Ms. Zhou Chunzhi, In Her 60s, Who Suffered Years of Torture at Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, Has Been Arrested Again

Name: Zhou Chunzhi
Gender: Female
Age: In her 60s
Address: Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Former employee of the Hulan Match Factory
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Qianjin Forced Labour Camp
City: Harbin
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, beatings, imprisonment, torture

Ms. Zhou Chunzhi, in her 60s and a former employee of the Hulan Match Factory, is from Hulan District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. Because she refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong, she was arrested several times over the course of the persecution. In 2002 Ms. Zhou was sentenced to six years of imprisonment and tortured by guards Xiao Lin and others at Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison. Ms. Zhou was arrested again by the local police in June 2011 and sent to the Qianjin Forced Labour Camp. According to her family, Ms. Zhou was tortured in the labour camp to the extent that her ribs were broken.

Zhou Chunzhi was arrested at her home on June 21st, then sent to Harbin Detention Centre during the night of June 23rd. The guards did not follow the law, which required them to notify the family within 24 hours of her arrest. Instead, Ms. Zhou's children heard from the neighbours on June 23rd that she had been arrested two days earlier. Later, Ms. Zhou was transferred by Zhou Changhe, head of the Hulan District Detention Centre, to the Qianjin Forced Labour Camp. After the family went to visit her at the labour camp, they confirmed that Ms. Zhou had been tortured there so severely that her ribs were broken.

On December 24th, 2001, Ms. Zhou was arrested by Xu Yingwu from the Hulan Police Department and taken to the Hulan Detention Centre. She was detained for eight days. On May 25th, 2002, Ms. Zhou was taken by guard Xu Yingwu to the detention centre, after which she was sentenced to six years of imprisonment.

While she was detained at Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, Ms. Zhou refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong and protested against the persecution. As a result, she was brutally beaten and tortured.

Ms. Zhou was taken to Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison on December 25th, 2002. She was beaten brutally by guard Xiao Lin to the point of losing consciousness.

In 2003, Ms. Zhou was beaten by guard Zhang Chunhua because she practised the Falun Gong exercises. In September 2003, Zhang Chunhua deceived Ms. Zhou to come out to “have a conversation.” Inmate Zhu Yuhong shoved her knee hard into Ms. Zhou's abdomen. Ms. Zhou was not able to stand up due to the pain. Then she was shoved head-first to the ground and landed on bricks. She was then choked until her face turned purple-black.

During the day, inmate Zhao Yan forcefully dragged Ms. Zhou out of her cell and struck her in her chest. Inmate Li Guihong shoved Ms. Zhou's chin up hard, causing her mouth to bleed. She kicked Ms. Zhou's legs until they became swollen.

In November 2003, Ms. Zhou was handcuffed and forced to sit on the ground. During the day, they kept the window open to expose her to the cold. She was beaten brutally by guard Zhang Chunhua.

In February 2004, Ms. Zhou refused to wear a prison uniform and was then stripped of her clothes by inmates, including Zhao Yanhua, Xiao Yaqin and Zhu Yuhong. They handcuffed her, insulted and tortured her. In July 2004, guard Zhang Chunhua ordered inmates Zhao Yanhua and Song Libo to torture Ms. Zhou for two hours with her wrists handcuffed behind her back, one arm going over her shoulder and down her back and the other reaching around her waist and pulled upward (a torture called “carrying a sword on the back”).

Ms. Zhou went on hunger strike for 28 days in August 2004 to protest the persecution. She was force-fed salt water and mind-altering drugs three times a day, which made her fall asleep and elevated her blood pressure. Guards Huang Jing and Yin Ping instigated inmates Zhao Yanhua and Song Libo to torture Ms. Zhou.

On January 20th, 2006, Zhang Chunhua, team leader of the Eighth Ward of the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, instigated inmates to torture practitioner Wang Jianping. Then he ordered inmates Zhang Hongying and Zhao Dongmei to handcuff Ms. Zhou with her arms behind her back. Inmate Zhao Dongmei pulled Ms. Zhou's hair, while Zhang Hongying slapped her face hard until she became dizzy. Later, they handcuffed her to the leg of a bed and forced her to sit on the floor. Ms. Zhou was beaten so badly that her face became red and her breathing was heavy and fast. They did not free her until she agreed to wear the prison uniform.

Hulan District Police Department

Jiang Jimin, deputy head of police department: +86-13903665588 (Mobile)
Domestic Security Division: +86-451-57334774
Chen Zhaolin, head: +86-451-57325999 (Home), +86-13945126069 (Mobile)
Xu Hanbin, officer: +86-451-57302528 (Home)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/8/23/245786.html