United Nations: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Part 1 [Excerpt]

29 March, 2005

Introduction

1. This addendum to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression gives an account of actions undertaken by the Special Rapporteur between 1 January and 31 December 2004. It also contains in summary form the replies received from Governments to his communications.

2. Replies to communications received after 31 December 2004 will be included in the Special Rapporteur's report to the sixty-second session of the Commission on Human Rights.

3. Owing to restrictions on the length of documents, the Special Rapporteur has been obliged to reduce considerably details of communications sent and received. As a result, replies from Governments could not be published in their entirety.

China

142. On 8 January 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, sent an urgent appeal concerning Cui Suzhen, a 61-year-old female resident of Shenze County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, who was reportedly detained in the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp because she practiced Falun Gong. On 8 April 2001, she was reportedly transferred to the Gaoyang Labor Camp in Hebei Province. It is alleged that, since she went on a hunger strike to protest the treatment received, she was force-fed human excrement on three separate occasions, and afterwards suffered from serious diarrhea. As a result, she was reportedly sent to the Gaoyang County Hospital for emergency treatment. The attending doctor allegedly pointed out that feeding a person human excrement in that quantity can cause death. Upon being sent back to the labor camp, she was allegedly continuously beaten by the guards, who are said to have crushed her nipples, shocked her with electric batons simultaneously while pouring water on to her. They also used pliers to pinch her flesh, and buried her in snow until she passed out. At the time that this communication was sent, it was reported that she was still being detained in the labor camp, where she was believed to be at risk of being subjected to similar treatment.

146. On 4 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Tian Xianofei, 40 years of age, and resident of Cuidong Street, Pingshan District, Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, who was reportedly detained in the Huazi Prison in Liaoyang City, and sentenced to 10 years by the Pingshan District Court, allegedly for being a Falun Gong practitioner. According to the information received, Mr. Tian began a hunger strike on 20 July 2003, and was held in solitary confinement with two prisoners monitoring him around the clock. It is alleged that while he was asleep, his hands were handcuffed to the bed. His health was reportedly deteriorating from forced feedings and he had difficulty walking. It is alleged that he was denied medical treatment, and would continue to be denied such treatment until his internal organs malfunction or he renounced Falun Gong. He was reportedly not permitted visits by his family. Moreover, Cao Jiguang, 35, an employee of the Cotton and Linen Company, Linshui County, Sichuan Province, was reportedly detained in Guangyuan Jail in Sichuan Province, serving out a five-year sentence, allegedly for being a Falun Gong practitioner. It is reported that he was detained in a small cell where five inmates are ordered to watch him throughout the day. He was reportedly on the verge of death after beginning a hunger strike to protest against his alleged torture by the prison guards. It is reported that, on a previous hunger strike, Cao Jiguang was force-fed by the jail's doctor, who inserted a plastic tube into his trachea and pulled it out repeatedly to hurt him, and that before force-feeding him, the guards opened his mouth with an instrument, which caused severe injuries inside his mouth. It is further reported that after his hunger strike, the guards reduced his food by half.

148. On 4 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal regarding Liu Xiaolian, 64 years old, a resident of Chibi Town, Chibi City, Hubei Province. She was reportedly arrested on 28 December 2003 by the local Chibi City police and her whereabouts were unknown at the time this communications was sent. Ms. Xiaolian had reportedly been detained on several occasions and subjected to torture and ill-treatment for allegedly being a Falun Gong practitioner. For example, on 6 December 2002, while she was reportedly detained at the First Detention Centre, Chibi City, 19 police officers and inmates started to beat Ms. Liu. Her body was reportedly pulled in five different directions simultaneously; her vagina was torn from the force and all her joints became dislocated. Others reportedly took turns beating her with 55pound shackles while she was being pulled apart. Ms. Liu reportedly suffered many broken bones and other severe injuries over the course of the day and fell unconscious due to the intense pain. Her head was reportedly violently banged, and she was then reportedly cuffed with 55 pound shackles for one week, and denied food for two weeks. In view of past allegations of torture against Ms. Xioalian, and her present unknown whereabouts, serious concerns are expressed for her well-being.

150. On 13 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning Ms. W.L., a 17-year-old middle school student, from Machang, Suileng County, Heilongjiang Province. According to information received, in July 2002, W.L. attended a joint entrance examination for a provincial high school and answered a question in the politics section of the paper concerning Falun Gong, saying that, "Falun Dafa is good, and Falun Dafa is righteous". It is reported that later, officials from the Political and Judiciary Committee of the Police Department and Provincial Education Committee came looking for her, and she was forced to leave home. It is reported that her parents were arrested and ill-treated by personnel from the 610 Office. In May of 2003, W.L. was working in Harbin City, where she was reportedly seized by the police and sent to Suileng, where she is reportedly still detained, and it is not clear whether she was charged with any offence. Reports indicate that specific orders were issued at the time of her arrest by the chief of the 610 Office in Suileng County to detain her until she turned the legal age of 18 years and then to sentence her.

152. On 26 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Sun Yuhua, who was reportedly arrested at her home on 14 January 2004 at about 2 p.m., by a group of policemen (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteurs), led by the Chief of the Political Security Team at the Hulan County Police Station, allegedly because she practiced Falun Gong. The policemen reportedly took Ms. Sun to the Hulan County Police Station, where officers (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteurs) reportedly beat and tortured her. Reports indicate that she was later sent to the Hulan County Second Detention Centre, where she reportedly went on a hunger strike to protest her torture and detention. When she refused to give up her beliefs, she was reportedly transferred to the Hulan County First Detention Centre, where she continued her hunger strike, and was allegedly force-fed, causing her physical condition to become critical. Fears were expressed that she might die from the treatment she allegedly received. Reports also indicate that, reportedly as a result of his public disclosure of the persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Sun's husband, Zhang Qingsheng, was detained at Hulan County First Detention Centre. The police from the Hulan County Police Station also reportedly arrested Ms. Sun's daughter, an 18-year-old student at Hulan County College, on 14 January 2004. She was reportedly interrogated and tortured for four days, before being sent to the Harbin Second Detention Centre.

156. On 2 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Li Dongqing, a Falun Gong practitioner. She is reportedly detained at Dabei Women's Prison, Baixitaizi Village, Pingluo Town, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. Li Dongqing, who suffers from hepatitis, has allegedly been subjected to prolonged periods of solitary confinement, scolding, beatings, and shocks with electric batons by guards, including during her period of detention at the Masanjia Labor Camp. Currently, her body is swollen and her state of mental health is said to be deteriorating. In view of allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Li Dongqing in detention, and her present state of health, concern is expressed for her mental and physical integrity.

157. On 15 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, sent an urgent appeal concerning Yiwen Tang (f), a 37 year-old Falun Gong practitioner, from Zuhai suburb of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. On 23 February 2004 Yiwen Tang is said to have been taken from her home following an application for a passport. Her husband was reportedly also interrogated in connection with her passport application. It is reported that she was, at the time this communication was sent, being detained for re-education at the Chutou Law School, in Guangzhou Baiyun district. On 10 March 2004 information was received that Yiwen Tang's health condition was critical. She was said to have been on hunger strike for 17 days to protest her detention. It is reported that her family had appealed to the police in Guangzhou City for an investigation into the legality of her detention and called for her immediate release. Allegedly, no action had been taken at the time this communication was sent.

171. On 30 April 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, sent an urgent appeal concerning Liu Mei, 36, resident of Donggang City, Liaoning Province. She was reportedly held in Dabei Prison in Shenyang City at the time this communication was sent. On 10 March 2004, a relative who visited her reported that Liu Mei was carried to the visiting room wearing a big gauze mask, and that she was extremely weak and thin. It is reported that the guards immediately stopped the meeting when she said that she was dying, and since then no information on her situation had been available. It is reported that Liu Mei and her husband were arrested on 9 April 2002 and sentenced to 13 years in prison for producing and distributing materials about the alleged persecution of Falun Gong. It is alleged that since her arrest and detention at the Dandong City Police Station, and subsequently at the Dandong Detention Centre and then Dabei Prison, Liu Mei had been tortured in an attempt to force her to give up Falun Gong. The methods of torture and ill-treatment alleged include electric shocks all over the body and beatings on her head with hard plastic baton handles. It is alleged that she had been denied adequate medical attention, and as a consequence suffered among other things, high fevers which have damaged her lungs Her health had reportedly continued to deteriorate. In view of the allegations of torture and the reported state of her health, concern was expressed for the physical and mental integrity of Liu Mei if she did not receive prompt and adequate medical attention.

174. On 7 May 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning Huang Xiangwei, aged 44, a high school music teacher and a resident of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. He was reportedly held at Changlinzi Labor Camp at the time this communication was sent. It is reported that Huang Xiangwei went on hunger strike to protest alleged ill-treatment by the camp guards, as a result of which he lapsed into a coma and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. It is reported that, since his admission to the camp's hospital around early April 2004, no information had been available on his condition and he was not allowed any visitors. Huang Xiangwei was allegedly arrested on 15 May 2002 by the police from the Harbin City Police Station for being a Falun Gong practitioner, and brought to the Seventh Team of the Harbin City Second Detention Centre. It is alleged that he was tortured because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, and he became paralyzed from the waist down as a consequence of torture. On 3 November 2002, he was reportedly sentenced to three years of forced labor and transferred to the Wanjia Labor Camp, and later sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp Hospital. It is alleged that he was detained there for about one year, during which he was subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment, including being forced to crawl on the floor every time he needed to go to the bathroom. It is reported that in December 2003 he was transferred to the Changlinzi Labor Camp, where guards, allegedly falsely claimed that he was on hunger strike, force-fed him with concentrated salt water, and dragged him on the ground. Concern was expressed that Huang Xiangwei could be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

176. On 18 May 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Jin Jiang and his wife, Wei Limei, both in their thirties and resident of Botou City, Hebei Province. They were allegedly arrested on 8 April 2004 for giving explanations in their restaurant about the alleged persecution of Falun Gong. It is alleged that the seven police officers who came to arrest them, ransacked the restaurant and took away Falun Gong books and materials. It is alleged that the couple were, at the time this communication was sent, detained at the Botou Detention Centre, where they started a hunger strike to protest their illegal detention, and were force-fed as a consequence. It is alleged that when Jin Jiang did not cooperate, the police brutalized him, allegedly broke his legs and two of his ribs, rupturing his right eardrum and dislocating his jaw. Wei Limei was allegedly beaten and was covered with bruises. It is alleged that they may be denied medical treatment. Concern was expressed for the physical and mental integrity of the two persons if they did not receive prompt and adequate medical treatment.

183. On 8 July 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent a letter of allegation concerning:

• Sun Yanqing, a resident of Hebei Province working for the mechanical maintenance facility of the Xuanhua District Steel Works in Zhanjiakou City. She was reportedly arrested in 2000 in Beijing when she went there to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. According to the information received, her condition became critical after she was severely tortured. Reports indicate that she was sent back to her hometown where she was hospitalized and died a few days afterwards;

• Chen Aizhong, aged 33, a resident of Beixinbao Town, Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, in Hebei Province. According to the information received, since 20 July 1999, Mr. Chen, together with his family, had gone to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. On 12 September 2000 he was reportedly arrested and sent to the Sixth Brigade of Hehuakeng Labor Camp in Tangshan City. He reportedly died on 20 September 2000 after being subjected to severe torture while in detention. Zhu Yourong, a Falun Gong practitioner residing in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. It is believed that she was brutally tortured while being detained at the Women's Second Brigade in the First Forced Labor Camp of Hebei Province. She reportedly died at the labor camp on 16 December 2000;

• Fan Yaxiong, aged 42, a resident of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, and Chairwoman for Teaching and Guidance at High School No. 15, who was reportedly arrested in Beijing while demonstrating against the persecution of Falun Gong in May 2000. According to the information received, the Zhangjiakou "610" officials reportedly sent her to the Shalingzi Mental Hospital where she was allegedly forcibly injected with nerve-damaging drugs. In June 2000, she was reportedly sentenced to three years of forced-labor education and she was brutally tortured at the Tangshan Forced Labor Camp. She was released at the end of 2000 and died at home shortly afterwards;

• Zhang Zhigen, aged 53, a Falun Gong practitioner, resident of Zhangjiakou City and working in the Zhangjiakou Embroidery Factory, who was allegedly arrested when she went to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in April 2000. According to the information received, she was detained by the "610 Office" deputies at the Xuanhua District Detention Center of Zhanjiakou City for 17 days, where she allegedly suffered severe torture. One of her legs allegedly became infected and had to be amputated. According to the information received, on 6 October 2000, she went to Beijing where she was rearrested. She was reportedly transferred to the Shisanli Zhangjiakou City detention centre and tortured for nine days. She was subsequently released and she reportedly died on 25 February 2001 as a result of the torture to which she was subjected while in detention;

• Jiang Shuhua, aged 50, was a Falun Gong practitioner residing in Shihuiyao Village, Yangtian Township, Chicheng County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, who was reportedly arrested by the police on 8 February 2002. According to the information received, she died on 3 March 2002 while in police custody allegedly as a result of the torture she was subjected to while in detention;

• Shen Lizhi, a 33-year-old university graduate from Shenyang City and his wife Luo Fang, from Leshan City, Sichuan Province, were reportedly arrested on 1 February 2002 by police officers from Yingmenkou Police Station in Chengdu City. The police allegedly claimed that they were carrying materials revealing the persecution of Falun Gong, at the time of their arrest on Bus No. 75. They were reportedly detained at the Chengdu Detention Centre. Shen Lizhi was allegedly tortured after his arrest and he reportedly died on the afternoon of 3 March 2002 at Qingyang District People's Hospital. It was further alleged that the police only notified his parents one year later, on 3 March 2003. According to the information received, Luo Fang was eight months pregnant at the time of her arrest. Tian Xinming, from the 610 Office, allegedly forced her to have an abortion. She was reportedly released on 8 May 2002 but was arrested again on 5 December. She was allegedly tortured and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Since August 2003, she was held at the Chuanxi Prison in Hongan Town, Longquan, Chengdu City;

• Liu Haibo, aged 34, a doctor from the CT (computed tomography) room of the Luyuan District Hospital in Changchun City, Jilin Province. According to the information received, since 20 July 1999 he had gone to Beijing twice to appeal to the Government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. It was reported that for this reason, he was sentenced to one year of forced labor at the Weizigou Labor Camp in Changchun City. Refusing to give up Falun Gong, he was reportedly transferred to the Fenjin Labor Camp and then to the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp in Changchun City. He was allegedly tortured numerous times while in detention and his term was extended by nine months. After his release, on 11 March 2002, police from the Kuancheng District Police Station in Changchun City allegedly abducted him from his home and tortured him to death. He reportedly died at the 120 Emergency Center on 12 March 2002;

• Liu Yuqing, aged 40, a resident of Wanghua District, Fushun City, Liaoning Province. She reportedly went to Beijing to appeal to the Government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong on 23 October 1999 and on 21 December 2000, as a result of which she was allegedly arrested, detained and tortured. After she was released, on 15 February 2001, it was reported that three police officers from the Putun Police Station in the Wanghua District forcibly dragged her down from the third floor of her work unit and took her to the police station. She was then reportedly sent to the Fushun City Detention Center and half a month later she was transferred to the Wujiabao Labor Camp in Fushun City where she was allegedly tortured again. She was reportedly taken home by her family on 11 April 2001 where she reportedly died on 13 April 2002 due to permanent damage to her internal organs;

• Song Cuiling, aged 52, a resident of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. According to the information received, the police arrested her at Tiananmen Square on 5 May 2002 while she was there to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. She was reportedly sent to the Zhangjiakou Detention Center where it is believed that she was subjected to torture. She reportedly went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was allegedly tortured to death on 20 May 2002;

• Yin Ling, aged 34, a resident of No. 597 Farm in Baoqing County, Heilongjiang Province. According to the information received, on 28 December 2001, the Chief of the No. 597 Farm Police Station, Zhu Shaokun, and several other policemen abducted her and sentenced her to three years of forced labor in the Jiamusi City Labor Camp. She allegedly began a hunger strike on 28 October 2002 to protest the detention. She was then reportedly force-fed for a long time, tortured and handcuffed to her bed all day. It was reported that her family was instructed to take her home on 13 November 2002 and that she died soon after. Concerns were expressed that she died as a result of torture to which she was subjected while in detention;

• Xue Xia, aged 33, a resident of Jiejiatun Village, Xingtai City, Hebei Province. According to the information received, she went to Beijing on 1 January 2000 to appeal to the Government to stop the persecution against Falun Gong, as a result of which she was reportedly arrested and sentenced to three years of forced labour at Shijiazhuang Labor Camp. She was allegedly beaten in detention and force-fed with unknown drugs. She was reportedly released in May 2001 on medical bail as she was reportedly on the verge of death. It was further reported that, on 27 September 2002, she was brought with her mother to the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp in order to allegedly brainwash them. According to the information received, she was sent to Xingtai City for medical treatment on 4 January 2003 and she reportedly passed away on 21 February 2003 as a result of torture she was subjected to throughout those years in detention;

• Chen Hongping, aged 32, a resident of Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province who was arrested and beaten along with her sister, who was also a Falun Gong practitioner, in 2001 by the Donghuayuan police. She was reportedly sent to the Gaoyang Labor Camp and was subjected to further torture as well as round-the-clock brainwashing against her belief in Falun Gong. She reportedly died on 5 March 2003, soon after the authorities sent her back to her home;

• Yu Yongquan, aged 45, worked in the Daqung City No.2 Rice Mill in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province. He was reportedly arrested on 11 May 2002 by police from the Ranghulu District Police Station and Chuangxin Police Station and sent to the Ranghulu District Detention Center. He was charged with making Falun Gong materials and was reportedly sentenced to 10 years in jail on 22 September 2002 by the Ranghulu District Court and detained in the Hongweixing Jail in Daqing City. According to information received, on 8 March 2003, he was sent to the jail hospital for emergency treatment and died the same day. It is alleged that Yu Yongquan died as a result of the torture he suffered while he was in detention;

• Chen Xiangrui, aged 29, a resident of Hengyang City, Hunan Province, reportedly went to Beijing three times to appeal to the Government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong, on 27 October 1999, 2 March 2000 and in late April 2000. As a result, he was reportedly detained several times. In January 2001, police allegedly abducted him from his home and detained him in a detention center for half a year. It was further reported that, on 11 March 2003, the head of the National Security Team of the Hengyang City Police Station, Lei Zhenzhong, led a group of policemen to break into his home. They allegedly beat and kicked him while they dragged him out of his house and forced him into a police van. He was allegedly further tortured in the police station. He was reportedly sent to a hospital the next morning where he allegedly died soon afterwards. The autopsy reportedly revealed that his internal organs had suffered trauma resulting from the severe beatings;

• Gao Shuhua, aged 49, a resident of Guanzhonghe Street in Weicheng District, Weifang City, Shandong Province, who was reportedly arrested on 14 March 2003 while distributing materials about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was detained in the Weicheng Detention Center for 13 days, during which she reportedly went on a hunger strike to protest her imprisonment. According to the information received, she died on 26 March 2003 as a result of torture and force-feeding by guards;

• Li Jianhou, a 67-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Nanchong City, Sichuan Province was reportedly tortured to death on 27 March 2003 in the Deyang Prison in Sichuan Province. According to the information received, he had been arrested and imprisoned four times by the local 610 Office (agency allegedly specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems);

• Li Ying, resident of Youyan Street, Wanghua District, Fushun City, Liaoning Province was reportedly arrested on 31 March 2003 by police from the Public Security Bureau of Wanghua District and the local police station who took her to the No.1 Division of the Fushun City Public Security Bureau. She reportedly died on 2 April 2003. It is reported that her death was caused by the torture she has been subjected to while in detention;

• Zhao Chunying, aged 56, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province. She was reportedly arrested and detained at the Hengshan District Branch Office of the Jixi City Police Department in 1999 and then sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp. After her release, she wrote about her alleged ordeal in the labor camp and posted it on the Internet. According to the information received, when the local police from the Hengshan District Branch Office discovered this, they arrested her again on 15 April 2003 and sent her to the Jixi City No. 2 Detention Centre. On 10 May 2003, her family was reportedly notified of her death. Following a request by her family, two autopsies were reportedly carried out and several signs of torture were allegedly found. It is alleged that Zhao Chunying died as a result of the treatment she was subjected to while in detention. Reports indicate that her family tried by different means to bring the perpetrators to justice in the previous few months before this communication was sent but without any results;

• Yang Yufang, aged 47, a resident of Dongyaozi Village, Qiaoxi District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, and who practiced Falun Gong, was arrested on 17 May 2003. She reportedly died on 16 June 2003 as a result of torture she was subjected to while in detention at the Shisanli Detention Centre in Zhangjiakou City. Sui Guangxi and his wife were both Falun Gong practitioners from Xiangyangling Village, Niuxibu Township, Laixi City, Shandong Province. On 17 September 2002, the couple was reportedly forcibly dragged into a police van and brought to the Sanjiaocun Elementary School, where they were held for four days before they were transferred to the Xinzhuang 610 Office in Laixi City, where they were allegedly forced to listen to broadcasts slandering Falun Gong every day. As Sui Guangxi reportedly refused to listen to the broadcasts, the police allegedly subjected him to various forms of torture. He reportedly escaped 20 days afterwards and died on 4 July 2003 in the Pingdu First People's hospital as a result of the torture he reportedly endured;

• Cao Ping, aged 40, a resident of Caojiaba, Jiulong Town, Linshui County, Sichuan Province. According to the information received, he was detained in June 2000 for 15 days because he went to Beijing to appeal to the Government to stop the persecution against Falun Gong. He was reportedly arrested again in May 2001 while distributing Falun Gong flyers and was detained at the Linshui County Detention Centre, where he was allegedly beaten by officers from the Linshui County Police Station and from the Chengbei Police Station. He was then reportedly sentenced to four years in prison at the Deyang Jail in Sichuan Province. It was alleged that while in custody, his internal organs were severely injured because of torture and beating. He was reportedly sent to a hospital and diagnosed as "untreatable". The authorities ordered his family to take him home on 27 May 2003 and he subsequently passed away on 17 July 2003;

• Bai Xiaojun, aged 35, a professor at the Northeast Normal University in Jilin Province, who was reportedly sent to a labour camp in Chaoyanggou because he had gone to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. He was reportedly beaten to death while in custody and passed away on 18 July 2003. Tan Chengqiang, a resident of Hongcheng Village, Handian Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province, was reportedly arrested and detained several times for being a Falun Gong practitioner. According to the information received, Mr. Tan was arrested one more time on 18 May 2003 by the 610 Office in Shuangcheng City. He was reportedly held in the Second Detention Center in Shuangcheng City where he allegedly went on hunger strike to protest his detention. He was reportedly force-fed and was subsequently transferred to hospital. The 610 Office ordered his family to take him home where he died a few days later, on the evening of 19 July 2003 as a result of the ill-treatment he had been subjected to while in detention;

• Tian Junlong, aged 45, from Majiatun, Wuyi Township, Yitong County, Jilin Province. In the fall of 2002, he was reportedly sent to the Weizigou Labor Camp for having distributed information materials on the persecution of Falun Gong. He was reportedly transferred three months later to the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp in Changchun City. It was alleged that Mr. Tian was severely tortured in both camps. He was reportedly sent home on 1 September 2003 since his condition had deteriorated and he reportedly passed away on 21 September 2003 as a result of torture he suffered while in detention;

• Lu Bingshen, aged 39, a firefighter in the 6th Fire Brigade in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, and residing in the Caikulou area of Ranghulu District. He was reportedly arrested by the police in October 2000 while he was distributing Falun Gong anti-persecution materials. According to the information received, he was later sentenced to two years and sent to the Daqing City Labor Camp. It was alleged that, on the afternoon of 20 October 2003, he was locked in a solitary compartment and tortured until he became unconscious. He was then reportedly sent to the Daqing City People's Hospital for emergency care, where he died on 21 October 2003. Concerns have been expressed that Mr. Lu died as a result of the torture he was subjected to in detention;

• Yan Hai, aged 37, a farmer from Tumu Village, Tumu Township, Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. On 30 October 2002, policeman Wang Guohong from the Langshan Police Station reportedly led a dozen policemen to Yan Hei's home and arrested him because he practiced Falun Gong. From the time of his arrest, he allegedly endured various psychological and physical tortures at the Huailai County Detention Centre. The police also allegedly subjected him to continuous brainwashing in an attempt to force him to give up his practice of Falun Gong. According to the information received, Yan Hai was jailed and tortured for one year and 24 days. On 14 November 2003, he was reportedly transferred to the Shisanli Detention Center in an extremely weak condition. On 22 November 2003, he was reportedly sent to the 251 Hospital where he died on 24 November 2003. Concerns were expressed that he died as a result of the extended torture to which he was subjected. It was further alleged that, on 27 November, when his family members went to the hospital to look at his body, more than 10 armed policemen were guarding the site and did not leave his family alone with his body;

• Zhang Changming, aged 50, a resident of Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, who reportedly appealed for the right to practice Falun Gong. He was allegedly arrested in that connection and arbitrarily sent to the Jiamusi Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province where he was reportedly beaten to death. He was then reportedly transferred to a hospital for emergency treatment but doctors refused to treat him as they saw that he was on the verge of death. It was further alleged that, in order to avoid responsibility, the camp authorities sent Mr. Zhang back to his home, where he reportedly died as soon as he arrived.

185. On 15 July 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning:

• Geng Juying, resident of Luozhuang Hamlet, Chengbo Village, Mengzhou City, Henan Province, who in 2000 was arrested at her home and taken to a detention centre, together with her eight-month-old child, by the 610 Office in Mengzhou City and officers from the Mengzhou City Police Station (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteurs). She is said to have been arrested because she is a Falun Gong practitioner. Geng Juying did not have enough milk to nurse her child due to the poor nutrition at the detention centre. On 25 May 2002, after Ms. Geng's release, police officers (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteurs) jumped over the wall into the courtyard of her house and took her away to the police station, without a warrant. Ms. Geng was again pregnant at the time. It is alleged that the police officers forced her to have an abortion so that she could be sent to a labour camp. They are said to have forcibly given her an injection to induce the abortion, watched the procedure and mocked her when she was in pain. Then she was sent to a detention centre in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. Later, she was transferred to the Shibalihe Labor Camp because she refused to give up Falun Gong. She is still there. Furthermore, it was reported that Geng Juying's father, Geng Xuecai, her mother, Shen Guangbai, her elder sister, Geng Xiaocui, and her brother, Geng Huaming, have also been detained many times because they practice Falun Gong;

• In April 2001 Chen Yaru, aged 46, resident of Xiaohaidi in Tianjin City's Hexi District, was taken from her home and sentenced to two years of forced labour at the Tianjin City, Jianxin, Women's Forced Labor Camp, No. 3 Squadron of the No. 6 Brigade, where she was tortured. On 13 May 2002, Chen Yaru practiced Falun Gong exercises in the labour camp and, as punishment, the camp police confined her to a small, dark room where they beat her and trampled on her arms. Then they handcuffed each of her arms to a bed, stretching her out spread-eagled. She remained handcuffed this way for 23 days. On 6 April 2003, Chen Yaru and another Falun Gong practitioner tore down the anti-Falun Gong slogans posted inside the Squadron. As a result, the guards dragged them into a room where they stripped them down to their underclothes and tied up their hands. Then the guards dragged them into the hallway and ordered them to kneel down. When they refused, six policemen (including officers whose names are known to the Special Rapporteurs) used six electric batons simultaneously on Ms. Chen. One policeman used the electric baton on her genitalia for 20 minutes. Then they did the same to the other female prisoner. They then shocked Ms. Chen again with electric batons all over her body, to the point that her teeth became loose. For more than one month after this torture, her right arm was paralyzed;

• Yan Shujun, in her fifties, was arrested by the Tianjin City, Heping District, Public Security Bureau in November 2000 because she refused to give up Falun Gong. She was taken to a police station where policemen violently slapped her face. She was sentenced to two and a half years of forced labour and detained at the No. 4 Brigade of the Banqiao Women's Forced Labor Camp in Tianjin City. On 1 June 2001 Yan Shujun was transferred to the Tianjin City, Jianxin, Women's Forced Labor Camp, No. 3 Squadron of the No. 6 Brigade. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, the female camp guards deprived her of sleep, allowing her as little as two hours of sleep per day. In protest, Ms. Yan went on a hunger strike for 12 days. Subsequently, the camp extended her term of detention. On 1 April 2003 the No. 3 Squadron attempted to brainwash Ms. Yan. The camp policewomen dragged her into a tiny, dark room and hit her all over her body with electric batons. They exposed Ms. Yan's body in front of the camp's male discipline instructors to demonstrate their electric baton torture. Then they confined Ms. Yan to a wooden cage measuring roughly 50 centimeters by 30 cm by 1.5 meters, where the 1.7 meter tall Yan Shujun was forced into a crouched position. Ms. Yan was tortured in this way for eight days. Afterwards she had significant muscular and skeletal problems;

• In April 2001, Guo Baohua, in her thirties, a resident of Tonggu District, Tianjin City, was arrested by the police who tied her up and subjected her to physical punishment because she refused to read anti-Falun Gong articles. They then confined her to a wooden cage for more than a month. Ms. Guo went on a hunger strike for 37 days to protest this persecution. During her hunger strike she was handcuffed and tied up, and afterwards she was put in solitary confinement for more than a month. Still refusing to abandon Falun Gong, police handcuffed her to a radiator, then handcuffed her spread-eagled between two radiators. Still later, the police handcuffed her and suspended her by her wrists, and subjected her to further torture. On 1 April 2003, the police shocked Ms. Guo with several electric batons simultaneously. Then they put her in a wooden cage for several days;

• On 15 April 2002, Su Yanhua, a resident of Lianjiangkou, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested at her brother's house by local police because she was a Falun Gong practitioner. She was sent to Lianjiangkou Detention Centre and two weeks later transferred to the Jiamusi Labor Camp. Upon her arrival at Jiamusi, she was tortured and forced to undergo brainwashing. In July 2002, the labour camp guards forced her to sit on a small stool and watch anti-Falun Gong videos. When she refused to watch, a guard (whose name is known to the Special Rapporteur) dragged her downstairs and handcuffed her to a bed. She began a hunger strike to protest the torture, so the guards force-fed her milk saturated with salt, which was extremely painful. They tortured her like this for seven days. In November 2002, guards forced Ms. Su to sit on a stool with sharp triangular ridges across its surface for more than 10 hours a day. They made her put both hands on her thighs and didn't allow her to move. Eventually, the skin of her buttocks tore and began to bleed. Meanwhile, she was monitored by several guards brandishing electric batons. Each time she moved, they shocked and beat her simultaneously. When she refused to read an anti-Falun Gong article, they beat her again. Her body was black and blue with bruises, and she was unable to walk for a long time afterwards. At the end of November 2002, because Ms. Su still refused to watch the videos, a guard (whose name is known to the Special Rapporteur) cuffed her to a bed in an awkward, asymmetrical position, her hands tied to two different steel bars. She was cuffed in the same position for two weeks. When she was finally released, she was unable to move any of her limbs. The conditions in Jiamusi Labor Camp are very unsanitary, and for a long time Ms. Su was not allowed to bathe. By February 2003, she had developed scabies, which prevented her from sleeping. At one point the guards sprayed her with a chemical that caused her severe chest pains and rendered her unable to move her head or hands. One morning in May 2003, Ms. Su began to practice the Falun Gong exercises. As soon as she was seen, two guards (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteur), rounded up some other inmates and they all beat her together. Then they dragged her to the second floor, where they forced her to sit on a cold cement floor with her hands cuffed behind her back for 10 days. The nights were bitter cold, and she was deprived of sleep. On the tenth day, guards (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteur) cuffed her hands in the forced backbend position (one arm is reaching down the back behind the head and the other hand meeting it from the lower back). She suffered this torture for 13 days. After her hands were released, she was unable to move her arms and could barely walk. In June 2003, a guard (whose name is known to the Special Rapporteur) slapped her face so hard that she temporarily lost her hearing. Ms. Su was not released after her term expired. She was, at the time this communication was sent, still being detained in the labour camp, and her health was in a critical condition.

190. On 4 October 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning Tang Yiwen, a Falun Gong practitioner. According to the information received, in May 2000, she was arrested in Beijing for appealing for Falun Gong. She was detained for two years in Chatou Women's Forced Labor Camp, Guangdong Province, and later transferred to Sanshui Labor Camp. During her detention, she was reportedly subjected to torture, in particular she was hung up, beaten and forced-fed with hot chili. She was released in August 2003 and re-arrested in February 2004. Since then, she reportedly tried several times to leave the country but was never issued a passport. In June 2004, her passport application was rejected for the third time by Guangzhou Police Department and on her file it was allegedly noted that "This person's activity is limited". On 25 June 2004, Tang Yiwen reportedly lodged a law suit in Guangzhou City Baiyun District Procuratorate (BDP) against those who illegally sentenced, detained and tortured her. It was furthermore reported that, since August 2004, she has been constantly followed by agents from the 6-10 Office. Fears were expressed regarding her physical and mental integrity, which may have been at risk.

192. On 15 October 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, sent a letter of allegation concerning reports of systemic repression against the Falun Gong . Over the past five years, hundreds of cases of alleged violations of the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners have been brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteurs. Many of these allegations have been reported back to the Chinese authorities and were reflected in reports of the Special Rapporteurs to the Commission on Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that reports of arrest, detention, ill-treatment, torture, denial of adequate medical treatment, sexual violence, deaths, and unfair trial of members of so-called "heretical organizations", in particular Falun Gong practitioners, are increasing. He is concerned that these allegations may reflect a deliberate and institutionalized policy of the authorities to target specific groups such as the Falun Gong. According to information received, on 10 June 1999 the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party established what is known as the 610 Office, an institution which is linked to State Security Defense. The office reportedly was given a mandate to repress Falun Gong and other "heretical organizations", and is operating outside of the rule of law. Reports indicate that the Falun Gong was officially banned on 22 July 1999 through a decision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and, since then, several decisions, notices, regulations and other judicial interpretations have been issued by the Government and judicial authorities to legitimize the official repression against "heretical organizations", including the Falun Gong. In addition, according to reports, a media campaign was launched against the Falun Gong and its practitioners in June 1999. It is believed that this campaign followed a protest gathering in Beijing on 25 April 1999, involving more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners (1). Further reports indicate that, in February 2001, the Central Committee of the Communist Party called for a Central Work Conference of high-level party officials. The purpose of this meeting was reportedly to adopt a plan calling for the formation of local "anti-cult task forces" in all universities, State enterprises and social organizations, to reinforce the 610 Office and strengthen local control over the Falun Gong. An analysis of reports received by the Special Rapporteurs indicates that the alleged human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners, including systematic arrest and detention, are part of a pattern of repression against members of this group. Most of those arrested are reportedly heavily fined and released, but many are detained and ill-treated in order to force them to formally renounce Falun Gong. Those who refuse are sent to "re-education through labour" camps, where torture is reportedly used routinely and in many cases have resulted in death. The Special Rapporteur is further concerned by reports that few Falun Gong practitioners are prosecuted. When charges are laid they reportedly include allegations such as "disturbing social order", "assembling to disrupt public order", "stealing or leaking State secrets" or "using a heretical organization to undermine the implementation of the law". According to the information received, those prosecuted have been unfairly tried and many have received lengthy prison sentences. In this respect, it is reported that on 5 November 1999, a Notice issued by the Supreme People's Court instructed all local courts to do their "'political duty' in bringing to trial and punishing 'severely'" those charged with "heretical organizations crimes", "particularly Falun Gong", and to handle these cases "under the leadership of the Party committees".

193. On 19 October 2004, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Falun Dafa practitioner Zhao Yougang, 32 years old. In June 2003, he was arrested by the Nanjing police while he was composing materials regarding Falun Gong. In jail he was reportedly subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. On 29 December 2003, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. According to the information received, he was then detained in Wuxi Prison where he was subjected to further torture. He started a hunger strike in June to protest the persecution and the ill-treatment to which he was subjected. He weighed 35 kg at the time this communication was sent. It was reported that he was being force-fed seven to eight times every night by the prison guards.

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/article_images/Expression_chn.pdf

(1) Editor's note: This event took place on April 25, 1999, when approximately 10,000 practitioners spontaneously went to Beijing to peacefully appeal at the Chinese State Council Appeal Office regarding the government's unconstitutional restrictions placed on Falun Gong, and to ask for the release of practitioners in Tianjin who had been illegally arrested.