Ms. Liang Yuzhen and Ms. Liang Jinyou Tortured in Heshan City, Guangdong Province

On the afternoon of February 25th, 2009, Ms. Liang Yuzhen, a resident of Shaping Town in Heshan City, Guangdong Province, went to the countryside to distribute leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong and was arrested.

That same evening, police officers handcuffed Ms. Liang's hands behind her back, dragged her all the way to her home, and then thoroughly ransacked it. When the officers were about to leave, Ms. Liang's 89-year-old grandmother, who was home at the time, held onto Ms. Liang's arm and wouldn't let go. She pleaded with the officers, saying, "I need her to take care of me! Please let her stay!" The officers simply loosened the grandmother's hands and took Ms. Liang away.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20th, 1999, Ms. Liang Yuzhen and her sister, Ms. Liang Jinyou, have been repeatedly persecuted by officers from the Heshan City Police Department, the 610 Office¹, the local police station, and the Neighbourhood Administration Office.

Police officers frequently went to Ms. Liang's home to harass her and her sister. In addition, the officers monitored their telephone line and made harassing and threatening calls to them. The parents of the sisters constantly worried about their daughters' welfare to the point that their hair turned white and they found it difficult to eat or sleep.

On the evening of July 19th, 2000, two officers from the Xincheng Police Station stormed into Ms. Liang's home, saying, "Our director wants to talk to you. Come with us. After he speaks with you, we will take you home." This is how the two sisters were tricked into going to the police station.

When they arrived, Chen Jinhu, the head of the police department, asked the sisters, "Will you still practice Falun Gong? If you continue to practise, you will be taken to the detention centre. If you agree to stop practising, we will take you home." The two sisters firmly replied, "We will continue to practise!" Several officers immediately arrested them and held them for five days.

On the evening of February 14th, 2001, over twenty personnel from the Heshan City 610 Office, the Xincheng Police Station, and the Neighbourhood Administration Office started to arrest practitioners in their local area. They first went to Ms. Liang's home to arrest her and her sister, dragging them all the way from the fifth floor to the first floor. While they were being dragged, the sisters repeatedly shouted, "Falun Gong is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" When Ms. Liang's neighbours ran outside to see what was going on, the officers did not dare to drag the sisters to their awaiting vehicles.

Two other practitioners were later arrested and taken to the Xincheng Police Station. Officers from other police stations joined in on the raid, resulting in over ten practitioners being arrested that evening. Both Yi Dongyi (female) and Mai Wenjing (female) from the Xincheng Police Station severely abused the detained practitioners.

Ms. Liang Jinyou was detained for fifteen days, while Ms. Liang Yuzhen was sentenced to one year in the Sanshui Women's Forced Labour Camp. While in detention, the two sisters were repeatedly kicked and verbally abused. In addition, the guards tortured them with tactics that were reserved strictly for inmates on death row.

One torture method that the guards employed involved using a metal bar to separate a victim's legs approximately two and a half feet apart. Then a heavy metal ring weighing over ten pounds was placed around the victim's neck. The guards then locked the neck, hands, and feet together. The victim could neither walk nor lie down to sleep, and whenever they needed to use the toilet, they needed assistance. At night, they could only half sit and half lie down on the floor. Ms. Liang Jinyou had been previously tortured like this for a whole month. She was later sentenced to one and a half years in the Sanshui Forced Labour Camp, where she was severely tortured.

To protest her imprisonment and abuse, Ms. Liang Yuzhen went on a hunger strike for over ten days. The guards began to force-feed her and tortured her to the point that she was emaciated and in critical condition. Ma Lai Jiu from the Jiangmen 610 Office said, "If you do not eat, you have to be force-fed. We have plenty of methods."

Before Ms. Liang Yuzhen was imprisoned in the Sanshui Women's Forced Labour Camp, she was shackled for over twenty days and tortured so severely that she was unable to walk. When she was transferred to the Sanshui Women's Forced Labour Camp, she had to be carried through the front door.

Ms. Liang Yuzhen was later transferred back to the Heshan City Detention Centre. Her whole family is very worried about her safety.

The Heshan City Detention Centre, where practitioners have been detained

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.ca/mh/articles/2009/3/6/196658.html