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(Excluding Similar Cases in Shijiazhuang City Which
Has Been Submitted in a Separate Report)
Overview
Since July 1999, countless Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested and detained in detention centers and labor camps throughout Hebei Province. While in custody, they have suffered extreme tortures from the police who try to force them to renounce Falun Gong. As the police follow the instruction from the central government that “no measure is too excessive towards Falun Gong practitioners,” they torture Falun Gong practitioners with utter disregard of human life. Up to date, at least 33 practitioners have died from police torture in Hebei Province. Also alarming is the fact that the practitioners’ deaths are often covered up; the authorities either falsify the cause of death by labeling them as “suicide” or death due to “natural causes,” or they cremate the body before it can be autopsied. Often the authorities fail to notify the victim’s families, or they return the practitioners to their families when they are on the verge of death.
Those practitioners who have died are all courageous and noble, and they have simply stood up for what they believe: Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance. The following cases outline the extrajudicial execution cases committed by the Chinese Government in Hebei Province.
I. Five Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured to Death in Labor Camps in Tangshan City
In Tangshan City, many Falun Gong practitioners had been detained in Kaiping Labor Camp and Tangshan Labor Camp. In order to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their faith, the guards used inhuman mistreatment and extreme tortures. At least five practitioners had been tortured to death in Tangshan City.
1. Zhang Zhibin Tortured to Death in Kaiping Labor Camp
Victim:
Zhang Zhibin, female, 34, a resident of Qinglong Man Nationality Autonomy County, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and Death:
Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Liu Xiaohua, Head of Kaiping Labor Camp Woman’s Section, Tangshan City Hebei Province.
2. Li Qiang, Director of the Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In August 2000 Ms. Zhang Zhibin was sentenced to three years of forced labor for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, and was detained in Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.
In Kaiping Labor Camp, Ms. Zhang suffered severe beatings from the camp guards as well as criminal inmates who were ordered by the camp guards to beat her. She was beaten so badly that her face was swollen and distorted that it was hard to recognize her. On December 18, 2000, Ms. Zhang was beaten to death. Her family, however, was not informed of her death until December 25, 2000. The police refused to let her family see her body before it was cremated.
2. Chen Aizhong Tortured to Death in Tangshan Labor Camp, Tangshan City
Victim:
Chen Aizhong, male, 33, resident of Canfangying Village, Beixinbao Town, Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and Death:
Tangshan No.1 Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Director of Tangshan No.1 Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
2. Wang Yulin, Captain of the 6th Team, Tangshan No.1 Labor Camp, Tangshan City
3. Liu Zenghua, inmate of Tangshan No.1 Labor Camp, Tangshan City
4. Xu Weiguo, Chief of the Public Security Bureau, Huailai County
5. Head of The Labor Re-education Committee of the Zhangjiakou City government
6. Yang, official of the ”610 Office” (a special government agency setup to persecute Falun Gong), Huailai County, Hebei Province
7. Yao, Head of Beixinbao Town government, Huailai County, Hebei Province
8. Head of Dongbeiwang Police Substation, Beijing
9. Head of Haidian District Police Substation, Beijing
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In July 1999, Mr. Chen Aizhong went to Beijing to appeal to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained in Huailai County Detention Center for 3 days. Then he was transferred to Beixinbao Town and beaten by the officials there. He was released after being fined 500 yuan (Chinese currency).
On October 13, 1999, Chen Aizhong was arrested when he visited his sister in Beijing. He was fined 9000 yuan and detained in Huailai County Detention Center for 2 months.
On December 28, 1999, Chen Aizhong and his whole family went to Beijing to appeal to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. He was detained for 10 months by the local government of Huailai County. He was released after he went on a hunger strike for 9 days.
On October 27, 2000, Chen Aizhong went to Beijing again. He was beaten and detained in Huailai County Detention Center. Xu Weiguo, the chief of the public security bureau of Huailai County, ordered the detention center not to give him any quilt or blanket and let him sleep on the cold cement floor when the temperature was under freezing point. He was released after a 19-day hunger strike.
On January 1, 2001, Chen Aizhong and his whole family went to Beijing again. Chen Aizhong was detained in Dongbeiwang Police Substation in Beijing. There he was beaten and shocked by electric batons. He was tied to a tree naked for over an hour in the freezing cold. Then he was transferred to Haidian District Police Substation where he went on a 9-day hunger strike to protest the detention and torture. Then he was escorted back to Huailai County, Hebei Province.
The Labor Re-education Committee of the Zhangjiakou City government sentenced Chen Aizhong to 3 years in labor camp for practicing and appealing for Falun Gong.
On September 12, 2001, he was sent to the 6th Team of Tangshan No.1 Labor Camp in Tangshan City, Hebei Province. He went on a hunger strike to protest the sentence of forced labor. Consequently, he was force-fed by the labor camp staff.
On September 19, 2001, he was sent to Tangshan City People’s Hospital. He died in the hospital on September 20, 2001 as a result of the injuries from the force-feeding.
News Report:
“Detained Falun Gong Follower Dies After Suspected Force-feeding”, AFP News, September 28, 2001
A detained follower of the banned Falun Gong spiritual [group] has died in China of respiratory failure after suspected force-feeding, the group's U.S.-based headquarters said Wednesday.
Chen Aizhong, 33, died on September 20 at a hospital in Tangshan city, in the northern province of Hebei, the Falun Dafa Information Center said in a press release.
It said Chen, from Zhangjiakou in Hebei, had served just one week of a three-year sentence at Tangshan Labor Camp when he died.
Tangshan Labor Camp refused to comment on the case. An official at the People's Hospital in the city told AFP a Falun Gong follower had died of respiratory failure, but could not confirm the name.
The Information Center said it believed Chen had died from the effects of force-feeding after going on hunger strike, adding this had been behind the deaths of other followers of the spiritual group previously.
Chen's death brings to 286 the number of Falun Gong followers who have died in detention since the group was outlawed as an "[Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]" just over two years ago, the Center said
Independent human rights groups have put the toll at more than 150.
3. Zhu Yourong Tortured to Death in Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
Victim:
Zhu Yourong, female, 40’s, resident of Xuanhua District of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
Location of Tortures and Death:
The Kaiping Labor Camp (also called Hebei No. 1 Labor Camp), Tangshan City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Li Qiang, Director of the Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan, Hebei Province.
2. Liu Xiaohua, Head of Kaiping Labor Camp Guards in Women’s Section, Tangshan, Hebei Province.
3. Zhang Wenjun, the Head Guard of the Solitary Cell, Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan, Hebei Province.
4. Wang Xueli, Wang Jianzhong, Wei Qun, Zhang Jianzhong, Yan Hongli, Liu Liying, guards of Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Ms. Zhu Yourong was detained in Kaiping Labor Camp because she refused to denounce Falun Gong. On August 13th, 2000, Ms. Zhu and several other practitioners went on a hunger strike against the Kaiping Labor Camp’s inhuman treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. To punish her, the camp guards locked her up in a small solitary cell, severely beat her, and force-fed her. She was not allowed any sunlight for a long period of time. The maltreatment weakened her significantly, and she could not endure the cold; still, the guards forced her to sit on the cold ground and did not allow her to cover herself. Ms. Zhu was tortured this way round the clock, and was not allowed to sleep. One day, because Ms. Zhu practiced the Falun Gong exercises, she was put outside in the cold weather for a long time. This caused hypothermia in Ms. Zhu.
On December 15th, 2000, Ms. Zhu died in the labor camp.
4. Cui Yulan Died after 8-months of Torture
Victim:
Cui Yulan, female, a senior engineer in Langfang City Design Institution, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
1. Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
2. Bazhou Detention Center, Hebei Province
3. Xianghe Detention Center, Langfang City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Head of Xianghe Detention Center, Langfang City, Hebei Province
2. Head of Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
3. Chief of Langfang City Police, Langfang City, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In February 2000, Ms. Cui Yulan went to Beijing to appeal to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Because of this, she was arrested by the Langfang City police after she got back home from Beijing and detained in Bazhou Detention Center, Hebei Province. She was beaten frequently by guards while in detention for refusing to give up practicing Falun Gong.
In September 2000, Ms. Cui was arrested again by Langfang City police for organizing a Falun Gong conference. She was released after 8 days of hunger strike. On October 1, 2000, Ms. Cui went to Beijing again to appeal for Falun Gong. Consequently, she was detained in Xianghe Detention Center by Langfang City police. She was transferred ten days later to the Kaiping Labor Camp in Tangshan City, Hebei Province. There she was tortured regularly by the camp guards who tried force her to renounce Falun Gong.
In June 2001, she was tortured to death in the labor camp. Her family was refused any explanation from the labor camp for Ms. Cui’s death.
5. A Female Falun Gong Practitioner Tortured to Death in the Kaiping Labor Camp
Victim:
A female Falun Gong practitioner
Location of Torture and Death:
Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Liu Xiaohua, Head of Kaiping Labor Camp Female Team, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
2. Li Qiang, Director of the Kaiping Labor Camp, Tangshan, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Due to the Chinese government’s block of information, we do not have detailed personal information of this Falun Gong practitioner. What we know is that she was torture to death with Ms. Cui Yulan in June 2001 in the Kaiping Woman’s Labor Camp, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.
II. Three Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured to Death in Zhangjiakou City
6. Zhang Zigen Paralyzed after being Tortured, and Died from the Suffering in the Detention Center
Victim:
Zhang Zigen, male, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Xuanhua Detention Center, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Head of Xuanhua Detention Center, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
2. The City Government’s Political and Legal Committee, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In March 2000, Mr. Zhang Zigen was detained in the Xuanhua Detention Center in Zhangjiakou City because he went to Beijing to appeal for the right and freedom to practice Falun Gong. During his detention, Mr. Zhang was forced to sleep on the cold cement floor. As a result, his legs became paralyzed and part of his body tissue was afflicted with necrosis (decay of body tissue). The police, however, ignored his severe condition and refused to give him any medical treatment. Later on, his leg had to be amputated. Afraid of taking any responsiblities for his disablilitiy, authorities in the detention center released him.
On October 7, 2000, Mr. Zhang went to Beijing again to appeal to the government for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. This time, he was arrested and sent to the Xuanhua Detention Center. Because of his physical handicap, the detention center did not want to take him; however, the Zhangjiakou City Government's Political and Legal Committee ordered the detention center to detain him. Five or six days later, Zhang’s physical condition severely deteriorated due to the beatings he endured in the detention center, and he died on February 25, 2001.
Victim:
Yang Guibao, male, 56, a resident of Beixinbao Village, Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
1. Beixinbao Village Police Station of Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
2. Xuanwu District Detention Center, Beijing.
Perpetrators:
1. Xu Weiguo, the head of Beixinbao Village Police Station of Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
2. The police of Beixinbao Village Police Station of Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
3. Head and police guards of Xuanwu District Detention Center, Beijing
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On October 27, 2000, Mr. Yang Guibao went to Beijing to appeal for the right and freedom to practice Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained in the Xuanwu District Detention Center in Beijing, where police took turns beating him. When the police got tired, they put Mr. Yang into a prison cell and ordered the criminals to continue beating him. The beatings continued for the entire day.
On the night of December 27, 2000, Beixinbao police officers escorted Mr. Yang back to Beixinbao Village police station in Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City. Due to the previous torture, Mr. Yang’s body was covered with cuts, bruises, and other injuries. However, the local police continually beat him with a bamboo stick. They also shocked Mr. Yang with an electric baton until he almost stopped breathing. Xu Weiguo, the head of the police station ordered: "This time, don't treat Falun Gong practitioners as human beings. No one is allowed to give them any blankets. If anyone dies, throw him into the dyke." Then the police confiscated all the blankets from all the cells.
On January 8, 2001, Mr. Yang went on a hunger strike to protest the torture. On the 6th day, January 14, 2001, police officers force-fed him with over-saturated salt water. At about 3:00 P.M., several people in the same cell with Mr. Yang called for urgent help because Mr. Yang was on the verge of death. When the police came to carry him out, Mr. Yang had already lost consciousness. He died soon after being sent to the hospital. A medical expert identified the cause of Mr. Yang’s death as suffocation caused by salt water that had entered into and congested his bronchial tubes.
8. Wang Ailing Died from Torture at Zhangjiakou Detention Center
Victim:
Wang Ailing, female, 52, an employee of Zhangjiakou City Presswork Factory, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Zhangjiakou Detention Center, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Head and staff of Zhangjiakou Detention Center, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
2. Local police of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In October 1999, March, May and October of 2000, Ms. Wang Ailing went to Beijing four times to appeal to the central government against the persecution of Falun Gong. Each time she was arrested and detained by Zhangjiakou City police for up to one month. She went on hunger strikes each time to protest the detention and maltreatment and was force-fed by the local police. In October 1999, she was fined 3,000 yuan.
On January 1, 2001, Ms. Wang went to Beijing for the fifth time to appeal to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. She was arrested and detained for 9 days by the Beijing Public Security Bureau. She went on a hunger strike to protest the detention.
The Zhangjiakou City local police escorted her back from Beijing. Afterwards, they sent her to the Zhangjiakou Detention Center where she was severely beaten. A few days after she was detained, Ms. Wang experienced high blood pressure and abdominal pain; the police, however, would not release her. Instead, they continued to force-feed her until the 59th day of her hunger strike.
In March 2001, after the police extorted money from her family, Ms. Wang was finally returned home. But she could not eat any food and she was incapable of taking care of herself. In April, the police came to her home again and intended to take her away. This time, however, they left when they saw that she had been tortured so severely that she could not move.
On May 16, 2001, Ms. Wang died from the beating and torture received during the detention.
III. Three Falun Gong practitioners tortured to death in Baoding City
Victim:
Liu Dongxue, male, 48, a farmer from Dalou Village of Shenxing Town, Mancheng County, Baoding City, Hebei province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Mancheng County Detention Center, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Zhao Yuxia, a policeman from the county police station’s Political Security Section, Mancheng County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
2. Mancheng County Detention Center, Mancheng County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
3. Mancheng County People's Government, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
4. Mancheng County Police Station’s Political Security Section, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On January 23, 2001, Mr. Liu Dongxue and his wife were detained in the Mancheng County Detention Center for practicing Falun Gong. He repeatedly appealed for his release but was ignored by the authority. He then went on a 4-month hunger strike to protest the arbitrary detention.
During the 120-plus days of Mr. Liu’s hunger strike, Zhao Yuxia from the county police station’s political security section, along with other policemen from the detention center, inserted a tube into his nose to force-feed Mr. Liu. They often beat him and scolded him.
By the end of May 2001, after enduring a long period of inhumane persecution, Mr. Liu’s life was in danger. His body was covered with cuts and bruises and he weighed less than 25 kilograms [approximately 55 pounds]. Despite his condition, he was tied to the bed in his cell. In order to shirk responsibility for the death of Mr. Liu in custody, the police had his mother take him home. Mr. Liu died the next day.
Victim:
Rong Fengxian, female, 30 years old, a resident of Yindingzhuang Village, Jinzhuang Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
1. Jinzhuang Political Consultative Association, Jinzhuang Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
2. Mental Hospital in Baoding City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Gao, Director, and other officials of “610 Office” (a special government agency established to persecute Falun Gong) of Beishi District, Baoding City, Hebei Province
2. Head and staff of the Neighborhood Administration Office, Jinzhuang Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province
3. Chairperson of Jinzhuang Political Consultative Association, Jinzhuang Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province
4. Head and staff of Mental Hospital in Baoding City, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On May 11, 2001, Ms. Rong Fengxian and 24 other Falun Gong practitioners were kidnapped by officials from the Beishi District “610 Office,” the Neighborhood Administration Office, and various other local committees. They sent Ms. Rong and the other practitioners to an anti-Falun Gong brainwashing class. Director Gao from the “610 Office” declared, “This Brainwashing Class is a long term, permanent establishment. One can only be released after signing the affidavit, endorsing the three statements against Falun Gong drafted by the class, and paying a 1,000-yuan RMB fine. [The average monthly salary in this part of China is 500 Yuan.] Otherwise, what awaits you will be a jail sentence, hard labor, and ‘re-education.’”
Since Ms. Rong refused to denounce Falun Gong, the officials kicked and beat her. They called her family members in and even forced her husband to beat her. One night, more than a dozen people, led by the chairperson of the Jinzhuang Political Consultative Association, surrounded Ms. Rong and verbally abused her for hours. They did not allow her to sleep. Later, they sent Ms. Rong to a local mental hospital. Three days later, the hospital notified her family that she died. They would not give the reason of her death.
Victim:
A female Falun Gong practitioner, resident of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
The 5th Labor Camp of Gaoyang County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
Head and staff of the 5th Labor Camp of Gaoyang County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
This female practitioner was locked in a torture device on the ground because she would not give up Falun Gong. Several days later, she died from continuous beatings and torture.
The victim's name and other detailed information were blocked by the Baoding Gaoyang County 5th Labor Camp.
IV. Two Falun Gong practitioners Tortured to Death in Hengshui City
12. Xiao Xingai Tortured to Death in Hengshui City First Detention Center
Victim:
Xiao Xingai, female, 39, a worker at a paper factory in Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
1. Local Police Station of Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
2. First Detention Center of Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Li Qiang, and other policemen of the Local Police Station of Hengshui City, Hebei Province
2. Si Xinkun, head of the First Detention Center of Hengshui City, Hebei Province
3. A head police officer of the First Detention Center of Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On the evening of December 20, 2000, Ms. Xiao Xingai was followed and arrested by the local police in Hengshui City while posting leaflets about Falun Gong.
On December 22, Ms. Xiao was beaten by the police during their interrogation. One policeman named Li Qiang forced Xiao Xingai to stand with one foot on the floor, while holding one hand above her head. She was forced to stand like this for half a day, which made her perspire heavily and caused her severe pain. That evening, she was sent to the First Detention Center of Hengshui City.
Because Ms. Xiao refused to denounce Falun Gong, Si Xinkun, the head of the First Detention Center took Ms. Xiao to the interrogation room. He handcuffed her hand behind her back, with one hand bent down over a shoulder and the other hand bent up from the waist. After she was handcuffed in this painful position for three days, Ms. Xiao felt pain all over her body and she was sweating profusely. At that time, even the inmates asked the police not to handcuff her. But the police responded by saying that they would only change the position of the handcuffs after her bone was broken. The police released Ms. Xiao from this position after five days—only in order to force-feed her—as she had been on a hunger strike protesting the inhumane treatment since January 24, 2001. After the torture, Ms. Xiao became very weak, and in the crowded cell, she could barely sit or lay on the cement ground. Her face and feet began to swell and she suffered a severe stomachache accompanied by swelling and nausea.
In addition, Ms. Xiao was forced to do heavy labor. She was force to do hard labor until April 2001 when she could not even hold herself up. By this time, the swelling in her body had become very serious. The detention center, however, ignored her condition. Several days later, Ms. Xiao began to vomit black blood at night. One inmate showed the black blood to a guard, however, he just glanced into Ms. Xiao’s cell and left.
The police did not give Ms. Xiao any medical treatment until April 27, 2001, when they sent her to an emergency room of a hospital. Even then, the authority issued an indictment to Ms. Xiao and delivered to her family. On the afternoon of May 10, 2001, the police released Ms. Xiao, who was on the verge of death.
On June 15, 2001, at 6:00 p.m., Ms. Xiao died. The hospital examination showed that torture and beatings, not disease, had caused her death.
13. An Xiukun Tortured to Death during 15-Day-Detention
Victim:
An Xiukun, female, 49, a teacher in Zhongxin Street Elementary School, Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
1. Education Committee Guest House.
2. Lubei Administrative Detention Center, Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Head of the Education Committee Guest House, Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
2. Head of Lubei Administrative Detention Center, Hengshui City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Ms. An Xiukun was removed from her post, and fined 2,800 Yuan RMB (US $330) for practicing Falun Gong. Then, on May 21st, 2000, Ms. An went to the Beijing Ministry of Public Security to redress the unfair and illegal treatment she had received. She was escorted back to her hometown and detained in the Education Committee Guest House. On May 24th, Ms. An was sentenced to fifteen days of administrative detention at the Lubei Administrative Detention Center. On the second day of her detention, she was cuffed with iron shackles. She was bound with shackles day and night, even when she used the bathroom.
To protest the ill treatment, Ms. An went on a hunger strike. The police used abusive force-feeding to further torture her. On June 6th, 2000, she lost consciousness. Ms. An was unable to get up, and suffered from incontinence of feces and urine. The detention center gave her an emergency infusion, which had no effect. At 10:00 pm, she was sent to the County Hospital. At 7:30 A.M. on June 11th, 2000, she died from suffocation from being force-fed.
Ms. An’s husband, Zhang Qizheng, was sentenced to three years of forced labor after he demanded punishment for those responsible for his wife's death and asked for compensation. Police from the Hengshui Detention Center denied any knowledge of Ms. An's death.
News Reports:
1. AFP, July 26, 2000
HONG KONG, Wednesday, July 26, 2000 - A school teacher member of the outlawed Falungong spiritual group died in a detention center in northern China after police attempted to end her hunger strike by force-feeding her, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said Wednesday.
An Xiukun, 50, an elementary school teacher in Hengshui city, Hebei province, suffocated on June 23 in the Hengshui Administrative Detention Center, after six days on hunger strike protesting her "unjust detention," the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Police in Hengshui refused to comment on the case.
Zhang Qizeng, An's husband, was subsequently arrested on July 20 and sentenced without trial to three years reform through labor for protesting the manner in which his wife died and demanding compensation, the center said.
The human rights group has recorded the deaths of at least 25 Falungong followers who have died while in police custody since the government banned the group in July 1999.
"Due to the extremely strong prohibition by the central authorities on human rights groups like ours to investigate these kinds of cases, it is difficult to make accurate tabulations, but our center believes that there are far more than 25 cases of such deaths," it said.
An was detained on June 6 on Tiananmen Square in Beijing for protesting at the ban on the group. After continued protests while in detention, police bound her feet with wire, the center said, resulting in her hunger strike.
She had practiced Falungong for three years.
2. BBC: July 27, 2000
UK (BBC) - A member of the banned Falun Gong sect choked to death in police custody in China after officers tried to force feed her during a hunger strike, human rights activists say. Reports said primary school teacher An Xiukun, 50, was refusing food at a detention center in the northern province of Hebei to protest against her feet being bound with iron shackles.
She died of suffocation as police tried to force her to eat after six days, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Ms An is the 25th Falun Gong follower to die in detention since the government outlawed the spiritual movement a year ago, according to the centre.
She had been taken to a detention centre in Hengshui city after she was arrested on 6 June in Tiananmen Square while protesting against the ban.
Husband
Her husband Zhang Qizheng has been sentenced to three years labour reform after demanding punishment for those responsible for his wife's death as well as compensation, human rights campaigners said.
Police at the Hengshui detention centre denied any knowledge of Ms An's death. Staff at her school said she had died recently but declined to give further details.
Last Saturday, hundreds of Falun Gong members marked the first anniversary of the 22 July ban with protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. They were quickly suppressed by police.
Falun Gong, which attracted millions of followers during the 1990s, combines meditation with ideas taken from Buddhist and Taoist teachings.
3. AP: News, July 26, 2000
BEIJING Wednesday, July 26, 2000 -- A follower of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group choked to death while in detention after police forcibly fed her to end her hunger strike, a human rights group said Wednesday.
Elementary school teacher An Xiukun, 50, was arrested June 6 while protesting a ban on the group in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.
An, who was being held at a detention center hear her home in Hengshui in central China's Hebei province, launched a hunger strike to protest being shackled, the group said.
Six days into the protest, guards forced food down her throat, causing her to choke, the center said.
The account could not be immediately confirmed. No telephone number for the detention center was available, but a man who answered the telephone at Hengshui's jail said no Falun Gong followers had been detained in the area.
An is the 25th Falun Gong follower to die in detention since the government banned the sect a year ago, the center said.
While the government has not responded to each accusation of abuse, it denies mistreating detained Falun Gong followers.
V. Other Death Cases in Hebei Province
Victim:
Wang Xingtian, male, 44, Dayang Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Beiquanli Village, Beiquanli Village and Ningjin County in Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Authorities of Dayang Village, Dayang Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province.
2. Authorities of Beiquanli Village, Beiquanli Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province.
3. Tie Jinbo, the chief of the Township of Dayang Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province.
4. Li Xichun and Zhao Zhiqi, employees of the Office of the Township of Dayang Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On February 21, 2000, the Dayang Village government detained Mr. Wang Xingtian and eleven other Falun Gong practitioners in the "Law Education Center," in order to prevent them from traveling to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of Falun Gong. After they were detained for 33 days, the practitioners were sent to the Beiquanli Village government, where they were denied food and water.
At about 2:00 PM March 25, 2000, Li Xichun and Zhao Zhiqi from the Dayang Village Township Office beat Mr. Wang with electric batons and police batons. They also pressed a wooden rod 3-inches wide against Mr. Wang's calves, applying so much pressure that the rod broke. In addition, they used an iron rod to thrust at his chest and back. The severe beating broke open a hole on the back of his head that eventually caused his death. Only after Mr. Wang's family members wrote a pledge in his name renouncing Falun Gong and paid a sum of money, both of which he had refused to do, were they allowed to take him home. At that time, he had already lost consciousness. He died at 5:00 PM that day.
Afterwards, the Dayang Village Township chief, Tie Jinbo, allocated 150,000 Yuan (about US$18,000) of public funds in order to "take care of matters in private." Mr. Wang Xingtian's family, however, only received 75,000 Yuan. No one knows where the other half of the money went. Furthermore, Mr. Wang’s family has not been allowed to file a lawsuit charging local authorities for Mr. Wang’s death.
15. Wu Yanshui Tortured to Death During His 5-Months of Detention
Victim:
Wu Yanshui, male, resident of Dongyihezhuang Village in Laishui County, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and death:
1. The Detention Center of Laishui County, Hebei Province
2. The local jail where Mr. Wu was detained, Laishui County, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Liu Yaohua, Secretary of the Inspection Committee of the Public Security Department, Laishui County, Hebei Province.
2. Head and officials of Dongyihezhuang Village government, Laishui County.
3. Head of the Detention Center, Laishui County, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In September 2000, the officials in the Dongyihezhuang Village detained Mr. Wu Yanshui for practicing Falun Gong. They fined him 2,000 Yuan RMB (the average monthly income in rural areas is 200 Yuan). After he paid, they still detained him.
On October 11th, 2000, because Mr. Wu refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was sent to a local jail in Laishui County. His family asked the officials to release him many times, but they refused to approve his release. Liu Yaohua, Secretary of the Inspection Committee of the Public Security Department, threatened to send Mr. Wu Yanshui to a labor camp unless his family paid a fine of 20,000 Yuan.
On December 27th, 2000, Mr. Wu was transferred to a detention center where he was subjected to extreme mental and physical torture and became delirious. Mr. Wu couldn't walk or see, and he suffered from congestive heart failure. After five months of detention, the detention center finally released him on March 30th, 2001 when they saw he would not live much longer. Still, the detention center fined his family another 5,000 Yuan. On May 20th, Mr. Wu died from the tortured he received during his detention.
16. Liu Lianyi Tortured to Death in Jing County Detention Center.
Victim:
Liu, Lianyi, male, 54, resident of Liangji Town, Jing County, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and Death:
Jing County Detention Center, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Head and prison guards of Jing County Detention Center, Hebei Province.
2. Zhu Yongshan, male, 20, prisoner of Jing County Detention Center, Hebei
Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On October 29th, 1999, Mr. Liu Lianyi was detained in the Jing County Detention Center of Hebei Province because he practiced Falun Gong. The guard ordered the prisoner to torture Mr. Liu in an effort to force him to renounce Falun Gong.
On November 1st, 1999, the prisoners severely beat Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu often felt great pain in his stomach. Even in this state, the prisoners still beat him on and off. Prisoner Zhu Yongshan stomped on Mr. Liu continuously because he would not give up Falun Gong.
One day at lunchtime, Mr. Liu suddenly fell to the floor, curled up his body and went into a seizure, losing control of both urine and stool. The other Falun Gong practitioners quickly called for the detention guards’ help but the guards completely ignored their pleas. Shortly after Mr. Liu’s body stiffened and he started rolling on the ground.
By the time Mr. Liu was finally sent to hospital, he was already dead. Later, the detention center notified Mr. Liu's family that he had died of a heart attack, even though Mr. Liu had no heart disease before he was detained and tortured.
17. Gu Yalou Tortured to Death in the Public Security Bureau of Renqiu City
Victim:
Gu Yalou, male, 31, resident of Mantang Village, North Shicao Township, Hejian City, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Public Security Bureau of Renqiu City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Public Security Bureau of Renqiu City, Hebei Province
2. Police officers of Beihan Township, Renqiu City, Hebei Province
3. Head and officials of North Shicao Township government, Hebei Province
4. Head and officials of Hejian City government, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Mr. Gu Yalou had been detained by his hometown government four times for up to forty days, because he practiced Falun Gong. The Hejian City government had also detained Mr. Gu twice for more than twenty days; he was extorted 4,000 Yuan (Chinese dollars) by the police.
On the evening of August 11th, 2001, Mr. Gu was arrested by the Beihan Township police for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was transferred to the Public Security Bureau of Renqiu City on the morning of August 12th. His family members, who attempted to visit him, were all turned away. They were told that Mr. Gu would be released if they would pay a fine of 10,000 Yuan RMB. But when Mr. Gu's family returned after collecting the money, they were told that Mr. Gu had died in police custody. The police had also immediately cremated Mr. Gu’s body.
According to witnesses, Mr. Gu's body had signs of severe torture. Bruises covered his body and both his legs were swollen.
18. Cao Fazhen Dies Due to Maltreatment in Yuanshi Detention Center
Victim:
Cao Fazhen, male, 56, resident of Macen Village, Heishuihe Town, Yuanshi County, Hebei Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Yuanshi County Detention Center, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Dong Wenyan, Head of the Yuanshi County Detention Center, Hebei Province. Office phone: 0311-4620809, home phone: 4622636.
2. Head of the “610 Office,” a special government unit set up to persecute Falun Gong, Yuanshi County, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On December 21st, 2000, Mr. Cao Fazhen was arrested in his home for practicing Falun Gong. He was detained in Yuanshi County Detention Center.
Dong Wenyan, the head of the detention center, ordered all detained practitioners to be given only five tiny steamed buns, cold salt water, and two small pieces of rotten vegetables a day. This meager meal caused most practitioners in the detention center to suffer from severe dysentery, which further weakened them. The practitioners who protested their detention and bad treatment received electric shock torture and were tied down with ropes. Mr. Cao was held for nine months under these inhuman conditions before he died.
On September 26th, 2001, at about 2:20 p.m., Mr. Cao suddenly lost consciousness and fell into a coma. Dong Wenyan, the head of the detention center, refused to take Mr. Cao's critical condition seriously and sought no treatment for him. At 8:00 P.M. Mr. Cao's family was notified to come and take him home. Mr. Cao died two days after he returned home. The authorities refused to give any explanation of his death, and his family was threatened with arrest if they wanted to have any further investigation.
19. Yang Mei Died from the Abusive Force-Feeding During Her 4 Months Detention
Victim:
Yang Mei, female, 23, an employee of the Credit Corporation of Xiaowang Village, Cangzhou City.
Location of Torture and Death:
Cangzhou 2nd Detention Center, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Zhang Guowen, Head of Cangzhou 2nd Detention Center, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. Phone: 0317-2062329
2. Jia Dehua, Director of the “610 Office,” the special government unit in charge of Falun Gong issues, of Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. Phone: 0317-2026851 (52)
3. Song Jinsheng, Vice Head (in charge of Falun Gong issue) of Cangzhou City Police Department, Hebei Province. Phone: 0317-2026851 (52)
4. Cai Hua, Vice Secretary of Cangzhou Municipal Party Committee
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Ms. Yang Mei was arrested in July 2001 for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was detained in the Cangzhou No. 2 Detention Center.
At the detention center, the guards repeatedly tortured Ms. Yang to force her to reveal the source of her Falun Gong materials. They locked her onto a metal bed with handcuffs and shackles for one month. (This torture device is notoriously called the "Death Bed"; the four limbs are stretched out and tied to the four corners of an icy-cold metal bed. The victims cannot move at all, nor are they allowed to get up to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom.) They force fed her by inserting a tube into her stomach, then left it there during the whole month except when they took it out once every five or six days. As a result, Ms. Yang lost control of her urination and bowel movements. Her legs and feet were so severely swollen that her legs became thick and her feet deformed. Several layers of her skin peeled away. Someone saw her condition on September 2nd and reported that her rubbed off skin had not grown back at that time.
On October 10th, 2001, demanding only the basic right to live as a human being, Ms. Yang and ten other Falun Gong practitioners started a hunger strike. Every one of them was cuffed to Death Beds with handcuffs and shackles. The handcuffs and shackles they put on were the ones used for criminals awaiting the death penalty and it is wrapped with cloth-strips; however, the ones put on Falun Gong practitioners were bare. During the hunger strike, the police ordered an old cook with no medical knowledge at all to be in charge of the force-feeding. None of the tools used were sanitized. The food consisted of icy cold salt water, flour paste, or diluted milk. The quantity and thickness of the force-feeding solution depended on their moods at the time. Practitioners' whole bodies trembled from the coldness after each force-feeding. During force-feedings, a practitioner was locked into a tiny cell and handcuffed to a metal bed or metal chair. In order to intensify the persecution, the wicked police expanded the number of tiny cells and purchased 6 more metal chairs exclusively for persecuting Ms Yang and other practitioners. They ordered the inmates to hold down the practitioners' heads and pinch their cheeks and noses, which often tore the skin in the process. This way, they force fed the unclean, nutritiously deficient, unsafe icy cold liquid into practitioners' stomachs like dumping trash, without caring about a person's life or death at all. The force-feeding was performed again in the afternoon of the 19th, and Ms. Yang passed away at around 6 o'clock in the morning of October 20th, 2001. Thus, Ms. Yang, a healthy girl, was tortured to death within a short period of 4 months.
The police strictly blocked the news after Ms. Yang was murdered. When Ms. Yang’s parents went to visit her in the morning, the police lied to them, not mentioning Ms. Yang Mei's death at all. At 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon, after finishing their arrangements, the police informed the parents of Ms. Yang's death. Officials from both the city government and police department showed up and admitted that they were responsible for not saving Ms. Yang's life promptly. The government forced the family to settle the matter privately and not to reveal to the public. The authority told Ms. Yang’s family members that if they wanted an autopsy, they must cremate the body immediately afterwards. The police also put the mother of Ms. Yang under house arrest, and not allow her any outside contact. A police car and plain-clothes policemen monitored her house round the clock. Ms. Yang’s mother could not even see her daughter before the cremation.
From an on-sight inspection of Ms. Yang’s body, one could see bruises on her chest, red spots all over her body, and both hands were swollen. The police told Ms. Yang's father that they were not responsible, that he had better not look into this matter, and that any damage compensation would not be considered.
20. A Young Woman Tortured to Death in the Cuizhuang Detention Center
Victim:
A Falun Gong Practitioner, female, 32, resident of Fujian Province
Location of Torture and Death:
Cuizhuang Detention Center, Qianan City, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. Peng Minghui, Manager of the Political Security Department of Qianan City Public Security Bureau, Hebei Province.
2. Hui Zhijiang, Head of the Cuizhuang Detention Center, Qianan City, Hebei Province.
3. Qiu Jiandong, Deputy Director of the Qianan City Public Security Bureau (he is the one who led the beatings).
4. The guards of the Cuizhuang Detention Center, Qianan City, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
This female Falun Gong practitioner went to Beijing to appeal to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year on Jan.24th, 2001). She was temporarily detained in the Cuizhuang Detention Center, Qianan City, Hebei Province by the Beijing Public Security Bureau. She was also severely beaten by the local police at the Cuizhuang Detention Center.
At 7:00 a.m. on February 18th, 2001, the guards began to beat her again and did not stop until 11:00 p.m. Afterward, they dragged her back to her cell. Her body was covered with wounds. The eyelashes and the eyebrow of her left eye were also pulled out. Her nose was charred by fire, and her socks were stuck to her heels with dried blood. She was left unattended in her cell and ignored by the guards.
On February 20th, 2001, she went into a coma. As a result, the detention center authorities sent her to the Qianan City's Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital. This practitioner died on February 22nd. The police cremated her body the same day.
21. Zhao Jing Tortured to Death While in 3-Day-Police Custody
Victim:
Zhao Jing, female, 19, resident of Yushu Village, Baishang Township, Fengman District, Jilin City, Jilin Province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Public Security Bureau Detention Center, Yutian County, Hebei Province.
Perpetrators:
1. The head of the Public Security Bureau, Yutian County, Hebei Province.
2. The guards and police officers of the detention center of the Public Security Bureau, Yutian County, Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On November 22nd, 2000, Ms. Zhao Jing traveled to Beijing where she appealed to the central government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The next day, the Yutian County Public Security Bureau police arrested her at the Yutian County Inspection Station. Hebei province. Later, she was detained in the Public Security Bureau detention center in Yutian County.
The police officers beat and tortured Ms. Zhao while she was in the police station. Inmates there said they could hear horrifying screams from Ms. Zhao. One witness confirmed that Ms. Zhao was severely beaten by the police and that she had died on the third night she was in custody.
The police cremated Ms. Zhao’s body before her family had an opportunity to inspect it.
News Reports:
1. The Associated Press: 2 Chinese [Group] Members Said Dead Thursday, Dec. 7, 2000; 10:21 a.m. EST
BEIJING -- Two more members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement have died in police custody, bringing to at least 74 the death toll in China's 17-month crackdown on Falun Gong, a human rights group said Thursday.
Wang Huachen, a 32-year-old chemical factory worker, died Nov. 18 in a hospital of injuries he got jumping out of a fourth-story window at a police station in the northeastern city of Huludao, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said. Wang jumped after police allegedly beat him for two hours with wooden poles on Nov. 7, the day they arrested him for refusing to leave Falun Gong, the Hong Kong-based center said.
Zhao Jing, 19, was arrested Nov. 23 on a train in the northern province of Hebei while traveling to Beijing with other Falun Gong followers, the center said. Three days later, police notified her family she was dead. Police said she died after falling in an escape attempt, but her companions said they heard her cries as police beat her, the center said.
Police in both locations refused to comment. Chinese officials have declined to discuss individual reports of police abuse but deny that any followers have died from mistreatment. The center says at least 74 followers have died in detention since China banned the group in July 1999, but Falun Gong says the number is much higher.
Falun Gong attracted millions of members in the 1990s with its health exercises and eclectic mix of Taoism, Buddhism and the ideas of its founder, former government clerk Li Hongzhi, now believed to be in the United States. China outlawed Falun Gong [...]. Communist Party leaders apparently fear the group's size and organization could challenge their monopoly on power.
2. AFP: Two More Falun Gong Members Reported Dead in Chinese Police Detention, BEIJING, Dec 7, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse)
Two more followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have died after maltreatment in Chinese police detention, a human rights group said Thursday. The deaths bring to at least 74 the number of group members who are reported to have died in suspicious circumstances while in police custody since the Falun Gong was banned in July last year, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Wang Huachen, 32, a worker at the Jinhua Group in the city of Huludao in the northeastern province of Liaoning, jumped from a fourth story window at a public security office on November 18 and later died in hospital, the center said.Wang had been repeatedly beaten since being arrested on November 7 for his beliefs in the spiritual group in an effort to make him sign a written recantation of his belief in the spiritual group, the center said. An official at the Jinhua Group confirmed to AFP that Wang had died, but was unaware of the circumstances of his death.
In another incident, Zhao Jing, 19, from Jilin in the northeastern province of Jilin, died after jumping from a police car in Hebei province, the center said. She had been arrested along with several other Falun Gong members while traveling to Beijing. Travelling companions told the center that Zhao only appeared to be slightly injured after she jumped from the car, but after the group was taken to a local police station in Hebei, the group heard Zhao's screams and police beating her in an adjoining room.
Zhao's arrest and attempted escape occurred on November 23, while police told her family on November 26 that she died from serious injuries while jumping from the police car, the center said. Relatives who saw her body said Zhao appeared to have been beaten, while police cremated the corpse before Zhao's father could view his daughter for the last time, the center said. A spokesman with the Public Security Bureau of Jilin city denied to AFP that the case of Zhao Jing existed.
China's communist government sees the Falun Gong as the biggest threat to its one-party rule since the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests and banned the movement in July 1999. Members of the spiritual group follow the Buddhist-inspired teachings of their exiled guru Li Hongzhi, who advocates clean living and group morning exercises that involve traditional Chinese breathing routines.
Some 450 members have received prison sentences of up to 18 years, more than 600 have been sent to mental hospitals, 10,000 have been placed in labor camps and another 20,000 locked up in temporary detention centers, according to the rights center.
3. Free Asia Radio: Two More Falun Gong Members Died from Persecution, Dec 7, 2000
4. Radio Australia: Two More Falun Gong Practitioners Died in China, Dec 7, 2000
5. Ottawa Citizen: “Liberal MP to Chretien: Play hardball with China”, Randy Boswell, Saturday December 9, 2000
UN is 'ultimate weapon' in fight to free Canadian
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, a renowned human rights lawyer, says Canada must sign a UN resolution condemning China's human rights record.
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler says Canada should co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning China's human rights record if Beijing refuses to release a Canadian citizen imprisoned for practising Falun Gong meditation exercises.
Mr. Cotler, a world-renowned human rights lawyer who has stepped ahead of his own government to promote the cause of freeing former Montreal resident Kunlun Zhang, says Canada's "moral political leverage" in the global community could be the ultimate trump card in the current diplomatic dispute with China.
The Chinese government has refused even the requests by Canadian officials in Beijing to visit Mr. Zhang.
China insists that Mr. Zhang is a Chinese citizen being dealt with appropriately under a law that bans Falun Gong [...]
That has prompted calls for Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley to intervene directly in the case and demand Mr. Zhang's release outright. And Prime Minister Jean Chretien has been urged by opposition critics to announce immediately that he will postpone February's Team Canada trade mission to China unless Mr. Zhang is freed.
But Mr. Cotler says Canada's ultimate weapon in the case would be its signature on the so-called "China resolution" to be debated in March at the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
Although Canada chose not to support a similar resolution that failed to pass at this year's meeting, Mr. Cotler says Canada's "moral leadership" in the world could convince enough countries to sign the China resolution this time around.
If a formal UN censure is passed, says Mr. Cotler, China could be disqualified from World Bank financing and face other hardships in its international relations.
Mr. Zhang, a sculptor who lived in Canada from 1989 to 1996, was sentenced to three years in a labour camp after being arrested in July for performing Falun Gong exercises in a public park. His wife, Shumei, is also under house arrest in Beijing.
But the couple's two daughters live in Canada. Lingdi Zhang, a student at the University of Ottawa, sought help from Mr. Cotler to press China for her father's release.
Yesterday, Lingdi Zhang met with representatives from the office of Mr. Manley, who has not yet made a statement about the case and was unavailable for comment again yesterday. He is scheduled to meet with Mr. Cotler on Monday or Tuesday.
Although Mr. Manley's representatives gave no indication that Canada would take a harder line against China and demand Mr. Zhang's release, they did offer to attempt to arrange a meeting between Canadian embassy officials in Beijing and Mrs. Zhang.
22. Practitioner Zhe Liansheng Died after Being Tortured
Victim:
Zhe Liansheng, male, over 60 years old, a resident of Chengan County, Handan City, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Mr. Zhe Liansheng went to Beijing to appeal to government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and was arrested by the police in Tiananmen Square. To protest the arbitrary detention and brutal torture, he went on a hunger strike. However, the police tortured him even more brutally. Seeing that he was going to die from being tortured, , the police informed his family to bring him back home so as to escape the responsibility of having him die in custody. He died shortly thereafter.
23. Practitioner Ren Mengjun Tortured to Death at the Handan City Labor Camp
Victim:
Ren Mengjun, male, 56, a resident of Dongfeng Village, Shahe City, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and Death:
1. The Handan City Labor Camp in Hebei Province
2. The Shahe City Detention Center, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
1. Jia Qifang, the head of the Politics and Security Section of the Police Department in Shahe City, in charge of the Falun Gong issue
2. Xi Zhanjun, the head of the Police Department in Shahe City, Hebei Province
3. Wang, the captain of 5th unit of the Handan City Labor Camp, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
In January 2001, Mr. Ren Mengjun went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained in the Xincheng police station after he was escorted back. Later he was sent to the Shahe City Detention Center, and then was transferred to the Handan City Labor Camp by policeman Jia Qifang. He was detained in Unit 5 at the labor camp.
In the labor camp Mr. Ren was brutally beaten for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. When Mr. Ren was tortured to the point that his condition was critical, the labor camp, seeking to avoid the responsibility for his impending death, urgently asked his family members several times to take him back home. After returning home, Mr. Ren was found to be deaf in both ears; he had bruises on his buttocks and legs and blood in his stool and urine; he was unable to eat or drink; and he suffered severe injuries to his inner organs. He told his family that Unit Captain Wang's brutal beating in the labor camp caused his deafness. He said that Wang once announced that any practitioners who did not give up Falun Gong should be sent to his Unit and he would get them to give up practicing by his methods of torture. Wang instigated criminals to beat Mr. Ren heavily with a wooden rod and torture him for long periods of time.
On October 29, 2001, several days after returning home, Mr. Ren passed away at 4:00 p.m.
24. Practitioner Lan Hongyu Beaten to Death at the Zunhua Detention Center
Victim:
Lan Hongyu, male, 35, a resident of Sicun Village, Pingan Cheng Township, Zunhua City, Hebei Province
Location of Torture and Death:
Zunhua City Detention Center, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
The Head and guards at the Zunhua City Detention Center, Hebei Province
A Brief Report of the Incident:
Because Mr. Lan Hongyu refused to give up practicing Falun Gong, the local police in Shimen arrested him on June 2, 2001, when he was taking care of his grandparents. Later, he was sent to the Zunhua City Detention Center.
On June 12, Wang Cunzhan, Secretary of the Pingancheng Township Party Committee notified Mr. Lan's family that they should pick him up from the Detention Center. When Mr. Lan's wife arrived at the Detention Center, she saw Mr. Lan being cuffed to an iron bed by his limbs. Several bare-chested thugs wearing dark sunglasses surrounded the iron bed. When she spoke to her husband, and cried over his body, he had no reaction. He had already lost consciousness, and his lower body was wet. People at the detention center told her that Mr. Lan had not eaten for 10 days. Mr. Lan's wife asked, "Why weren't we notified sooner?" They did not answer her.
After Mr. Lan was returned home, he was unconscious and kept vomiting and convulsing. His situation became more severe on June 17, 2001. He was sent to the Beijing Paramedic Center, but they failed to save him. The autopsy showed that Mr. Lan was beaten and brutally tortured, resulting in encephalorrhagia [bleeding due to deformed blood vessels of the brain] and large-scale encephalosepsis [degeneration or death of the brain tissues]. His internal organs had all extravasated [the blood had been forced out into the surrounding tissue - a key symptom of severe trauma such as repeated beatings].
25. Hu Mingquan Tortured to Death by Police
Victim:
Hu Mingquan, male, 63, a retiree from Chongqing Jiangbei District, Third Steel Plant, Chongqing City, Sichuan province.
Location of Torture and Death:
Huaide County Hospital, Hebei Province
Perpetrators:
The police of Hebei Province.
A Brief Report of the Incident:
On December 1, 2000, Mr. Hu Mingquan went to the central government in Beijing to appeal for the freedom and right to practice Falun Gong. After being arrested and detained in Huaide County, Hebei Province, he went on a hunger strike to protest the detention and maltreatment. Consequently, Mr. Hu was force-fed by the police. He died from suffocation during the force-feeding through his nose. On December 7, 2000, the Hebei Province police notified his family that they should claim his body at the Huaide County Hospital in Hebei Province.
type=Case, Death; type=Case, Group; location=Hebei; |
