Name: Zhang Ruqiong(张如琼)
Gender: Female
Age: 46
Address: 4 Juhua Lane, Kunming City
Occupation: Hairdresser
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 27, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Guandu District Detention Center (官渡区看守所)
City: Kunming
Province: Yunnan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, home ransacked, tied on a chair, solitary confinement, shackled, fed mosquitoes, water deprivation, drug administration, illegal trial

(Clearwisdom.net) On August 27, 2010, following directions from the Kunming 610 Office and the police department, National Security teams in different districts arrested Han Shuling, Kong Shiying, Wu Yun, Zhang Shuilan, Shen Zhuyou, Li Qiongfang, Han Jingqi, Ms. Zhang Ruqiong, and others Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Zhang was detained and her home was ransacked.

Ms. Zhang was detained in the Guandu District Detention Center. She refused to give up her belief and refused to write a guarantee statement that she would give up practicing Falun Gong. She also shouted, "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" Because of this, 20-pound weights were shackled to her and she was tied to an iron ring fixed on the floor. Her feet became swollen and infected and oozed pus, attracting many bugs.

She was denied the use of feminine products and a change of clothes while she was menstruating. They were finally forced to take her to a hospital when she was on the verge of death. Seeking to shirk responsibility for her condition, they told her family to take her home on medical leave to await trial.

While Ms. Zhang was recovering, these same people harassed her husband, and the couple almost divorced.

The following are details of what happened as described by Ms. Zhang Ruqiong herself.

My husband and I have a barbershop in Wangdaqiao in Kunming. At 1 p.m. on August 27, 2010, I was forcibly taken away from the barbershop by plainclothes police officers Feng Jun and Jiang Yanguang from the Guandu National Security Team. They took me to my home, but did not allow me to enter. Over ten officers ransacked my home and took many pictures and videos. This took two hours. They confiscated Dafa books, Dafa materials, VCDs, VCD burners, MP3s, and computers. They later took me to the Juhua Police Station for interrogation. I refused to cooperate with them. They then took me to the Guandu District Detention Center after a physical examination.

The police took off all of my clothes when I arrived at the detention center. They searched me from head to toe, twice. I was menstruating at the time. They then agreed to return my underwear. They forced me to wear pants with an open crotch to humiliate me and cursed at me. I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good! It's not wrong that Falun Gong teaches people to be good!" They instigated drug dealing inmates to stuff my mouth with socks.

One day they told me to come out and sit on a bench. Several people appeared and tied me up with belts. I could not breathe they tied me so tightly, and my arms and legs became numb in a few minutes. I then lost consciousness. They did not undo the belts until that evening. My hair was also cut off.

Torture Re-enactment: Tied on the chair

The police later told several inmates to carry me to a solitary cell and put shackles weighing over 10kg on my ankles. They then connected the shackles to iron rings fixed to the floor so that I could not move. They closed the door. It smelled terrible in that cell and I almost threw up. There was only one window the size of a human head. There was a surveillance camera above the window. The light was on 24 hours a day. At night the light attracted many bugs. Days and nights I was bitten by many bugs and some big bugs flew into my face. It was worse than death.

Torture Re-enactment: Tied to an iron ring on the floor

I never stopped bleeding completely. (Before beginning the practice of Falun Gong, the bleeding did not stop after for one year and eight months as a result of an abortion I'd had long ago. The bleeding stopped after I started practicing Falun Gong.) They took away all of my feminine products. Blood often got on my pants, legs, feet, and the floor. They did not give me water to drink. They did not allow me to wash. From being shackled for along time, my feet were swollen and my skin was broken. I could not wear shoes. The open sores on my toes got infected, oozing pus. Worms climbed on my feet to bite me, which was painful and itchy. I used a cloth to cover my shackled feet. The police noticed this in the surveillance camera and cursed me and wouldn't allow me to do that.

I could not drink water in solitary for several days. I was very thirsty and asked for water. They gave me half a bottle of water with bubbles and a strong medicinal smell. I refused to drink it. They got two inmates to force me to drink it. I was in great pain after drinking it. My heart beat very fast and I felt like it would jump out of my body. The prison doctor came and said that my blood pressure was a little high. They threatened me and said that they would let me out if I signed the statement promising that I would not practice Falun Gong in the prison. I signed the statement under these painful conditions. I was later very regretful. They released me back to a regular cell.

Because I did not give up Falun Gong, they used ways to torture me. They asked me to wash the blankets, but they poured water on me, so that I was chilled to the bone while washing them.

Because of the incessant torture, I was very weak and did not have the strength to talk. They put drugs in my water and forced me to drink it. After that my head hurt terribly. I was in a daze every day. I just heard people saying, "Hurry up. Bring her up." A prison doctor came and took my blood pressure and said, "200." I could not open my eyes. My throat felt like it had been torn open. I was always thirsty. After drinking I went to the restroom and threw up. After throwing up, I wanted to drink again. The whole night was like that. Others in my cell could not sleep. They later took me to the hospital and did two EKGs. Later, my family was allowed to visit me. My husband and sister came. I later heard my husband and sister kneel down, begging them to release me. They were afraid I would die in there. To avoid the responsibility they said, "We will release you to await trial on medical leave for the sake of your husband and sister." On September 15, 2010, I was released after 20 days torture and detention.

Although I was home, I could not take care of myself anymore. My husband and sister discussed it and decided to send me to my sister's home. The police did not harass my sister, but they called my husband often. They told him to go to the National Security Team. Sometimes it takes a half to a whole day to get there. He could not keep the barbershop open regularly and there was no one to take care of our child, who is in school. They told my husband to come to get the Guarantee Statement and later a Repentance Statement for me to sign. I told him, "I won't sign. This is the most righteous thing I ever done in my life. Nothing is more righteous than to be a good person following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Why should I 'repent?'" Later, they told my husband to bring a statement that didn't mention “Falun Gong” but merely said, "Will not practice." I refused to sign that one, too. My husband is an honest and simple person. He was under so much pressure from them that he asked me for a divorce

On April 25, 2011, I was sued by the Kunming City Procuratorate. On July 5, 2011, I received a court order to await trial on July 6. Due to their not having enough evidence, however, the date was changed. On August 22, 2011 the Kunming City Intermediate Court sent out a new court order, stating that the trial would start at 10 p.m. on August 26, 2011.

Persons and parties involved in persecuting Ms.Zhang:

Feng Jun and Jiang Yanguang, police officers from Guandu District National Security Team
Guandu District Juhua Police Station and Guandu Detention Center
Han Chunying from the Kunming City Procuratorate
Ma Kan and Duan Yunping from the Kunming City Intermediate Court