Illegal Detention and Brutal Treatment Lead to the Death Of Dafa Practitioner, Zhang Xiaochun

Zhang Xiaochun, male, 43 years old, was a worker at Heilongjiang Province Suihua City Railroad Bureau Water and Electricity Work-section. He began practicing Falun Dafa in November 1997. In January 2000, Zhang went to Beijing to appeal and was forcibly returned by his work unit. He was sent to Suihua City Railroad Bureau Detention Centre, where he was illegally detained for over 40 days. During this period, he was not allowed to go home, even when his wife had to undergo surgery.

In December 2000, Zhang Xiaochun went to Beijing to appeal for the second time and was arrested and sent to Tiananmen Police Department, where an official from his work unit recognized him. This official had come to Beijing to arrest another Dafa practitioner, but he also sent Zhang to the Harbin City Railroad Bureau Detention Centre and illegally detained him. During this time, Zhang Xiaochun held a 21-day hunger strike, demanding his release as an innocent person. When the guards saw that Zhang had become extremely weak, in order to avoid taking responsibility for his possible death, they sent him home on February 2, 2001.

Around 4 p.m. on February 19, 2001, some officers from the Harbin City Railroad Bureau Police Department went to Zhang Xiaochun's home. Among them were Bai Zhixian, who claimed to be from the Investigation and Security Section of the police department and Zhang Zhiwei, Wang Baoyu and Guo Zhi from the victim's work unit. Under the ruse of "we need to talk," these thugs tricked Zhang Xiaochun out of his home and forcibly sent him to Suihua City Railroad Bureau Detention Centre without any warrant or due legal procedures. This was only 17 days since the previous time they had illegally arrested Zhang. After being arrested, Zhang Xiaochun held a second hunger strike, and three days later the authorities secretly transferred him to Fuyu County Forced Labour Camp for one year of forced labour. During this time, Zhang participated in a group hunger strike with 30 other practitioners in the forced labour camp, and as a result, he was transferred to Fuyu County Detention Centre on June 18, 2001. He held another hunger strike on the day of the first anniversary [June 18, 2002] of his illegal detention. Twelve days later, at 8:50 p.m., June 29, 2002, Zhang Xiaochun died in the detention centre. Some of his relatives and friends suspect that he died from brutal force-feeding.