Torture

  • More Than a Dozen Practitioners Arrested in Benxi City, Liaoning Province

    On April 23rd, 2008, police officers from the Benxi City Police Department in Liaoning Province arrested local practitioners during a well-coordinated operation. Some officers said that the operation and the list of practitioners were from the Liaoning Provincial government. A dozen officers from Jinshan Police Station knocked on the door of practitioner Mr. Zi Lidong, who is in his 30s, and pretended to be plumbers. Mr. Zi's family told them to wait until the following day. The officers started to pound on the door until they broke it. Mr. Zi jumped from the third floor to escape. Unfortunately he injured his chest, hip, and leg, and was sent to the hospital for an operation.
  • The Brutal Persecution of Practitioner Ms. Hu Rulian from Leshan City, Sichuan Province

    Ms. Hu Runlian, 52, started practising Falun Gong in July 1997, and gradually her many illnesses disappeared. When the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution, Hu Runlian went to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. However, she was arrested and detained, and her home and belongings were confiscated. She was dismissed by her company, and after being detained at a forced labour camp she was sentenced to prison. Every day the guards forced Ms. Hu to watch a video and read a book that slandered Falun Gong. She was forced to stand facing the wall for long periods of time and the drug addicts and collaborators, who were former practitioners who had renounced Falun Gong, read the book slandering Falun Gong to her.
  • Mr. Wang Zengwu Arrested in Siping City, Jilin Province

    At about 9:00 pm, on April 23rd, 2008, police officers along with agents from the National Security, 10 individuals turned off the power switch located in the hallway outside Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Zengwu's apartment. He opened his door to see if he could fix the problem by turning the power switch on. They took advantage of the open door to enter, ransacked his home, and took his computer. Mr. Wang Zengwu was arrested and detained for 15 days. Now he is detained in the Shuangliao City Detention Centre. He was sentenced to prison in 2002 and was fired from his job, only because he practised Falun Gong.
  • Ms. Xu Shuqin Sentenced to Four and a Half Years by the Zunhua City Court, Hebei Province

    On April 17th, 2008, six Falun Gong practitioners, including Ms. Xu Shuqin, were unjustly tried by the Zunhua City Court in Hebei Province. The court appointed one lawyer for each practitioner for a mock defence. On April 24th, 2008, after the court session, the Zunhua City Court sentenced the six practitioners, including Ms. Xu, who was sentenced to four and a half years. She has already appealed to the Tangshan City Intermediate People's Court. She was previously detained, tortured and suffered brainwashing. Her family was ordered to take her home and pay five thousand yuan.
  • Four Practitioners Die as a Result of Persecution in Sichuan, Hebei and Tianjin

    Ms. Zhang Hanping, in her 40s, lived in Tianjin City. She was arrested while putting up posters exposing the persecution in the Baodi District in April 2004. She was then sentenced to three and a half years in prison. While she was jailed in the Tianjin Prison, Ms. Zhang was subjected to brainwashing and physical abuse. She suffered from diabetes and pancreatitis after she was released in 2007. Ms. Zhang died on April 30th, 2008.
  • Mr. Wang Guiming Died from Torture - His Wife Arrested for Appealing for Him

    On February 13th, 2008, Mr. Wang Guiming, a Falun Gong practitioner, was arrested by local police and subjected to brutal torture. On February 27th, 2008, he was taken to the Chaoyanggou Forced Labour Camp, where he died two days later, due to torture. The authorities, however, stated that he died a "sudden death." His wife, Ms. Han Fengxia, hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit with the Suburban Procuratorate in Changchun City. She presented eight doubtful points to show that Mr. Wang did not die of "sudden death," but was actually murdered. Consequently, Ms. Han was arrested from her residence on April 15th, 2008.
  • "Model Worker" Dies as a Result of Persecution

    Mr. Ding Guowang was sentenced to 18 months of forced labour at the Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp in Beijing. He was subjected to brainwashing. In March 2003, Mr. Ding was released. He appeared to suffer a nervous breakdown. He would often cry or laugh without reason and spoke gibberish. He could not take care of himself, and his condition worsened in 2004. In 2005, half of his body was paralysed and he could no longer speak. He became incontinent and had to fully rely on his family to take care of him. He died on April 20th, 2008, at the age of 65.
  • The Persecution of Ms. Huang Xiyan, 32, and Her Husband

    Ms. Huang Xiyan, 32 years old, started practising Falun Gong in December 1997. Since Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and his gang began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Ms. Huang and her immediate family, as well as her relatives, have undergone great suffering. Ms. Huang's husband, Li Zhenming, was an employee of a state-owned company in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. Because of their belief in Falun Gong, they were both laid off by their companies, and their house was confiscated. Both of them were arrested. Ms. Huang was sent to the Sanshui Forced Labour Camp in Guangdong Province, and her husband was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
  • In China, People with Noble Conscience are Locked Up While Corrupt Officials Run Free

    A colleague of mine, a man now in his 70s, worked for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime for decades. He was recently arrested and imprisoned simply because he wrote a few words on a wall: "Falun Gong is good". Immediately after Mr. Wang was locked up, the 610 Office unlawfully searched his house and found some materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. Officials are demanding that Mr. Wang tell them where he got these materials. The CCP is notorious for the cruel means used in extorting a confession through torture. I cannot even imagine what horrible torture this man in his 70s is going through. It saddens me greatly to even think about it.
  • Weifang Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Officials Detain and Monitor Practitioners in Intensified Round of Persecution

    Ms. Liang Li is a practitioner from a broadcast bureau. Since she continued to practise Falun Gong, she was dismissed and has not been paid a salary for eight years. The police often went to her home to harass her and try to "transform" her. Her husband could not bear the intense pressure and jumped off a tall building to commit suicide. Recently, 610 Office agents looked for Ms. Liang everywhere. They could not find her at home, so the broadcast centre dispatched a vehicle to Beijing to look for her, but in vain.
  • The Ministry of State Security of Changchun City Masterminded the Arrests of Practitioners in Dehui City

    The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Political and Judiciary Committee issued secret orders in the document "Suggestion to maintain social stability and ensure the safety of the Olympics." The document was sent to 40 provincial-level CCP administrative offices and "Offices that deal with Falun Gong." The document essentially orders Party authorities around the country to "intensively deal with problems," "to enhance 'management' of the activities of foreign reporters coming for the Olympics," "to enhance the 'management' of the Internet and mobile phone text messaging," and to "severely crack down on Falun Gong."
  • Police Arrest Several Practitioners in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province

    Police officers in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province arrested five Falun Gong practitioners in February 2008. When police arrested Mr. Zhu Guangquan, his computer, printer and 12,900 "yuan" cash were seized from his home. In March, Ms. Zhang Yaqin was arrested. Her husband refused to cooperate with the police officers, so they threatened to arrest him for "hindering official business".
  • Zhou Yongkang Secretly Orders Increased Persecution Before the Olympics

    In late April 2008, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkong held more conference calls to discuss "The measures to ensure a stable society during the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Paralympics." Other provinces and cities also held similar conference calls soon thereafter. The meetings outlined the need to maintain control over "advocates for Tibet's independence," "Falun Gong," "other religions," "extremists," and "people who repeatedly appeal." For those people who try to appeal at the provincial level or in Beijing, they are to be interviewed and their issues analysed individually so that conflicts are resolved and controlled locally. "Members of Falun Gong" are to be extensively controlled. Control over the Internet needs to intensify.
  • An Account of the Brutal Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners Mr. Wu Renliang and His Wife Ms. Zhao Meiluan from Huanggang, Hubei Province

    Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Wu Renliang, 54, and his wife Ms. Zhao Meiluan, 51, went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. Wu Renliang held up a banner with the words, "Falun Gong is Good." Police immediately nabbed him and threw him into a van. Mr. Wu witnessed the police on Tiananmen Square brutally beating practitioners with electric batons and punching and kicking them. Later, the Wu couple was taken to the Huangmei County First Detention Centre, where Mr. Wu Renliang was cruelly tortured. Ms. Zhao Meiluan was shackled and handcuffed. The police still made her walk back and forth and they brutally hit her about the head when she stopped walking.
  • Many Retired Schoolteachers Harassed and Arrested in Chongqing City

    Practitioner Ms. Hu Zhanying is almost 70 years old. She retired with honours from No. 18 Middle School in Chongqing City. On the afternoon of March 24th, 2008, as she entered her home with her grandson, a group of police officers led by Liang Shibin rushed in and arrested her. They also ransacked her home, seizing many items including purses, computers, and some materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. It is reported that Ms. Hu is being detained and mistreated in a brainwashing centre in Chongqing City.