Abuse and Torture in the Guangzhou City Detention Centre

The cruel persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China has been ongoing for over two years. In any circumstances and at any time, perpetrators of this persecution can arrest or detain anyone suspected of practising Falun Gong. They can even send them to forced labour camps.

Among the groups of Falun Gong practitioners detained in the Detention Centre in Guangzhou City, some are white-haired elderly people and some are young infants with their mothers who have been abducted and detained for over three months. Due to lack of food some babies lose their hair. The police usually detain dozens of Falun Gong practitioners in several dark rooms, which are also referred to as confinement cells for the mentally ill. Without water and electricity, each cell contains only one toilet sink and a cement slab for sleeping. Since the police lock thirteen people in one small cell, the single cement slab does not provide most people a place to sleep. Some have to lie down by the sink. The police never supply water for washing or flushing the sink. In warm weather the worms crawl everywhere, including all over people's body and sheets. As days go by, the sink becomes blocked and the excrement and urine overflow to the ground and create an unbearable stench.

The police make money by pocketing a portion of the practitioners' food. Every day they hand out only two meals, each of which has only 50grams (about 2 oz) of rice (cold in the afternoon) and a few pieces of pickle or boiled cabbage. They also forbid any food from the outside. Practitioners have protested against this treatment by going on a hunger strike. During this time the guards violently force-feed practitioners. They order male prisoners to drag Falun Gong practitioners up and down stairs after force-feeding them. As a result of being dragged back and forth, practitioners' feet, legs and backs bleed. When force-feeding, the police seize practitioners by their throats, press on their legs, pull at their hair and push down their chins. Some abusers use pliers to open practitioners' mouths for force-feeding, which leaves their mouths black and bruised. In the process, rice and water mixed with dirt spreads all over the room.

At their whim, the guards use electric batons to shock practitioners' faces, heads and arms. Sometimes the smell of scorched flesh fills the yard. The wounds from being shocked take a long time to heal. The abusers also spread pepper water on practitioners' faces, eyes, and noses to make them cough and choke. The perpetrators have used all the evil means at their disposal, but they can never shake the rock-solid will of Falun Dafa practitioners.