Practitioners Persecuted in Harbin City Drug Rehabilitation Forced Labour Camp

Twelve practitioners were detained in Harbin City Drug Rehabilitation Forced Labour Camp in Heilongjiang Province from July 1st to July 3rd, 2010. They were brutally tortured in an attempt to force them to give up their belief in Falun Gong. Ms. Liu Shuling was tortured to death on July 3rd. Below is a practitioner's account of events during this time at the camp.

Brutal beatings

A few people in my cell heard guard Yu Kun shouting very loudly on the morning of May 4th, 2010. When we looked out the door, Yu Kun and a few inmates were seen dragging a practitioner to the prison office. I heard that person shout, "Fellow practitioners, guards are beating a practitioner!" Practitioners Zhang Shuqin and Ren Shuxian saw Yu Kun's hands around the practitioner's neck, choking her. We later learned that the practitioner was Ms. Liu Shuling.

At around 5 a.m. on July 1st, 2010, we were woken up by loud noises. Guard Yu Miao and inmate Qu Feiran, whose real name is Liu Hongyan, were there taking something out of Zhang Shuqin's hands. Qu Feiran later punched Zhang Shuqin in the back. Ms. Yu Xiaohua then shouted, "Qu Feiran is beating a practitioner!"

When people came to see what was happening, Yu Miao ordered the inmates to keep all practitioners out. The inmates started to drag practitioners away, but some of us refused to leave. When Yu Miao and Qu Feiran dragged Zhang Shuqin into the office, we followed them. Qu Feiran took a note of all the practitioners' names who entered the office and handed it to Yu Miao.

Practitioners handcuffed to iron chair

The guards were called to attend a meeting on the morning of July 1st, with only one left to watch over the prisoners. We were ordered to stop the labour production and were not allowed to enter the workshop. All of the prisoners had to sit on small benches inside their room.

Guard Zhang Chunjing told Ms. Yu that they needed to talk to her about the incident that occurred in the morning, and took her away after lunch. A few minutes later, we heard someone shout from the third floor, "Falun Gong is good." It went quiet for a moment. Then we heard people going up and down. We later learned that Ms. Yu had been pushed to the ground, with over 20 male guards surrounding her. They stood on her body, and a male guard held Ms. Yu's nose, making her unable to breathe, while guard Wang Dan rammed a rag into her mouth so hard that blood was coming from her mouth. Her face was also scratched and bleeding.

Ms. Yu's head and mouth were tightly wrapped with tape, and she was dragged up to the 6th floor. Guards then twisted her arms behind her back and handcuffed her to an iron chair. Ms. Yu was left there for two days and nights.

Ms. Liu Yanhua and Ms. Liu Hui were also handcuffed to iron chairs in other rooms during the same time period. Ms. Liu refused to sign a guarantee statement to stop practising Falun Gong, and so the guards kept her tied to the iron chair and extended her term at the camp by three more months. The practitioners were only given two meals a day, with each meal consisting of a bun and a small cup of water. While the inmates were giving the food to the practitioners, they were tormenting them by putting the food near their mouths. The practitioners were still handcuffed, and it was difficult for them to reach and eat it.

While the practitioners were handcuffed to the iron chairs, the guards covered all the windows and doors with newspaper, so nobody from outside could see them. It was very hot inside the room. The handcuffs deeply cut into the flesh. After a few days of no sleep, they were mentally and physically exhausted. Some practitioners who had signed the guarantee statements were released from the iron chair, and their arms, hands and feet were swollen and numb.

Ms. Yu, Dong Yaqin and some other practitioners were released from the iron chairs on the third night, and were then handcuffed to the upper part of metal bunk beds. The beds are nearly 2 metres in height, and the practitioners' feet could barely touch the ground. They were hung like this for between two and seven days.

When Ms. Liu was tortured by the guards on July 1st, we never saw her again. She just disappeared. We inquired among each other about her whereabouts, but no one knew anything. The guards at the camp spread rumours that she had been released and went back home. But when we were finally released, we were able to verify that Ms. Liu Shuling had been tortured to death.

Inmates rewarded for persecuting practitioners

Guards at the drug rehabilitation camp actively use inmates to persecute practitioners, and entice them with reward points, to gain special privileges and reduced sentences. In order to get a reduction in their sentence, some inmates actively cooperate with the guards. Inmate Qu Feiran is extremely violent and often beats other inmates and practitioners. Yu Mao encourages her behaviour, and increased her points and reduced her sentence for beating practitioners.

Yu Miao ordered all the prison rooms to be closed during the noon sleeping time on June 30th. A prison room is about ten square metres, with eight or nine people inside each room. It was very humid and hot at the time. Qu Feiran patrolled the corridor and noticed that a door to a room was slightly open. She then began shouting, and a guard encouraged her to start an argument with a prisoner. Practitioner Ms. Ma Shufen tried to persuade them to stop. Qu Feiran grasped Ms. Ma's hair with both hands and started to kick her in the stomach. Guard Liu Ming did not stop Qu Feiran from beating Ms. Ma, and even shouted at Ms. Ma and the other prisoners. On the morning of July 1st, Qu Feiran beat practitioner Zhang Shuqin again.

Guards rewarded and promoted for persecuting practitioners

Many guards at the camp persecute practitioners in order to be promoted and rewarded. Higher officials in the Chinese Communist Party demand that the lower level officials increase the amount of practitioners that renounce their belief. So the guards use all kinds of ways to persecute practitioners. Every practitioner who refuses to sign the guarantee statement to renounce their belief is brutally tortured. As Ms. Liu refused to give up her belief, guard Xie Lijia frequently harassed her and intentionally made things difficult for her in the workshop.

Ms. Bai Lizhu, over 60 years old, was physically assaulted by the guards because she refused to give up her belief. She was made to sit on a small bench and pack toothpicks from 5 a.m. until midnight.

Ms. Wang Fengxia was also forced to pack toothpicks every day, and was detained in a separate room. A few officials took turns to brainwash her to try and get her to give up her belief. They kept slandering Falun Gong, and forced her to stand for several days. Ms. Wang's legs became blue and purple. Moreover, guard Niu Xiaoyun put a piece of paper slandering Falun Gong on Ms. Wang's body. Niu Xiaoyun shouted at her and insulted her every day. Ms. Wang could not bear the torture anymore, and firmly told them, "If you don't stop, I am going to shout Falun Gong is good." After that they stopped slandering Falun Gong.

Guards handcuffed Ms. Wang to an iron chair on July 1st. When she requested to go to the toilet, the guards refused to let her go. She eventually had to relieve herself in her trousers.

When the practitioners were brutally persecuted, we were forced to sit on the small bench every day from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. except for a one-hour lunch break. The people inside the room were not allowed to talk to each other. We were kept inside the prison room for seven days. It was the hottest time of the year, and the door was closed all the time. The air in the room smelled very bad.

I know of twelve practitioners that have been subjected to brutal persecution this time. They include Ms. Liu Shuling, Ren Shuxian, Ms. Liu Yanhua, Ms. Ma Shufen, Ms. Liu Hui, Ms. Yu Xiaohua, Cheng Li, Ms. Wang Fengxia, Xie Wei, Men Qiuyin, Gao Yumin and Ms. Tong Yaqin.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/11/21.html