On May 15, 2002, an informant reported that Mr. Huang Xiangwei practiced Falun Gong. The police from the Harbin City Police Station arrested him at his home and brought him to the Seventh Team of the Harbin City Second Detention Center. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, the staff kept torturing him, until he became paralyzed from the waist down and no longer able to walk. On November 3, 2002, ignoring his disability, he was sentenced to three years of forced labor and transferred to the Wanjia Labor Camp.

Due to his disability, he was then sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp Hospital, where he was detained for about one year and suffered inhuman treatment and torture. Because he was paralyzed, he had to crawl on the floor every time he needed to go to the bathroom. His weight dropped from approximately 180 lbs. to less than 110 lbs. His family could hardly recognize him when they were finally allowed to see him.

In December 2003, because his story of persecution was exposed on an overseas website, the authorities of the Wanjia Labor Camp transferred him to the Changlinzi Labor Camp. To further persecute him in an attempt to force him to give up Falun Gong, guards falsely claimed that he was on a hunger strike and force-fed him with concentrated salt water. Seeing that he was paralyzed and unable to walk, the guards took turns jogging while dragging him on the ground. As a result, his pants were torn all over and soaked in blood. To protest the torture, he went on a hunger strike. His hunger strike has lasted approximately 130 days. His blood pressure dropped sharply and he lapsed into a coma. He was then sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. He is in critical condition and on the verge of death.

Afraid that the persecution will be exposed in public, the authorities do not allow his family to visit him. His current situation remains unknown.

We are very concerned about Mr. Huang’s life and hereby request an urgent action by the United Nations to safeguard the life of Mr. Huang.

Victim:

Mr. Huang Xiangwei, 44, was a high school music teacher and a resident of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province.

Location:

1.      The Seventh Team of the Harbin City Second Detention Center, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

2.      The Wanjia Labor Camp Hospital, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

3.      The Changlinzi Labor Camp, Taiping Precinct, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

Perpetrators:

1.      The Chief of the Harbin City Second Detention Center, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

2.      The Chief of the Wanjia Labor Camp Hospital, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

3.      The Chief of the Changlinzi Labor Camp, Taiping Precinct, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province