Ms. Zhang Ying Detained after Confession Induced by Torture

Name: Zhang Ying
Gender: Female
Age: 39
Address: Unit 502, No. 13 Nada Road, Baoshan District, Shanghai City
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 8th, 2009
Most Recent Location of Detention: Changning District Detention Centre
City: Shanghai

Persecution Suffered: Detention, beatings, forced labour, force-fed, handcuffed, hung up
Key Persecutors: Zhou Zheng, Wei Liguang, Zhu Fengming, Qian Jun, Chen Ying

Eight months have passed since police from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and National Security Group of Changning District, Shanghai arrested Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Ying on September 8th, 2009. During her detention, Ms. Zhang was tortured with her hands cuffed behind her back for a confession, and she was hung up for long periods of time. The perpetrators were female prison guards Yang Ying and Cheng Ying, and male guards Chen Hao, Zhu Fengming and Qianjun. They were given their orders by Wang Yu and Wei Liguang, chiefs of the National Security Group of the Changning District Police Department. Because of the torture, Ms. Zhang fell unconscious many times and her blood pressure rose dangerously high. She was sent to a hospital only when her condition became critical.

In order to incriminate Ms. Zhang, the 610 Office and the Changning District Police Department tried to extract a confession from her via torture. When they failed to get what they wanted, they turned to other people to supply false evidence to incriminate her. One of the so-called witnesses, who never knew Ms. Zhang, was forced to testify against her based on alleged hearsay from another practitioner who had earlier died as a result of persecution.

Another witness, feeling regretful for having co-operated with police to incriminate Ms. Zhang, wrote a statement to the Changning District Court to expose the police's plot to fabricate evidence against Ms. Zhang. He stated that his previous testimony was untrue and was required to appear in court as a witness. The police and 610 office arrested him immediately and threatened to charge him. They told him: "We received a message from your residential committee, saying that you are a good witness. We can set you free immediately if you write a statement that meets our requirements." To avoid lying, the witness had to leave his home and subsequently became homeless.

Ms. Zhang went on a hunger strike to protest her arrest, which the authorities claimed was to maintain social order during the World Expo in Shanghai. During the 8 months, she was detained mostly at the Shanghai Prison General Hospital in Dongnanhui Region, Pudong District. According to a lawyer who had seen her in the hospital, Ms. Zhang is now in very bad physical condition and is unable to walk without support.

Ms. Zhang's parents wrote a letter of appeal to the authorities, but they have yet to receive a response.

Letter of Appeal by Ms. Zhang's Mother

This is an accusation against the police from the Shanghai Changning District Police Department-- Wei Liguang, Qian Jun, Zhu Fengming and Cheng Ying--for their abusive use of their authority in their extraction of a confession through torture.

Accuser: Chu Xiaoxian, female, 70 years old.

Address: Room No 603, Residence Area No 180, Building No. 33, Southern Street, Baoshan District, Shanghai

Accused persons:

Wei Liguang, personal in charge of my daughter' case
Qian Jun, Zhu Fengming, Cheng Ying (female), police from Shanghai Changning District Police Department

Requirement of the accuser:
1. A thorough investigation into the accused persons' violation of the law;
2. An open and lawful treatment for the accused person's violation of the law;
3. An apology to the victim and her family and compensation for their economic losses.

Description of the accused person's violation of the law:

I am Chu Xiaoxian, mother of the victim Ms. Zhang Ying. In handling the case of my daughter, police officers Wei Liguang, Qian Jun, Zhu Fengming and Cheng Ying from Shanghai Changning District Police Department have seriously violated the law when they tried to extract a confession from my daughter through torture. The following are details.

On the afternoon of September 8th, 2009, Ms. Zhang was brought to the Xianxia Street Police Station of Shanghai Changning District Police Department by police led by Wei Ligunag. During the arrest, the police did not show us any ID or legal documents. Ordered by Wei Liguang, Qian Jun, Zhu Fengming and Chen Ying cuffed her hands behind her back and hung her in the air. The torture caused her to fall unconscious many times. Her blood pressure rose to 200/140, and her life was in danger. In the end, they threw her into a police car and sent her to the Changning District Detention Centre without any advanced physical examination. They sent her to the Prison General Hospital in Pudong District only when they saw that she was in critical condition. On the afternoon of September 23rd, our lawyer, Mr. Zhang Chuanli, went to see her in the hospital. She was very weak with high blood pressure and was unable to stand up.

From the above facts, we can see that the accused persons had seriously violated the law.

For the sake of the righteous implementation of the law, judicial discipline and the reputation of the police, I, a family member of the victim, hereby require a thorough investigation into the accused persons' actions against the law and the results should be reported back to us in due course.

China is a signatory of the UN's "Convention against Torture". In response to the inquiry from the UN Committee against Torture at the end of 2008 the spokesman of China's Foreign Ministry claimed that: "China always respects and protects human rights and stands against torture." In a metropolitan area that is going to hold the World Expo, the Shanghai police should be civilised and humane in their enforcement of the law and protect human rights, but they now try to extract confessions through torture from an innocent woman. This is a notorious violation of human rights that should be denounced by all people and it will badly stain the image of Shanghai as a civilised city. I hope the police will change their course to improve their public image. We must have clear recognition of human rights. That is, all citizens are equal before the law and, regardless of who they are, their equality should be respected and they should not be persecuted for their beliefs. No one can be persecuted or tortured regardless of the law only because he or she is a Falun Gong practitioner. If the Shanghai police will not stop persecuting and torturing Falun Gong practitioners, Shanghai will never become a city governed by law and there will never be genuine harmony or stability in this city.

This letter is sent to:

Politics and Law Committee of Chinese Central Government
Shanghai Standing Committee of National People's Congress
Shanghai City Government
Shanghai City Police Department
Shanghai Procuratorate
Changning District Procuratorate, Shanghai
Changning District Police Department
Accuser: Chu Xiaxian

Earlier report: http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/1/2/113533.html

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/5/7/223061.html