In October 2007, an elderly, but previously strong and healthy practitioner died in a prison hospital after several years of mistreatment. Permission to move him to another medical facility was denied.
Falun Gong Practitioners are tortured to force them to renounce the practice of Falun Gong. They are also forced to produce goods for export.
Mr. Zhang Youjin Dies While in Prison
Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Youjin, 67, lived in Nankouqian Town, Qingyuan County, Liaoning Province. He started to practice Falun Gong in 1997, and he went to local county and province governments many times to appeal when the persecution started. He was arrested on April 10, 2002 when participating in a Falun Gong experience sharing conference and sentenced to a forced labor term in the Wujiapu Labor Camp in Fushun City. He was released on May 22, 2004.
On December 16, 2004, Mr. Zhang Youjin went to Xifeng County to pass out truth clarifying materials with fellow practitioners. He was arrested again, sentenced to three and half years in prison, and detained in Dongling Prison in Shenyang City. He clarified the truth about Falun Gong to guards many times even while being tortured and refused to write the Three Statements.
In early October 2007, guard Liu Hongbao (male) notified Mr. Zhang Youjin's family that he was sick. When his family went to visit him, he was transferred to the Shenyang City Prison Block. His family went to the prison to request to visit him, but they were refused. His family went back to Dongling Prison, and Liu Hongbao said it was too late today to do anything. After a few days, Mr. Zhang's family came back to Dongling Prison, and they were told that Mr. Zhang had been admitted to Tieling Prison Hospital for contagious diseases.
Mr. Zhang's family was shocked to see him. He had been very strong when he was first detained in the prison, his hair was very black and shiny, and there were not any wrinkles on his face. His cell-mates thought his visiting son was his brother. However, when his family saw him, he had to breathe oxygen through a tube in his nose, he was as thin as a skeleton, his hair is all white, he could not stand still, his hands were shaky, and he could not talk coherently. Guards said he was sick with tuberculosis, and they needed to pay 3000 yuan for treatment. His family requested to have him released for medical treatment, but the hospital administration said the upper level would not permit that unless he wrote a guarantee statement that he would stop the practice of Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang Youjin died on October 22, 2007 in Tieling Prison Hospital.
Dongling Prison in Shenyang City address: 88-Dongling Street, Dongling District, Shenyang City, 110161.
Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured and Forced to Do Slave Labor at Masanjia Labor Camp
Since September 20, 2007, a large group of Falun Gong practitioners from other regions, including some Falun Gong practitioners that the authorities considered key targets, have been taken to the Masanjia Women's Second Labor Camp, Liaoning Province. There are now over 100 practitioners at Masanjia Women's Second Labor Camp. The Supervisory and Education Section of the camp organized over 20 people to take charge of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Previously in 2005 and 2006 these people brutally mistreated Falun Gong practitioners.
Some Falun Gong practitioners are made to do sewing work. They are forced to get up at 5:00 a.m. and are not allowed to finish working until after 11:00 p.m., without being allowed a rest at noon. They only get to eat carrot and cabbage soup. It is very expensive to buy anything there. The practitioners have to spend their own money to buy necessities, like gloves and aprons, that are needed for working in the labor camp.
Guards use extremely cruel means to force the newly arrived Falun Gong practitioners to write the three statements. The head of the guards, Wang Xiaofeng (female) enforces this action. Falun Gong practitioners are detained in locked cells where the doors and windows are covered with newspapers. Wardens can be found sitting in the corridor and the only thing they can hear are the screams of Falun Gong practitioners being tortured.
After the practitioners are forced to write the "three statements," they are made to work as slaves. The work load is extremely heavy and they are not allowed to sleep until they finish.
Those who refuse to write the "three statements" are closely watched 24 hours a day by the wardens. They are also forced to work. If they do not finish, they are also not allowed to rest. These practitioners are not allowed to speak, leave the room or make any phone calls.
It has been reported that the products from Masanjia Labor Camp will be exported. There are more than 200 people at the Masanjia Women's Second Labor Camp who are forced to work like slaves. Each year, they earn 200,000 yuan for the labor camp.