(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhang Fuhai, a resident of Qiqihar City of Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on March 20, 2017, and given a two-year-and-ten-month prison term on November 26, 2017, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist regime since July 1999.
After he was admitted to Fengtun Prison on November 29, 2018, he was shocked with electric batons, sprayed with chilly water, and slapped in the face when he refused to do slave labor without pay. Recently he was beaten unconscious by a prison guard for refusing to write statements to denounce his belief in Falun Gong.
On May 9, 2019, Mr. Zhang's cousin received a phone call from a stranger. “Your cousin was tortured by a prison guard on April 30. He was beaten unconscious and sent to a hospital. I don't how he is now. You ought to go and see him as soon as possible,” the stranger told her over the phone. He gave her his name and other details, and told her, “I can be a witness for your family.”
Mr. Zhang's father rushed to the prison the next day (a Friday) and demanded to see him. But officials used different excuses to refuse his request. The elderly man went back to the prison the following Monday. This time he brought the voice recording of the witness, who called Mr. Zhang's cousin, detailing how Mr. Zhang was tortured, and how the prison officials abused inmates and illegally dock inmates' money.
Mr. Zhang's father demanded, “I must see my son today if he is alive, or his body if he is dead.” The deputy director, Li Ming, then instructed Mr. Zhang to be taken to a prison restroom where there was a surveillance camera.
Mr. Zhang's father saw on the monitor screen that Mr. Zhang had difficulty walking and that he leaned against a wall and couldn't stand straight. Upon seeing that, the elder Mr. Zhang became very upset and emotional, and he again demanded to see his son or he'd report the prison guards and the prison officials to higher-ups. Only then was Mr. Zhang brought out to have a face-to-face meeting with his father.
Mr. Zhang could not lift his arms and had bumps on his head. He told his father that he was sent to solitary confinement for a week after he was released from the hospital.
Mr. Zhang's father questioned Li Ming why Mr. Zhang was placed in solitary confinement, and Li denied having knowledge of that. Li also refused the elder Mr. Zhang's request to have his son released immediately. Li promised to arrange medical treatment for Mr. Zhang's injuries and to allow his father to come to see him whenever he wanted.
While Mr. Zhang's father was finally able to see him, quite a few other Falun Gong practitioners were also beaten in the same prison and denied visits with their families. These practitioners include Li Shunjiang, Zhang Liqun, Zhao Yi, Gao Fuping, Tian Yong, Wang Yudong, Zheng Xilin, Tong Mingyu, and Xu Wenlong.
Related Article:Mr. Zhang Fuhai Tortured with Electric Batons in Fengtun Prison
