Mr. Li Feng Tortured and Abused for Seven Years in Shijiazhuang City No. 4 Prison

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li Feng from Anguo City, Hebei Province was detained in 2002 for his involvement in broadcasting a TV programme about Falun Gong. Officials then sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment. He was incarcerated at the Shijiazhuang City No. 4 Prison in 2003. Torture in the prison damaged his health. Mr. Li developed heart disease and high blood pressure in late 2005. His family requested his release for treatment but their request was denied. The reason: Li Feng had not yet been "reformed" [forcibly renounced Falun Gong].

After the beginning of the persecution in 1999, Mr. Li tried to appeal to the government, but the appeals office agents at different levels arrested people who wanted to talk about Falun Gong. Mr. Li then turned to other means of explaining the facts about Falun Gong. Under those circumstances, he interrupted local TV broadcast channels and aired programmes exposing the persecution of Falun Gong.

Confession extorted in five days of torture and being administered unknown drugs

Following his arrest on October 4th, 2002 in Mazhuang Village, Anguo City, Yaoshi Police Station head Li Dongfu demanded to know how much money Mr. Li carried with him, and how much money there was at home. Li Dongfu told Mr. Li that there was a provincial-level confidential order permitting local police to do anything to him and others involved in intercepting TV signals, including killing them.

While held at the Shifo Township Police Station, Hebei Police Bureau and the Anguo Police Department, officials beat him ruthlessly. Mr. Li was then brought to the Anguo Police Department where he was questioned and tortured. He was subjected to sleep deprivation for five days in a row. Li Dongfu and other policemen forced him to take a drug that caused him to lose his sight, hearing and coherence for days. His sight and hearing are impaired to this day.

While held at Xushui Detention Centre from October 2002 to October 2003, the officials called his family, demanding money and goods. Mr. Li's family sent the money and items, based on the wardens' messages, but the captors did not pass them on to Mr. Li. They kept the money and goods for themselves.

A year later, on July 15th, 2003, Xushui Court officials tried Mr. Li and 16 other practitioners. Without an opportunity to defend themselves, the practitioners were forced to sign documents and were sentenced two months later. The practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest the unjust sentences. On the evening of October 11th, 2003, Baoding City Intermediate Court officials held another trial and upheld the original sentences the next day.

Tortured to the Brink of death; suffering a mental collapse

On October 16th, 2003, Mr. Li and the other practitioners were sent to Baoding Prison where they continued their protest hunger strike. The officials sent four of the practitioners, including Mr. Li, to a brainwashing centre in the No. 4 Prison in Shijiazhuang City. Feng Fu, who was in charge of the brainwashing centre, subjected the practitioners to severe torture. As a result, Mr. Li suffered a mental collapse. He cried and laughed uncontrollably for five days. He has been muddle-headed ever since. Even so, he is still under close watch by the guards.

Around May or June in 2004, Mr. Li Feng lost consciousness twice. He also suffered seizures and had high blood pressure. As of March 2005 he exhibited symptoms of serious illness: being out of breath, general weakness, bowel and urinary disorders, and high blood pressure.

A year later, in 2005, Mr. Li, although quite weak, was still forced to work at a lamp factory in the prison. The temperature inside the factory was 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The third day working there he lost consciousness for 14 hours. Afterwards, coronary disease and high blood pressure sent him to the prison hospital for over a month. While in the hospital, Li Feng was tied up and infused with unknown fluids, which made him roll about in tremendous pain. The prison doctor told him that practitioner Yang Xiaojie, who had died as a result of persecution, was also infused with similar fluids.

The practitioners held at No. 4 Prison were regularly subjected to mental torture and forced labour. They were force-fed with garbage-like food, with cigarette butts often mixed into the steamed buns. Mr. Li had to look through the garbage for anything edible, like old cabbage. In his first winter in the prison, the officials wouldn't issue him winter clothes, saying that no one had paid for him to get some. He survived that winter with only a light shirt. Many practitioners at the prison were tortured to the brink of death and suffered from heart disease, high blood pressure, and other dangerous symptoms.

Parole for Medical Treatment Delayed for Four Years

After Mr. Li's arrest, the burden of supporting the whole family was placed on his wife's shoulders. His elderly parents were in poor health and constantly worried about him. His young son missed him terribly. His wife had to find means to support the family and to pay his living costs in prison. She could barely make ends meet. Xushui Detention Centre officials called his family many times, demanding money.

In mid-January, 2006, Mr. Li lost consciousness for 12 hours and was kept in the hospital for two days. He was unable to eat for more than 10 days. The prison covered up the information and wouldn't allow his family to see or contact him. His family requested that the prison release him to receive treatment, but their request was denied.

At the end of October 2007, all practitioners in the prison went on a hunger strike, protesting the detention. Many practitioners were tortured to the brink of death. Practitioners' families asked the prison to release practitioners for medical treatment. The prison officials lied, saying they would release some practitioners at the end of 2007. However, no one has been released so far.　　　　　　　　　

Due to the long-term incarceration at the prison, Mr. Li's health has been severely damaged. Doctors at the Shijiazhuang Hospital and at the No. 2 Provincial Hospital diagnosed him with heart stem necrosis as well as hypertension and coronary disease. On June 2nd, 2009, Mr. Li's blood systolic pressure was 180, at times reaching 230, and his legs were swollen. Recently he developed more severe hypertension and vertigo, and exhibits a dull expression. He has become very weak, and his life is in peril.

Between 2003 and 2009, Li Feng was sent to the Shijiazhuang Hospital and the No. 2 Provincial Hospital five times for follow-up examinations.

On May 26th, 2009, prison officials handed Mr. Li's family a form which released him to receive treatment. His family went to the Anguo Police Department and asked deputy head Gan Jianhu to affix the seal. Finding the form's illness column was blank, however, Gan Jianhu refused and requested the family get certificated information from the No. 3 Provincial Hospital. The family had to return to the prison and request officials fill in the illness column. The prison took the form back, telling the family to pick it up five to six days later. Mr. Li was at the brink of death. Prison hospital officials neither treated Mr. Li's illnesses, nor did they allow his family to bring him home for treatment.

Mr. Li's case has been registered with the United Nations for investigation. We are calling for urgent help. We also call on officials at the No. 4 Prison and related members in the Hebei Province justice system to immediately release Mr. Li Feng, who has been unjustly imprisoned and mistreated.

Address of the Beijiao Prison in Shijiazhuang City (Former No. 4 Prison): 3 Beihuanxi Road, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China 050061
Some Contact Numbers:
Switchboard of the prison: 86-311-7751812, ext. 6216 or 6264
"Transformation" Centre of the prison: 86-311-87751912, ext. 6457 or 6521
Xiao Feng, prison head: 86-311-87751830 (O), 86-13503110795 (C), 86-311-83826601 (H)
Liu Zitong, political head: 86-311-87751820 (O), 86-13931105969 (C)
Wang Guobin, "reformation" head: 86-13780206622 (C), 86-311-87751912 ext. 6260 (O), 86-311-87751912 ext. 6290 (H)
Wang Lei, guard
Fan Guangde and Li Chenglong: 86-13032635685 (O)
Qu Yanlei, No. 8 Division head: 86-13785150393
Zhang Dongsheng, team head: 86-13803392612
Yu Chunguang, No. 5 Ward guard
Zhang Shijun, collaborator in the No. 5 Ward
Zhang Zhiguang, political head in the No. 7 Ward
Zhang Zhonglin, evil guard in the No. 7 Ward
Team heads in No. 9 Ward: Liu Shuangjie, Liu Wenxu, Cheng Tongjin
Political heads in the No. 9 Ward: Zhang Liguo, Liu Donglai
Chen Xinguo, head of the No. 11 Ward
Prison Affairs: 86-311-85298203

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/8/29/228950.html