Ms. Li Gao, a Falun Dafa practitioner recently released from a public security detention center located at the western suburbs of Ji-Nan, Shan-Dong province, talked about the situation inside the detention center. She was put into the detention center on February 12 for practicing Falun Gong exercises outdoors. She was charged with violating Article 24, Section 4 or 6 of the Public Security Management and Punishment Regulation. Twelve practitioners were already detained there.

During her detention between February 12-27, ten more practitioners were sent in or some were released. She said all practitioners were very firm and determined in practicing Falun Dafa. They kept practicing the exercises and were consequently beaten, punished, and shocked with electric batons. Every practitioner there treated the torture with a practitioner's standard. They had to work intensively in the center, carrying soil from one place to another. Two people carried one basket and about 60 to 70 baskets of soil per day. Some practitioners were assigned to do cleaning and cooking work.

There was one time when practitioner Ms. Ye was reading a pocket-sized Falun Dafa book, a non-practitioner reported it to the officer. As a result, all practitioners were searched and Ye's Falun Dafa book was confiscated. Ye started a hunger strike. Five others, including Gao, joined Ye in the hunger strike. Each one of them was put into a single cell. Gao was dragged forcefully on the floor towards her room. The detention center called the local police stations for help, and three practitioners were taken away. Gao wanted to exchange her thoughts with other practitioners, so she stopped the hunger strike and requested to join the daily labor again. Her request was approved by the detention center. She discussed with Ye about giving up hunger strike, but Ye insisted on hunger strike based on her understanding of this issue. After three days of hunger strike, Ye was transferred to a criminal detention facility, on the charge of taking the lead to make trouble for the detention center.

At 6 AM on February 24, while practicing the exercises, Gao was beaten by officer Xing. When Gao was in the conjoined hand position, officer Xing clenched his fist and used his finger joints to hit Gao's right arm. Gao maintained her Jie Yin posture without fighting back. She simply put her hands back to Jie Yin posture when the hands were hit open. Later, maybe officer Xing's hands got painful, so he tried to use a stick to beat Gao instead. Gao told office Xing that even if her arms were broken, she would still practice Falun Gong. Officer Xing stopped beating her.

During the detention, Gao's arms were swollen badly, but she did not pay too much attention to it. When I saw her, her arms were still swollen, with bruises all over her arms, four or five of them were 7 to 8 centimeters in diameter.

There was a practitioner over seventy years old in the detention center. Since she was old, she was not asked to carry soil, but was forced to stand still every day as a punishment.

Every practitioner detained in the detention center has to pay a deposit of 5000 Yuan RMB in cash. Practitioners escorted from Beijing have to pay all the expenses. If they go to appeal again, the 5000 Yuan RMB deposit will be confiscated.

Practitioners Zhao, Jia-Yong and Xie, Qing-Jie were sentenced and put into a criminal detention for one month because of their appeal in Beijing. After released from criminal detention, Xie is still under surveillance up to date. Practitioners Chang Lu-Lu and Li Jian-Hui were charged with collusion with other Falun Gong practitioners and were sentenced and put to a criminal detention for one month. Right now, they are still under surveillance.

(Received on March 14, 2000)

(Translated on Mar. 17, 2000)