Persecution of Countryside Doctor Zhou Zaitian

Name: Zhou Zaitian
Gender: Male
Age: 57
Address: Zhugedian Village of Yanjiao Town in Sanhe City, Hebei Province
Occupation: Medical doctor

Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2006
Most recent place of detention: Jidong Prison in Hebei Province
City: Sanhe City
Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, extortion, Dismissal from workplace, physical restraint, interrogation, detention
Key Persecutors: Chen Kai, deputy head of the Education Section, Division 2 of Jidong Prison, Hebei Province. Address: Division 2, mailbox 13, PO Box 2002, Fengnan District in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, Zip code 0633057

Mr. Zhou Zaitian is a countryside doctor, who has 37 years of experience. Because he practises Falun Gong, he was detained in 2006 and then sentenced in 2007.

Mistreated at a Detention Centre

When detained at the detention centre, Mr. Zhou was subjected to many kinds of brutal tortures, including:

(1) Beaten with shoes - Thugs beat him with new shoes made of hardened plastic. Mr. Zhou was beaten on both sides of his face dozens of times. The next day, Mr. Zhou's face was swollen more than one centimetre (.4 inch). His face was swollen so severely that his eyes were almost buried.

(2) Suffocation - Thugs suddenly covered Mr. Zhou's head with a plastic bag and quickly he started to suffocate. Four evildoers held him down so that he could not move. Mr. Zhou struggled and broke the plastic bag so that he was able to breathe.

(3) Head immersed into water - Thugs filled dirty water in a big container, and forcibly held Mr. Zhou's head in it. After one minute, his head was pulled out of the water and then immersed again. This was done several times.

(4) Beaten and kicked - Several thugs took turns beating and kicking Mr. Zhou. A guard gave hints to inmates, "Take 'good' care of him [Mr. Zhou]."

(5) Restricted use of a toilet - When defecating, someone quickly counted from 1 to 100 by his side. After about one minute, he had to stop using the toilet and leave.

Maltreatment at the Prison

On July 23rd, 2007, Mr. Zhou was sent to the Jidong Prison with his wrists handcuffed and his feet chained. He was assigned to Division 2, directly sent to the strictly-controlled group, and detained in a solitary confinement cell. The cell was less than three square metres (about 32 square ft) and contained many mosquitoes. With a small window of about 20 square centimetres (about 3 square inches), the room's temperature was about 45 0C (about 113 0F). Water for drinking and washing was restricted. Six people took turns monitoring Mr. Zhou in three shifts for five days. He had no physical freedom and his family members were not allowed to visit during his strictly-controlled detention.

After returning from the strictly-controlled group to the cell, Mr. Zhou was closely monitored and followed by three inmates every day. They prevented him from speaking with others, and limited his physical freedom. They also followed him when he went to the bathroom.

On July 28th, Mr. Zhou was sent to the strictly controlled group again and placed in a solitary confinement cell. Mr. Zhou was handcuffed behind his back and forced to stand facing a wall for 16 hours per day, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Six inmates took turns in three shifts to monitor him, and when he squatted down or sat down, the inmates started swearing at him and beating him.

During the afternoon interrogation on July 28th, Chen Kai from the Education Section slapped Mr. Zhou in the face for more than twenty times. Chen Kai weighed about 90 kilograms (198 lb) and he slapped Mr. Zhou so hard that he fell down to the floor, and his glasses fell off. His hearing subsequently impaired from this beating. The inmates also beat Mr. Zhou. His face was swollen and he was bleeding in his mouth and had bruises on his body. Another inmate then hit Mr. Zhou hard on the chest, and he fell down to the ground and had difficulty breathing.

In addition to the above mentioned incidents, Mr. Zhou was detained at a brainwashing centre three times and maltreated, on December 2000, April 2001 and September 2001.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/10/2/209499.html