(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioner Mr. Zhan Zhigang, a teacher from the No 2 Junior Middle School in Heishan Town, Heishan County, Liaoning Province, has been harassed numerous times, fined many times, and arrested five times since the Jiang hoodlum-like regime started to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999. On July 4, 2005, Mr. Zhan was arrested and his home was ransacked. He was then sent to the forced labor camp in Jinzhou City and has been detained there ever since.

Mr. Zhan was in poor health and suffered from various diseases since his childhood. He started to practice Falun Gong in 1997 and recovered from his illnesses quickly after doing the exercises and studying the Fa. His body went through a fundamental change and his health improved greatly. He quit smoking, quit drinking, and got rid of other bad habits. He was awarded the title of "Excellent Teacher" by his school.

In July 1999, the Jiang regime started its evil suppression of Falun Gong. Zhan Zhigang was harassed, arrested, and detained many times. His whole family has lived in fear every day. He has been fined many times and his home has been ransacked many times. This has created a significant financial debt for them. His previously happy family has fallen apart.

At the beginning of the persecution, the leaders of the school were the first to attempt to try to persuade him to give up practicing Falun Gong, saying, "The regime doesn't allow people to practice, so give it up." He refused. He presented to them the facts of how he benefited from practicing Dafa. He said it was not wrong to be a good person according to the requirement of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." He exposed the shoddy lies the media made up to demonize Falun Gong.

In order to clarify the truth, he went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in February 2000. On his way to the Petition Office in Beijing, the police arrested him and sent him back to the local police station where was detained for a month.

In June 2000 the police suspected that he had distributed Falun Gong materials and arrested him again, putting him into the custodial station. They tried to force him to give up his belief and threatened to kick him out of the Party, demote him, and have his salary reduced. He was detained for one month. The police extorted 1000 yuan from his family before they released him. When he returned to school he discovered that the school officials had removed him from his position of administrative director due to intense pressure.

In August 2002, the police found his telephone number on another person's cellphone. They then took him away and tried to force him to reveal the name of the other person, but had to release him when he didn't cooperate.

On November 10, 2002, the police from Heishan County managed to get him to the Dianxin Building and then arrested him. They had no evidence but still detained him for over three months, releasing him only after extorting 3000 "yuan" from his family.

On the morning of May 25, 2005, policemen Feng Wenfang, Xiao Zhongying, and Zhang Shichun from the National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan City broke into his house and took him away without giving any reason. At the time he had asked for leave from his work unit because his father was critically ill and he was going to his hometown to look after his father. In addition, his son was facing university entrance examinations. His son pleaded with the police in despair: "Please don't take away my dad. He has to look after my grandfather because he is very ill." But the police dragged Mr. Zhan to the police car and sent him to the custodial station. They confiscated his computer, printer, and other belongings.

He was detained in the custodial station in Heishan County for over 40 days. On July 4 he was sentenced to two years of forced labor and sent to a forced labor camp in Jinzhou City. He has been detained and persecuted there ever since.

His elderly father couldn't bear the heavy blow of having his son repeatedly persecuted for no reason and he died several days later. He wanted to see his son for the last time but could not. As the eldest son, Mr. Zhan was not able to make arrangements for his father after his death. As a result the local police slandered him by saying, "He even didn't care when his father died." His son was the top student on the entrance exams for high school, and he was a good student at Heishan Senior High School. Theoretically he would be accepted by a key university without any problem, but with his father's detention and grandfather's death, both having a serious effect on him, it is hard to say how this will affect his performance on the nationwide university entrance exams. Mr. Zhan was an advisor to a graduating class, and his students were facing the middle school entrance exams. They have felt the impact as well when their teacher was suddenly detained.

In this past year Mr. Zhan was tortured physically and mentally every day in Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp.

Because he didn't give up his belief, the guard in the second squad forced him to sit on a small stool (30 cm high, 30 cm wide) and made the inmates watch over him. In an attempt to "transform" him, they didn't allow him to leave the stool from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. But he didn't give in. The police then told criminal inmates to swear at him and beat him and not let him sleep. They crossed his legs and bound them with a curtain. They handcuffed him and put a safety hat on him. Then they made the other inmates kick and beat him until he gave in. He shouted loudly to protest the persecution but was more fiercely beaten. In order to prevent him from shouting, the guards bent wire into the shape of "a bit" (similar to a horse's bridle) with hooks at either end. They pressed it into his mouth and put it between his teeth and on his tongue. The inside end was inserted into his throat so that he couldn't close his mouth and couldn't speak. Once the wire "bit" is placed in the mouth, one feels nauseated. The "bit" also causes bleeding and a swollen throat. This makes eating food difficult. (This was an evil "invention" dreamed up by the guards in Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp.)

On August 5, 2006, his wife went to see him. Policeman Bai Jinlong said to her, "He doesn't behave well so you can't see him."

We here appeal to the international community, all human rights organizations, and all people of the world to help stop this evil persecution and rescue the innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

Related personnel and organizations that participated in the persecution:

Zhang Haiping, Director of Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp: 86-416-4575166(Home)

Yu Haibin, Deputy Director of Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp: 86-416-4575111(Home)

Bai Jinlong, Team Leader of the No 2 Brigade of Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp

Wang Junren, Director of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County: 86-416-5528871(Office), 86-416-5532168(Home), 86-13904064508(Cell)

Sun Guoqing, in charge of persecuting Falun Gong, Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County: 86-416-5519321(Office): 86-416-5566168(Home), 86-13904167005(Cell)

Wang Weijing, Chief of National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County: 86-416-5512076(Office), 86-416-5538118(Home), 86-13604962928(Cell)

Other responsible persons:

Gao Hai, Former Director of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County, already experienced retribution according to the universal principle "good is rewarded with good, evil met with evil" and died

Xu Guizhou, former Deputy Director of Public Security Bureau in Heishan County: 86-416-5592999(Office), 86-416-5591288(Home), 86-13904167323(Cell)

Xiao Zhongying, Deputy Chief of the National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County: 86-416-5512076(Home)

Bi Shijun, former Policewoman in the National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County

Feng Wenfang, former Chief of the National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County

Zhang Shichun, Policeman in the National Protection Team of the Public Security Bureau in Heishan County