called Mr. Huang to a store room and attempted to pressure him into writing the five statements. Shen clearly said that he was ordered to do this by the prison guards. Later, Shen and another criminal, He Yan, tried to force Mr. Huang again to write the four statements, but Mr. Huang refused. They dragged him to the storeroom which was a secret place used to torture practitioners, and tied him up. He Yan stomped on Mr. Huang's back and forced his arms forward and Shen Gang stabbed Mr. Huang's fingers with chopsticks. They also hit his head with a baton and stepped on his thumbs. These are some of the torture methods used on practitioners. They kicked Mr. Huang until he could not get up. The following day he was forced to stand facing the wall again. The prison guards threatened him a few times that if he refused to write the four statements he would be detained until his term expired. They pressured him like this every day and also forced him to watch video programmes that slandered or demonized Falun Gong.

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/10/7/187258.html