Falun Gong Practitioner Tortured to Death in 2001 in Baimalong Women's Forced Labour Camp in Hunan Province

Name: Cao Jingzhen
Gender: Female
Age: 52
Address: Magongpu Village, Yuanjian County, Hunan Province
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Death: October 25th, 2001
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2000
Most Recent Place of Detention: Baimalong Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Zhuzhou
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Electric shocks, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, physical restraint

Ms. Cao Jingzhen passed away on October 25th, 2001, at the age of only 52 as a result of being tortured in Baimalong Women's Forced Labour Camp. She was handcuffed behind her back, had her mouth stuffed with dirty socks and sealed with tape, and was punched, kicked, and shocked with electric batons.

Ms. Cao started practising Falun Gong in 1996 and was physically strong. On December 18th, 1999, she went to Beijing with other practitioners to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong. She was arrested, terribly beaten, and seriously injured. Four or five days later, she was taken back to her hometown, where she was tortured for another 17 days.

In March 2000, about one hundred practitioners, including Ms. Cao, did the Falun Gong exercises in a local carpark. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) police arrested her, beat her severely, locked her up in the local detention centre, handcuffed and shackled her, and deprived her of food and sleep. She was brutally tortured for 30 days and then released.

From that point on, she had not one day of peace at home. Local police officers harassed her frequently and ransacked her home several times, even when someone was home. They confiscated Falun Gong books, a recorder, and other personal items. In June of 2000, while Ms. Cao and a few fellow practitioners were studying the Falun Gong teachings and practising the exercises at home, she was arrested by some patrolling police officers and taken to a detention center. Later, they transferred her to the Baimalong Women's Forced Labour Camp, where she was held for two years.

In early January 2001, because all the Falun Gong practitioners were loudly reciting the teachings in the labour camp, fully armed police officers were called in. They treated the practitioners very roughly. Afterward the practitioners were taken to the strict-control department and tortured by being hung up by their handcuffs, having to squat and stand, being deprived of sleep, beaten with electric batons, and more.

Ms. Cao protested, saying, “As a human being, you're supposed to have a good heart. How can you mistreat good people like this?” Before she had finished speaking, several guards assaulted her with electric batons so viciously that she passed out. They put her in a small, damp cell and handcuffed her arms to the steel door. It is unknown how long she was tortured in this tiny compartment.

A team headed by Tan Xiangqiang, the brigade captain, punched and kicked Ms. Cao and broke three of her ribs. This caused her to have internal bleeding. Ding Cailan, the 7th brigade captain, yelled, “If she is beaten to death, she deserves it.” An inmate found out that Ms. Cao was later taken to a hospital. When she was released from the hospital, she was not able to eat, as she threw up everything she ate. Thus, she got weaker and weaker. Even though she was in such terrible condition, Yuanjiang City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) agents took her to the city's brainwashing centre and continued to abuse her. The political chief insisted that she was only pretending that she could not eat. When she was on the brink of death, they released her. She passed away at home not long afterward.

Related article:

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/3/31/33989.html

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/8/4/244854.html