(Minghui.org) It has been 7 years since Mr. Kou Junjiang was released from a three year sentence for his belief in Falun Gong. He never recovered from the injuries he received from torture in the labor camp. His legs are still disabled due to a neuronal injury that occurred when the guards violently kicked and beat him.
Miraculous Escape, Arrested Soon After
Mr. Kou miraculously survived an accident in August, 2004, three years after he started practicing Falun Gong. He was helping his friends build a road, when a truck loaded with rocks lost control and tipped over. Mr. Kou was hit and buried under the rubble. His friends hastily removed the rocks, to find him only a little bruised.
On September 7, 2004, Mr. Kou told people about his experience at a local Fa study group. Around 30 police surrounded the place and arrested them. Mr. Kou was sentenced to three years of forced labor.
Severely Tortured on First Night in the Labor Camp
Mr. Kou was taken to a labor camp on November 12, 2004. Guard Zeng Lingjun ordered four inmates to give him and Jiang Chengjiu a “shower.” The inmates stripped them, and then continuously poured ice cold water over them. Jiang, who was in his 50's, lost consciousness after he had been doused with more than ten buckets of cold water.
The two practitioners were then put in prison uniforms. Zeng Lingjun hit Mr. Kou so hard on the back of his neck that his feet left the ground. He landed hard on a metal gate and fell to the floor. Zeng lifted Mr. Kou up by the neck for several minutes, choking him. When Zeng finally released him, Mr. Kou dropped to the ground again. Zeng told the other guards: “Take him to the interrogation room. I am going to grill him.”
Zeng Lingjun went into the interrogation room with four other guards an hour later. He ordered Mr. Kou to write guarantee statements denouncing Falun Gong, but he refused. Then Zeng threatened to take him to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, but Mr. Kou still refused to denounce Falun Gong.
Mr. Kou was violently beaten by Zeng for a long time. The guards tried to trick Mr. Kou into denouncing Falun Gong by showing him statements allegedly from other practitioners, but Mr. Kou believed that the statements were fake and didn’t cooperate. The guards continued to torture him until 5 a.m. the next day.
Destroying Slanderous Propaganda
The guards forced Mr. Kou to read books slandering Falun Gong for about six days, but Mr. Kou still refused to give up his belief.
In March 2005, Mr. Kou was assigned to tidy up the classroom. He secretly destroyed some of the books there that were used to slander Falun Gong. When the guards threatened to torture all the practitioners for this incident, Mr. Kou admitted that he did it. Guard Lian Xin then took him into the interrogation room and brutally beat him.
Hung Up for Refusing to Sing Pro-CCP Songs
Falun Gong practitioners held in the labor camp were forced to sing songs praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in September, 2006. Mr. Kou refused to sing or write the so called “weekly thought reports,” as required in the labor camp rules. Guard Wang Wei slapped him continuously for about 30 minutes, repeatedly asking him: “Are you going to sing the songs? Will you follow the rules?” Guards Gao Zhonghai, Long Kuibin and Diao Xuesong sat watching the whole process.
Mr. Kou was then hung up, with his hands cuffed behind his back, to the heating pipe running along the top of the wall for about three hours. His whole body was suspended in the air. His mouth and chest were covered in blood from the torture.
Torture Re-enactment: “Hung up with hands cuffed behind the back”
Mr. Kou vomited violently when he was taken back to his cell. He lost six teeth and the rest of them became loose. He was unable to eat and went on a hunger strike for three days to protest the torture. For the rest of his days in the labor camp, Mr. Kou had to soak food in water to make it soft enough to swallow without chewing. After his release, Mr. Kou had to have all his remaining teeth removed and get dentures.
Disabled after Long Term Torture
Mr. Kou started to have problems with his legs in 2005, soon after the first night of torture in the labor camp. It became so severe in 2006 that he could no longer walk. The guards then had a doctor check him over.
It has been seven years since Mr. Kou returned home, but his legs still haven't recovered, and he has difficulty walking.
Summary of Key Persecution Facts:Name: Kou Junjiang (寇俊江)Gender: MaleAge: 60 Address: Boli County, Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang ProvinceOccupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 7, 2004
Most Recent Place of Detention: Suihua Forced Labor Camp (绥化劳教所)City: Suihua
Province: HeilongjiangPersecution Suffered: Detention, forced labor, doused with cold water, brutal beatings, brainwashing, hung up by handcuffs.
