(Minghui.org) Since the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, the Shijiazhuang City No.2 Detention Center in Hebei Province has been on the front line in the persecution. Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained here, and the guards have applied dozens of torture methods to the practitioners in order to force them to renounce their faith.
After the coronavirus broke out in China in late 2019, the detention center has remained closed to visitors. No practitioners’ families have been allowed to visit or deliver clothes to them. Their lawyers were denied meetings, as well.
Below are several cases of practitioners who are still held in the detention center.
Ms. Li Dongmei and Ms. Geng Shulan
Ms. Li Dongmei and Ms. Geng Shulan were arrested on July 18, 2019, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. They appeared in the Qiaoxi District Court on December 11, 2019, and were recently sentenced to ten months in prison.
Both women have been held at Shijiazhuang City No.2 Detention Center since July 20, 2019. They have been subjected to severe torture for refusing to answer roll call or recite prison rules in protest of the persecution.
Ms. Li was once beaten by an inmate every day for a week. After she protested the abuse, they put her in handcuffs, locked her in solitary confinement, and deprived her of outdoor activity. She was also not allowed to take a shower or go to the store inside the detention center.
Ms. Li's blood pressure has been over 200 mmHg since the end of August. She had chest pain and one side of her body felt numb and stiff. But the detention center refused to take her for a full examination.
For Ms. Geng, the guards put handcuffs and shackles on her and chained them together. She was unable to stand straight and forced to crawl on the floor. She couldn’t take showers or change clothes. She also needed help using the restroom. The heavy shackles severely injured her ankles and wrists.
In order to force her to give up her belief, the guards ordered inmates to beat Ms. Geng. She was kicked and beaten so badly that her ribs were in pain for days. She was force-fed after holding a hunger strike.
Related reports:
Two Hebei Women Tortured in Detention
Two Hebei Women Due in Court for Their Faith in Falun Gong
Ms. Zhang Yun and Ms. Ma Surui
Ms. Zhang Yun, Ms. Ma Surui, and Ms. Chen Xianhua were arrested on August 15, 2019, while studying Falun Gong’s teachings together. Ms. Zhang and Ms. Ma have been held at the detention center since. Ms. Chen was released on bail due to her poor physical condition.
The police submitted the three practitioners’ cases to Luquan Procuratorate on November 21, 2019. The prosecutor indicted them around mid-January 2020 and have submitted their cases to the Qiaoxi District Court.
Related reports:
Three Hebei Women Facing Indictment for Reading Falun Gong Books Together
Once Incarcerated for Nine Years, Former Senior Police Officer Arrested for Her Faith Again
Ms. Yang Huanping
Ms. Yang Huanping was arrested on October 25, 2019, two years after she went into hiding in 2017, before the Qiaoxi District Court had yet to announce the result of a retrial of a seven-year prison sentence handed down to her earlier.
The Qiaoxi District Court quickly sentenced her to six years after her latest arrest. It’s not clear whether a hearing ever took place.
Ms. Yang remains detained at the detention center at the time of writing.
Related reports:
Hebei Woman Given Six Years After Initial Seven-Year Prison Term Overturned by Appeals Court
