Torture

  • Vice Director of Mei County Bureau of Agriculture in Guangdong Province Appeals Twelve-year Prison Sentence for Practising Falun Gong

    In April of 2010, practitioner Xie Hanzhu, detained at the 3rd Prison in Guangdong Province (also called Meizhou Prison) asked his father to appeal his twelve-year sentence to the provincial superior Procuratorate, after being interrogated by the Meijiang district public security bureau and Xue Qingwen from the national security division. Xie Hanzhu was detained at Meizhou Prison nearly five years ago, in September of 2005. His whereabouts have rarely been known. In the past year, his family was only allowed to visit him after the political office of the prison sent out a special notice. In the subsequent visit, his family observed him walking abnormally, and suspected that this was the result of a beating.
  • Practitioners Xu Genyuan, Huang Youjun, and Xue Li from Yueyang Sentenced

    Practitioners Xu Genyuan, Huang Youjun, and Xue Li were recently sentenced to nine years, five years, and three years in prison, respectively. Xu and Huang were arrested on June 7th, 2009, and brutally tortured, beaten, and force-fed in detention. During their trial on October 15th, prosecutor Li Weixin accused Xu and Huang of "sabotaging the implementation of state laws and executive regulations by utilising an illegal religious organisation." When defence lawyer Zhang Chuanli from Beijing requested the court to specify which law of the Chinese Constitution declared Falun Gong to be illegal, Li, the judge, and National Security Bureau agents in attendance could not respond.
  • Seven Falun Gong Practitioners in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province Face Trial

    Seven Falun Gong practitioners in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province have been in custody for nearly eight months. Nancha District Court officials had initially planned to try them on June 8th, but decided at the last minute to postpone it. Two of the practitioners' families hired lawyers to defend them. On October 26th, 2009, agents from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), police launched a mass arrest of local practitioners. Within a few days they apprehended 12 practitioners. Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Yulan are currently held in the Harbin City Drug Rehabilitation Centre, each serving a two-year term of forced labour.
  • Additional Information About Ms. Shi Yingchun--Beaten to Death in Liaoning Province Women's Prison

    Ms. Shi, 60, was imprisoned in Liaoning Province Women's Prison for distributing Falun Gong fliers. On March 17th, 2010 while prisoners were working in the workshop, Ms. Shi was called to the office by section chief Liu Qili, who tried to persuade Ms. Shi to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong]. Ms. Shi refused to "transform" so guards ordered prisoners to beat her. The result was that nine prisoners beat Ms. Shi to death. On March 18th, the prison administration called the Ms. Shi's family to the prison. The family was told that Ms. Shi had died from illness.
  • Unreasonably Extending Detention Terms in Jilin Province Women's Forced Labour Camp

    Most of the detainees were Falun Gong practitioners from Jilin Province in Jilin Province Women's Forced Labour Camp. Many practitioners have had their detentions lengthened without explanation. If a practitioner refuses to fill out the forced labour release form just before the original term ends, her detention term will be extended 10 to 20 days longer. There are other excuses used to extend detention terms, such as being found reading Falun Gong materials, refusing to write so-called "thought reports" or completing "test forms" that demand answers that slander Falun Gong. Other excuses include refusal to participate in forced labour.
  • The 610 Office Determines the Terms of Falun Gong Practitioners' Sentences and the Judiciary System Just Goes Through the Formality of Holding Trials

    The 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) is a special agency of the communist regime that came into existence for and is dedicated to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. It is directly responsible for the arrest, trial and even the term of imprisonment of each Falun Gong practitioner. The Xingcheng City 610 Office has persecuted dozens of practitioners, unjustly sentencing them to terms of from three to eight years. Thousands of practitioners have been subjected to forced labour and detention. Many of their houses were ransacked and robbed, and many of them were fired from their jobs and had huge amounts of money extorted from them.
  • Persecution of Six Falun Gong Practitioners in Lancang County, Yunnan Province

    Police raided the homes of six Falun Gong practitioners in June 2001. The practitioners were sent to the county detention centre and were sentenced to forced labour. In 2005, four of the six practitioners were arrested again and each given a four-year sentence. Prison guards forced practitioners Zhang Lin and Wang Yanhong to sit on hard benches from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. every day. Criminals beat Zhang Lin, pulled her hair, pricked her legs with needles handcuffed her to a metal bed frame for 15 hours in a row one day. Zhang Lin was kept in a confinement cell for 40 days, during which time she was injected with unknown drugs. As a result, her heart momentarily stopped beating, she could not breathe, and was in critical condition.
  • Persecution Suffered by Three Women in Leting County, Hebei Province

    Mr. Li Yanling, Ms. Xing Yue and Ms. Li Yanping are Falun Gong practitioners in Leting County, Hebei Province. The three women were arrested recently and have since been held in Leting County Detention Centre. Their families are denied visitation rights. Li Yanling's mother and older brother were also persecuted on many occasions. Her mother Li Shuyan, in her 60s, was once held in Leting County Detention Centre for more than one year in 2000. She was sentenced to two years in June 2007.
  • Ms. Liu Wanqiu from Lanzhou City Tortured on Multiple Occasions

    On June 1st, 2010, Ms. Liu Wanqiu was talking to students about Falun Gong in front of a middle school when some students, under the negative influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, reported her to the local authorities. Police arrested her and took her to a detention centre. They also ransacked her home. She was released on June 8th. In 2003, Ms. Liu was arrested and taken to the Gongjiawan Brainwashing Centre where she was locked up in a cell and hung by the wrists on the iron door for 42 days. After being let down, her wrists were bloody and developed blisters and pustules. Once when she fell asleep on the toilet, due to the severe sleep deprivation, she fell on the ground and injured her face.
  • Qitaihe Intermediate Court Officials Conduct a Show Trial and Uphold Original Sentences Against Three Practitioners

    Xinxing Court officials from Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province tried and sentenced Mr. Li Xinchun, Mr. Jiang Botao and Mr. Guo Qizhong in April 2010. The three practitioners appealed their sentences, but Qitaihe Intermediate Court officials recently upheld the original sentences. According to officials handling the case, an order from the higher-ups stated that a heavy sentence would be levied against those practitioners who hired lawyers. The court officials have not given the written verdicts to the practitioners' families who only know that the three practitioners were sentenced to between four and five years in prison. The officials also acquiesced that they were not the ones who made the final decision. They only conducted a show trial.
  • Mr. Wan Guohua and Ms. Li Fengxiu of Nancheng County, Jiangxi Province Sentenced

    On April 8th, 2010, practitioners Ms. Li Fengxiu and Mr. Wan Guohua were sentenced by the Linchuan Court to five years and three years in prison respectively for distributing Falun Gong fliers. While they were detained at the Shangdundu Detention Centre in Linchuan City, police denied their family visitation rights. The mother of Mr. Wan went to the detention centre, when it just so happened that her son and Ms. Li were about to be taken to prison. Guards then gave her a choice of paying either 50 yuan for a 10-minute visit or 100 yuan for a half hour visit.
  • The Persecution and Trial of Ms. Liu Zhi

    Ms. Liu Zhi, a 49-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was arrested in October 2009, and was sentenced to prison for four years in May 2010. On the day of the trial, the court did not allow any of her family members to go inside, making up all kinds of excuses why they could not attend. After the trial the court did not announce the verdict in the courtroom or to Ms. Liu. Her family members were shocked. They decided to appeal her case; however, the time allowed for an appeal was only 10 days. They asked for a copy of the defence's case many times, but never did see any of the papers or hear what was said in court.
  • Ms. Wu Wenjin Abused in the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Centre

    Agents from the Yichun City and the Youhao District 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong] sent Ms. Wu Wenjinto forced labour for a year and a half in the days leading up to the 2010 Chinese New Year. She was sent to the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Centre, where she was subjected to severe abuse for refusing to give up her belief. When Ms. Wu's family visited her on April 21st, they found the formerly healthy and optimistic Ms. Wu emaciated. She had lost a tooth and her hair had prematurely turned grey.
  • Wife Arrested, Husband Dies after Living in Fear

    In 2008, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) feverishly arrested Falun Gong practitioners across the country before and during the Olympic Games. At noon on July 17th, 2008, police arrested several practitioners including Ms. Liu and took them to the police station. The practitioners were harshly treated in the detention centre for 15 days and endured inhuman torture. Police then took them to a brainwashing centre, holding them there for more than seven weeks. Ms. Liu's husband, who was timid and did not practise Falun Gong, was pressured psychologically. While his wife was imprisoned, he had a breakdown and could not eat or sleep. When she was released and went out on business he was afraid she had been arrested. He died of a heart attack on April 16th, 2010.
  • Ms. Liang Bo, Teacher at Central University for Minorities, Arrested Again

    Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liang Bo is a teacher at Wenchuan College, Central University for Minorities. She was again arrested and taken to Haidian Detention Centre. On May 20th, 2010, the Haidian Police Bureau summoned Ms. Liang, saying they needed to "discuss her situation." She refused to comply with the summons. Police officers from the Haidian Police Bureau broke into her home and arrested her after ransacking her home. They intend to charge her with a crime she didn't commit and then sentence her.