Already Disabled from Previous Abuse, Mr. Li Shigang from Jilin City Is Again Arrested and Tortured

Name: Li Shigang
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Address: Longtan District, Jilin City
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 28th, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jilin City Detention Centre
City: Jilin
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, beatings, torture, extortion, home ransacking, interrogation, detention, denial of toilet use

Falun Gong practitioner Mr Li Shigang was arrested by plainclothes officers from the Longhua Police Station in Longtan District who broke into his home at around 6:00 a.m. on April 28th. They confiscated his computer, hard drive, mobile phone, and other valuables. At around 7:00 a.m., police officers broke into his mother-in-law's home under the pretext of checking the household registration. They forced their way into the room, turned over things, and took photos. Two children (one aged 3, another aged 15 months) were severely traumatised by the incident and became feverish.

Mr. Li Shigang, currently 43 years old, has been arrested five times since the Chinese Communist regime began its suppression of Falun Gong in July 1999. He was put through all kinds of torture, and became disabled as a result. He was sentenced to forced labour twice and went through unimaginable torture and pain.

According to sources, Mr. Li is currently detained in Jilin City Detention Centre. When he was brought to the detention centre, he was handcuffed, his mouth was stuffed with something, and there was a sack over his head. Moreover, the police held his head down, making it difficult for him to breathe. An insider said that his lower back and legs are now injured from the torture, and he is unable to walk. He needs someone to help him make even the slightest movement.

The following is a brief account of the persecution Mr. Li Shigang suffered while detained by the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr. Li Became Disabled in 2002 After Falling from Seventh Story

Mr. Li lived in a small district of Jilin City around August 2002. During his stay there, officers from Fengman District Police Department broke into his home and threw teargas bombs into the house. He was standing on the balcony and the blast from the tear gas bomb lifted him off the edge. He fell seven stories, and severely injured his back and both legs. The district police department sent him to a nearby hospital, and only a simple operation was performed. He consequently became disabled.

Arrested in August 2006 for Upholding Justice

On August 8th, 2006, the son of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhu Yan from Longtan District displayed a banner in front of the Jilin City Police Department seeking redress and rescue of his mother, who was detained in Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Li Shigang took a photo of the scene with his camera and was arrested and beaten by a dozen officers from the police department.

Mr. Li was later dragged into the police department building and assaulted by police. They stripped off his clothes, blindfolded him, and took him to an unknown place in a car, where he was tortured during interrogation. Several men forcibly bound him to a metal chair and stepped on his legs until they were injured. He sustained many injuries to his legs and body. Officers from the Jilin City Domestic Security Division carried out the interrogation.

Police officer Geng Shigang used a thick wooden club to crush the front of Li's calf, causing him unbearable pain. The officer also dug hard into his chest and back with finger nails, inflicting injury. He later hit Mr. Li's head and ears with a drink bottle, causing his left ear to bleed. As a result of the beatings, there is a constant booming sound in both his ears, and sometimes he can't hear clearly. The officer force-fed Mr. Li horseradish liquid through his nose, and he nearly died from suffocation. After the interrogation, the officer confiscated 400-500 yuan¹ in cash that Mr. Li had on him, as well as a mobile phone and digital camera.

On August 9th, 2006 officers from the Domestic Security Division sent Mr. Li to the Jilin City First Detention Centre. On August 16th, he was sentenced to one and a half years of forced labour and transferred to Yinmahe Forced Labour Camp in Jiutai City. Because both his ankles and lumbar region were previously injured, he failed the physical examination, and the labour camp refused to admit him. Officers from the Domestic Security Division sent him home and ordered him to stay there. They threatened to send his mother, wife, and his whole family to a forced labour camp if he left home. They also threatened to fabricate charges against him so that he would be sentenced to prison.

Arrested by Police Officers Who Rushed into the Home in November 2006

Before Li Shigang was fully recovered from his injuries, on the morning of November 17th, 2006 at around 7:00 a.m., six or seven strangers claiming to be from the Longtan District Domestic Security Division broke into his house as he opened the door to send his child to school. The intruders abruptly seized him and his wife, Wang Lixin, and took them to the Tuchengzi Police Station in Longtan District. Ms. Wang Lixin's mother and brother rushed to the police station to ask the police to release the couple. Ms. Wang was not released until her mother had a heart attack.

Mr. Li's mother rushed to the Tuchengzi Police Station by herself and requested that her son be released immediately. Four to five policemen forcibly carried her into the police station, and one of them kicked the elderly lady in her stomach, threatening to kill her.

Li Shijie, Mr. Li's younger brother, was previously arrested and sent to a forced labour camp by Longtan District Domestic Security Division officers, for practising Falun Gong. During his detention in Huanxiling Forced Labour Camp in Jilin City, Li Shijie's skull was fractured from beatings, which led to a brain haemorrhage. Afraid that their crimes would be exposed, police officers sent him to a mental institution where he was injected with unknown drugs that rendered him unable to speak. He was paralysed, and he had recurring spasms. When Mr. Li Shigang was persecuted again, his mother was very worried that he would suffer the same fate as his younger brother.

Mr. Li Shigang's son is only six years old. His wife has a job, and there is no one to take care of the child. The incident has traumatised the young child. When his mother sent him to school in the morning, he often asked her, "What shall I do if the door opens and many people rush in to take you away? Who will take me to school and take care of me?"

Abruptly Seized by Police on April 23rd, 2008

At around 4:00 in the morning on April 23rd, 2008, Mr. Li Shigang went to get something from his warehouse and was taken away by several officers from the Tuchengzi Police Station, who were lying in ambush. During the scuffle, Mr. Li's wrists were wounded by handcuffs, and his head was covered with a bag.

At around 9:00 p.m., the police turned his whole garage upside down and took away his Falun Gong books, tapes, several mobile phones, and other belongings. At around 11:00 p.m. on the same day, he was brought to the Jilin City Detention Centre.

One month later, on May 26th, the Jilin City Police Department Legal Division sentenced Mr. Li to two years of forced labour and sent him to Jiutai City Yinmahe Forced Labour Camp. When he underwent a physical examination, it was discovered that he had previous injuries in his vertebrae and both heels. He also had heart problems. However, the labour camp ignored the examination results and forcibly detained him. At that time, Mr. Li found it extremely difficult to take care of himself, yet he had to perform hard labour.

Bedridden After Collapse in 2009

Mr. Li Shigang collapsed after finishing the imposed hard labour while in detention on May 11th, 2009. He has since been bedridden.

After his collapse, Mr. Li made use of his opportunity to make phone calls home once a week, to tell his family about the persecution he went through in detention. When his family learned what had occurred, they immediately went to see the head of the labour camp and strongly demanded that he be sent for medical treatment. The next day, Mr. Li was sent to a hospital in Changchun City for an evaluation. It was discovered that a section of his vertebrae had fractured as a result of the collapse and that this led to numbness and pain in both legs.

The labour camp officials feared shouldering responsibility for the incident, so on January 23rd, 2010 they directed his family to take him home. After he returned home, Longhua Police Station in Longtan District, Jilin City regularly sent people to harass Mr. Li and his family. They also ordered him to report to the police station every month.

List of Persecutors:

Wu Dongfang, head of Jilin City Detention Centre: 86-432-64883130 (Home), 86-13844625349 (Mobile)
Zhang Chunting, head of Legal Section in Chuanying District Police Department: 86-13904405215 (Mobile)
Han Fuyuan, head of Longtan Domestic Security Division: 86-432-63039385, 86-432-62193025
Liu Jianchao, head of Longtan District Police Department: 86-432-63037105 (Office), 86-432-64568799 (Home), 86-13904415844 (Mobile)
Li Maowu, political commissar: 86-432-63034998 (Office), 86-432-62582080 (Home), 86-15843262666
Longhua Police Station: 86-432-63039367
Wang Jianguang, Jilin City Police Department: 86-13331606808

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/5/18/41065.html