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Vicious methods continue to be used at Suihua Forced Labor Camp.
The arrest on March 31, 2009 of Mr. Yang Guoshu and his family is only the most recent in a series of persecutions.
Tortures in Suihua Forced Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province
Falun Gong practitioners illegally detained in Suihua Forced Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province are being brutally persecuted. The 1st Group is the team specifically used to persecute the practitioners. Currently, more than 70 practitioners are being detained at Suihua Forced Labor Camp.
This labor camp uses three kinds of "management styles" to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, including an "enclosed" style, a "semi-enclosed" style, and an "open" style. The guards try to force the practitioners to write the three statements to give up Falun Gong. They have also frequently incited criminal inmates to beat and insult practitioners. The ways the forced labor camp abuses practitioners are extreme. Methods of persecution are described below.
1. All practitioners imprisoned in the forced labor camp are first subjected
to at least three months of brutal persecution. Regular inmates are manipulated
into brutally torturing, beating, and insulting the practitioners. Practitioners
are not allowed to sleep, are forced to do military training exercises and
suffer physical punishment. Usually, one guard and two inmates watch and torture
one practitioner at a time. They order the practitioners to recite the forced
labor camp rules and write the three statements.
Practitioner Peng Shuquan refused to write the three statements. The leader of
the 2nd Squadron Diao Xuesong, political instructors Gao Zhonghai and Long
Kuibin, and the deputy chief of the Fist Brigade Liu Wei ordered the inmates to
burn Mr. Peng's fingers with cigars, injuring all of his fingers so severely
that he was unable to take care of himself for several months. Practitioners Tie
Shijie and Li Yunbiao were hung up and brutally beaten on the chest and abdomen
by guards Jin Qingfu and Diao Xuesong, only because they refused to recite the
forced labor camp rules and sing the CCP songs.
2. Many practitioners have been injured due to the persecution. Practitioner Qi
Wenbin was very healthy before.. After he was in the forced labor camp for seven
months and brutally tortured, he developed serious illness symptoms, his four
limbs became paralyzed and he could not eat. The guards also incited four
inmates to lift him up by his arms and legs, keeping his head facing down, and
then moving him to the cafeteria 200 meters away three times every day during
mealtimes. Mr. Qi was also subjected to a "stretching torture" every day for
over a month. Guards also incited the inmates to verbally abuse him. Qi Wenbin's
health was endangered, and the guards had to release him on bail for medical
treatment.
Practitioner Chai Shushen suffered from leukemia after persecution. He was released on bail for medical treatment in critical condition.
Practitioner Sun Dechang's family brought food to him when they visited. The guards used the excuse of a security check to take most of the food for themselves. Mr. Sun mentioned this to squadron team leader Lian Xing, brigade chief Zheng Youliang, deputy chief Liu Wei, political instructor Gao Zhonghai and Long Kuibin many times. They refused to do anything about it. Once, during lunch time, Mr. Sun mentioned this to Liu Wei again. Liu Wei then took him to the office to beat him. Liu Wei also extended Mr. Sun's forced labor term.
Guard Li Xichun confiscated funds from practitioners Cao Jingdong and Chu Wenquan. The group and the squadron leaders all knew about it, but they refused to intervene.
During the Beijing Olympic Games, the forced labor camp forced the practitioners to sing CCP songs. Practitioners that refused to were hit, hung up, beaten with electric batons, not allowed to go to the restroom, not allowed to buy daily necessities, not allowed to rest, and their terms were extended.
Practitioner Yan Shubin became very thin and frequently had blood in his stool due to the abuse. He had to perform hard labor without proper nutrition or medical treatment. He wasn't allowed to sleep until around midnight. Criminal inmate Zheng Xiaodong used the excuse that Yan Shubin was snoring to disturb him from 11 p.m until 4 a..m the next morning. The next day, guards Lian Xing, Li Chengchun, and Shi Jian hit Mr. Yan on the head more than 20 times in public. During the beating, Yan Shubin's head hit the bed frame very hard and he fell off the bed many times. A few days later, Li Chengchun found another excuse to beat Mr. Yan.
Because practitioner Wang Chunyu wrote the solemn declaration to announce that the "three statements" he had written before were invalid, he was beaten by guard Lian Xing in the workshop in front of everyone present.
Practitioner Sheng Yanqin was persecuted until he became very thin and shook all the time while walking. However, the guards still forced him to do extensive hard labor. Whenever Mr. Sheng was so exhausted that he could not work anymore, the guards would beat him in public.
3. The forced labor camp has forced practitioners to work very long hours, from 5:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Sometimes the practitioners were forced to work until midnight. Even if there was no work for the day, the practitioners were still forced to sit on the short plastic stools for 14 to 15 hours all day except to eat or go to the restroom, which caused many practitioners' legs and feet to become numb and weak.
4. The food in the camp was another means of to persecution. The practitioners were only given water mixed with very little soy sauce as soup. No dishes or oil were provided. The rice soup had very little rice in and it was just less than half of a small bowl. The brined vegetable was either smelly or extremely salty. The maximum time allowed for eating is seven to eight minutes and sometimes four to five minutes. The guards often make the practitioners leave before they finish eating.
In the winter, the forced labor camp only provided cold water noodles in the morning, which was very cold. Many people could not even eat it at all. Most of the practitioners were seriously malnourished and extremely weak.
5. The forced labor camp generally only provided cold water for showers in the winter. During the entire winter, they only provided hot water for showers one to two times at most.
The mistreatment of the practitioners listed above is only a small sampling.
The Persecution of Mr. Yang Guoshu and His Family in Shulan City
At noon on March 31, 2009, Mr. Yang Guoshu and his family in Shulan City, Jilin Province were arrested by more than ten police officers. The family are all Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Yang's wife Ms. Lin Songbo, his eldest son Yang Junfeng, and second son Yang Junqi. On that day, four of his relatives who were visiting were also arrested. One of them was released after being extorted out of 500 yuan. Officers from Shulan City Huan Cheng Police Department and Beicheng Police Station ransacked Mr. Yang's home, and took away six computers and more than six thousand "yuan" in cash.
Mr. Yang's immediate family and three other relatives were detained in Nanshan Detention Center. No visitors were allowed to seem them. Mr. Yang's sister-in-law went to Huancheng Police Station and asked for Mr. Yang's home keys, but the guards declined her request. Within a few days, Huancheng Police Station personnel ransacked Mr. Yang's home again, and they took away some more cash. Mr. Yang's family and three relatives have been detained for eleven days, and no one has heard from them.
Mr. Yang's family are Falun Gong practitioners, and they have all gained physical health and general well-being from doing so. However, since Jiang Zemin and his group started to persecute Falun Gong, Mr. Yang's family has suffered terrible persecution.
At 5:00 p.m. on December 15, 2000, Mr. Yang and his wife were arrested by officers from the Beicheng Police Station. Mr. Yang was tortured by being hung up by the handcuffs during a 24-hour interrogation session. He developed a slipped disc and dislocated joint, the handcuffs cut into his skin and his arms were covered with blood. Guard Li Zhuo ordered an employee surnamed Jiang to slap Mr. Yang with a shoe more than ten times. Police chief Yang Shuhua, Deputy Du Yuzhuo, political instructor Wang Xingchang, guard Li Zhuo, Zhu Yao and a part-time employee surnamed Jiang tortured Mr. Yang. They used a cloth to cover his head, and the six of them beat Mr. Yang, kicking him in the head, chest, and lower body. They forced him to drink hot wasabi sauce. They pushed Mr. Yang down, sat on him, and even put the office desk on his body. Guard Li Zhuo slapped his face, and since Li Zhuo hurt his hands during the beating, he switched to using his shoe. They blew cigarette smoke in Mr. Yang's nose, and they suffocated him with a plastic bag over his head. Then Mr. Yang was sent to a forced labor camp.
After he was released back home, he was not able to walk for a long time. Even after six months, he still couldn't keep his balance. His wife Ms. Lin Songbo was also abused by Beicheng Police Station personnel. A guard shackled her feet and an employee surnamed Jiang kicked her on the right side of her face. He dragged her by the hair and hit her head against the wall, and some of her hair fell out after the abuse. Ms. Lin was beaten on the face and arms with a stick that had many rough rubber strips on it. Jiang kicked her and threatened to break her ribs. Guard Li Zhou used bottles of water to hit Ms. Lin's back and poked her in the face with keys.
At around 9:00 a.m. on January 26, 2000, the Jilin Province Shulan City Police Department Domestic Security Office and the Beicheng Police Station dispatched many police officers to Mr. Yang's home. They ordered 110 Office employees (an emergency dispatch unit) to unlock Mr. Yang's security gate and arrested his elder son Mr. Yang Junfeng.
On July 8, 2001, Ms. Lin Songbo was arrested by police because she attended a Falun Gong conference, and she was then sent to the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City. The camp refused her because of her physical condition, so the police forcibly transfered her to the Shulan City Mental Hospital's brainwashing center for 90 days. In the beginning of October, 2005, Mr. Yang's elder son Mr. Yang Junfeng was also taken to a brainwashing center for further persecution.
In August 2006, the Shulan City 610 Office established a brainwashing center in Jishu County. The Beicheng Police Station, the Beicheng Community and Ms. Lin's employer harassed Mr. Yang's family. Due to the constant harassment, Mr. Yang's family was not able to live a normal peaceful life. The couple moved to their second son Mr. Yang Junqi's home in Changchun City. Mr. Yang Junfeng didn't move because of his work, so he stayed in Shulan City.
In September and October of 2006, the education department of Shulan City used the excuse that Ms. Lin's employer couldn't get in contact with her. They filed a report to the financial department and requested to stop Ms. Lin's retirement pension. Later Ms. Lin found out about this and went to her school's head and clarified the truth to him. Because of this, she was able to keep receiving her pension.
At around 7:00 p.m. on October 10, 2006, the police tried to harass Mr. Yang's family at their home. When no one answered the door, they turned off their home's electricity. The whole family was arrested again on February 4, 2006.
In the morning of February 1, 2007, Shulan City Police Department Domestic Security officers Li Jiazhe, Li Zhuo and other police officers took Mr. Yang Junfeng from the detention center to the Domestic Security office and tired to force him to write a "confession" for more than 10 hours. Mr. Yang was not allowed to be taken back to the detention center until 3:00 a.m. on February 2, 2007.
At 6:00 p.m. on February 2, 2007, under police Xin He's lead, domestic security guard Li Jiazhe, Li Zhuo and several others, along with seven or eight officers from the Changchun City Kuancheng District Xisantiao Police Station, went to Mr. Yang and his wife's home in Kuancheng District. They arrested Mr. Yang and his wife. At around 7:00 p.m., when Mr. Yang's second son came home from a business trip, they pushed his face to the floor and handcuffed his hands behind his back. They placed a long scarf around his neck, suffocating him, and the handcuffs bit deep into his flesh. The scar is still visible today. The police then took him to the Xisantiao Police Station.
On July 22, 2007, Mr. Yang's family members received a one-year sentence in a forced labor camp.
Mr. Yang's family has been persecuted relentlessly, and they have suffered serious physical and mental abuse. As a result of the terrible persecution, Ms. Lin has started to lose her memory and their elder son, Mr. Yang Junfeng, cannot straighten his back due to the severe torture he has endured.