(Minghui.org) July 20, 2023, marks 24 years since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners in 44 countries submitted another list of perpetrators to their respective governments, urging them to hold these individuals accountable for the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The practitioners asked their governments to bar the perpetrators and their family members from entry, and to freeze their overseas assets.
Among the perpetrators listed were Tan Zunhua and Yi Jianming, two directors of the Heilongjiang Prison Administration Bureau.
Perpetrator Information
Full Name of Perpetrator: Tan (last name) Zunhua (first name) (谭尊华)Gender: MaleDate/year of Birth: November 1962Place of Birth: Unknown
Tan Zunhua
Full Name of Perpetrator: Yi (last name) Jianming (first name) (伊建民)Gender: MaleDate/year of Birth: April 1968Place of Birth: Unknown
Yi Jianming
Title and Position
Tan Zunhua
September 2021 – Present: first-level inspector of Heilongjiang Prison Administration BureauApril 2019 – August 2021: member of the Party Committee of the Provincial Department of Justice, deputy director of the Party Committee of the Provincial Prison Administration BureauDecember 2015 – April 2019: member of the Party Committee of the Provincial Department of Justice, deputy secretary of the Party Committee, and director of Heilongjiang Prison Administration BureauAugust 2011 – December 2015: member of the Party Committee and deputy director of Heilongjiang Prison Administration Bureau
Yi Jianming
September 14, 2021 – Present: member of the Party Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Justice, secretary of the Party Committee, and director of Heilongjiang Prison Administration BureauJanuary 15, 2023: deputy director of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for Heilongjiang Province
Previous roles: deputy lead of Disciplinary Inspection Team of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Justice, lead of the Disciplinary Inspection Team of the Heilongjiang Provincial Daily Newspaper Group, and a member of the Party Group of Heilongjiang Daily Newspaper
Main Crimes
Heilongjiang Province is among the top provinces where the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is the most severe. Currently, there are 18 prisons under the jurisdiction of the Heilongjiang Provincial Prison Administration, with Heilongjiang Women’s Prison, Tailai Prison, Hulan Prison, Mudanjiang Prison, Daqing Prison, and Jiamusi Prison being notorious for the high volume of persecution cases.
While serving as directors of the Heilongjiang Provincial Prison Administration Bureau, Tan Zunhua (April 2019 – August 2021) and Yi Jianmin (September 2021 - present) controlled the entire provincial prison system and facilitated the persecution of practitioners.
According to available information, during Tan Zunhua’s various roles at the Heilongjiang Provincial Prison Administration Bureau from August 2011 to August 2021, at least 25 Falun Gong practitioners died either in prison or shortly after their release. They include Ms. Li Guiyue (2021), Ms. Su Yunxia (2021), Ms. Wang Fang (2020), Ms. Yang Lihua (2019), Ms. Li Xiuqin (2018), Ms. Zhao Chunyan (2018), Ms. Wang Caiyun (2018), Ms. Se Guirong (2018), Ms. Yang Ruiqin (2016), Ms. Zhao Bixu (2012), Mr. Lyu Guanru (2021), Mr. Wang Fengchen (2020), Mr. Lyu Shubin (2018), Mr. Luo Jingshan (2018), Mr. Zhu Jinrui (2014), Mr. Li Hongkui (2012) and Mr. Sun Shaomin (2012).
Under Yi Jianmin’s administration between September 2021 to May 2023, at least seven practitioners passed away due to torture. They included Ms. Teng Shuli (2023), Ms. Fei Shuqin (2023), Ms. Zhang Chunyu (2022), Mr. Ge Zhenhua (2022), Mr. Zhang Yaoming (2022), Mr. Li Min (2022), and Mr. Zhong Guoquan (2022).
Prevalent Means of Torture in the Prisons
Hulan Prison
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, Wei Yuchuan, the new president of Hulan Prison, and Deng Xiaogeng, the director of the correction ward, ordered strict management of incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. They forced the practitioners to sit on small stools all day long and their families could not visit them. The prison authorities also ordered the practitioners to renounce their faith and those who refused to comply were subjected to brutal torture.
Because Mr. Qu Yanlai refused to wear the inmate’s suit, the guards covered his head, handcuffed him, and placed him in solitary confinement. He went on a hunger strike to protest for 15 days and was force-fed for ten days.
Tailai Prison
Tailai Prison has been a centralized location used by provincial officials to persecute practitioners. Those who refuse to renounce Falun Gong in other prisons were often transferred from other detention facilities to Tailai Prison. There, they were subjected to long-term torture and high pressure from the prison guards and inmates.
After they arrived, practitioners were forced to write statements renouncing Falun Gong. Those who refused to write it would be subjected to many kinds of torture: being hung up, having to stand or squat for extreme periods of time, sleep deprivation, having ice water forced down their throats, being made to stand in icy water in the winter, solitary detention, and the tiger bench, among others.
Heilongjiang Women’s Prison
The Heilongjiang Women’s Prison is the only women’s prison in the province, and it is one of the prisons in China with the highest number of jailed Falun Gong practitioners. According to available information, as of December 2021, at least 37 Falun Gong practitioners died due to the harsh persecution in this prison. It was estimated that 90% of the imprisoned practitioners were injured, with many suffering permanent physical damage.
In Heilongjiang Women’s Prison, Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to a variety of inhumane treatments. These acts of cruel torture and extensive abuse resulted in a wide spectrum of physical and psychological torment.
Torture reenactments
The images show some of the torture methods used in the prison, including the tiger bench, violent beatings, the death bed (or stretching bed), electric shocks, being suspended in the air by handcuffs, force-feedings, and drug administration.
Other frequently used torture methods include: being hung up, handcuffed in excruciating positions, exposed to extreme weather, forced to sit on a small stool without moving for long hours, sleep deprivation, sexual assault, piercing with needles on the face or sensitive parts. Sometimes the inmates humiliated the practitioners by stuffing their mouths with rags, dirty mops, smelly socks, and underpants.
Select Death Cases
53-year-old Woman Dies in Prison While Serving Seven Years
Ms. Teng Shuli of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, died on January 10, 2023, while serving a seven-year term. She was 53 years old.
Ms. Teng was arrested on October 12, 2020, and sentenced to seven years in prison, with an 80,000-yuan fine, on June 2, 2021. After she was taken to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison in 2021, she was forced to watch propaganda videos demonizing Falun Gong every day. She was also deprived of sleep and forced to sit on a small stool for extended hours without moving.
The mental and physical torment took a toll on Ms. Teng’s health. She ate very little and became emaciated. She also developed a tumor in her abdomen, which caused severe bleeding whenever she defecated.
Ms. Teng was so weak that she was bedridden. She couldn’t get up even when the guards came to inspect the cell. Her cellmates feared that she might die at any time. She was later found to have late-stage liver and rectal cancer.
Ms. Teng’s husband was denied visits with her despite his repeated requests. The prison also denied his request to have her released on medical parole, even when she was on the verge of death.
67-year-old Man Dies in Prison While Serving Seven Years
Mr. Ge Zhenhua of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, died in prison on October 22, 2022. He was 67.
Mr. Ge was arrested on June 20, 2016, for putting up banners about Falun Gong and distributing informational materials. The Shangzhi City Court sentenced him to 12 years with a 50,000-yuan fine on December 2, 2016. He appealed with the Shangzhi City Intermediate Court, which upheld his conviction but reduced his prison term to seven years with a 30,000-yuan fine.
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, the authorities in Hulan Prison have ordered strict management of incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. They force the practitioners to sit on small stools all day long and deny them family visits. The prison authorities pressure the practitioners to renounce their faith. Those who refuse to comply are brutally tortured.
Mr. Ge’s family was informed by the prison around early October 2022 that he’d suffered a stroke and was in the hospital. The prison ordered the family to pay his medical costs, which was over 10,000 yuan a day. The family couldn’t afford to pay and the prison forced them to sign a consent to stop the treatment. Mr. Ge passed away on October 22.
Woman Dies in Prison Two Days Before Scheduled Release
Ms. Su Yunxia, of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, died while imprisoned, two days before her five-year term for practicing Falun Gong was about to expire.
Ms. Su was arrested on September 7, 2016, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong on the street. To seek her release, her bedridden husband went to the police station in a wheelchair with the help of Ms. Su’s niece, only to be blocked outside.
The Daowai District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Su on October 27. The Daowai District Court sentenced her to a five-year prison term and a 10,000 yuan fine on March 31, 2017.
Ms. Su was scheduled to be released from the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on September 6, 2021, but she was persecuted to death two days prior, before she could return home to reunite with her family. She was 67 years old.
Beaten Daily During Five-year Prison Term, Woman Dies a Year After Release
After enduring multiple arrests, intense forced labor, imprisonment, and torture for her faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Li Guiyue, a Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province resident, passed away on August 6, 2021. She was 52.
Ms. Li was arrested in May 2015 for passing out Falun Gong informational fliers and sentenced to five years in prison. At the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison, she was routinely beaten, made to sit on a small stool for long periods of time, insulted, and verbally abused on a daily basis.
Ms. Li was emaciated and almost unrecognizable when she was released on May 16, 2020. She suffered from body pain, muscle weakness, drowsiness, and loss of appetite.
For a year after she was released from the prison, she sometimes suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, trembling in fear while mumbling to herself. Sometimes she refused to eat with her family, but carried her bowl to the side, squatted on the ground, and quietly ate with her head lowered. She often said to herself, “They have been beating me every day! They beat me every day!” Scared and nervous, she looked around constantly and her eyes were filled with fear and sadness. Her family suspected that she was given unknown drugs while in the prison, causing irreparable damage to her physical and mental health.
After struggling with poor health for a year, Ms. Li passed away on August 6, 2021. She was 52.
69-year-old Man Suddenly Dies in Prison While Serving Time
Mr. Lu Guanru, of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on November 9, 2018. While he was held at the Daqing City Detention Center, the police interrogated him and forced him to stand for long hours in shackles. When Mr. Lu went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards force-fed him, which caused him to vomit blood and suffer heart failure. He was on the verge of death several times and had to undergo emergency treatment at the hospital.
Mr. Lu was sentenced to seven years in prison with a 40,000 yuan fine on July 1, 2019. He was transferred to Tailai Prison in November 2019. The prison ordered strict management of him and held him in solitary confinement for a month. He died on April 4, 2021. He was 69.
Heilongjiang Teacher Dies Two Months After Prison Release
Ms. Wang Fang, an elementary school teacher from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on October 3, 2018. At the Lanxi Detention Center, she was tortured for refusing to give the police her name. After she was transferred to Anda City Detention Center, she was forced to wear heavy shackles around the clock for over a month.
Ms. Wang was later sentenced to two years and taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison. There, she was subjected to physical and mental abuse. She suffered from headaches, numbness in her hands, dementia, fainting, and high blood pressure as a result.
Ms. Wang returned home in early October 2020, only to find that she had been fired by the Shangzhi Elementary School after having taught there for 30 years. Only two weeks after she started tutoring at a private agency to resolve her financial hardships, she passed out at home on December 30 and was taken to a hospital. She was diagnosed with brain stem hemorrhage and passed away the next day. She was 54.
Mother of Two Beaten to Death While Serving Time for Her Faith
Ms. Yang Lihua, a 43-year-old Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province resident, was beaten to death by the inmates, while serving a three-year term for her faith in Falun Gong. She is survived by her husband and their two teenage children.
Ms. Yang was arrested on November 17, 2017 and sentenced to three years by the Sunwu County Court on December 26, 2017. Because she refused to do the unpaid labor at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, the inmates stepped on her face and beat her. Even as Ms. Yang was on the verge of death, the head of the eighth ward accused her of pretending.
On November 5, 2019, Ms. Yang’s family was notified by the prison that she was in critical condition due to an illness. When her husband, brother, and sister-in-law rushed to the hospital, she had already died.
When Mr. Zhang Yaoming was released after serving 19 years for intercepting TV signals to broadcast programs that debunked the propaganda against Falun Gong, he was very weak and emaciated. The Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province resident passed away a year later, at the age of 59. He is survived by his wife Ms. Fan Fengzhen and their child.
Middle School Teacher Tortured to Death in Custody
Mr. Wang Fengchen, 50, a geography teacher in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on January 18, 2017, along with his wife, Ms. Leng Xiuxia. On October 11, 2017, both were sentenced to four years in prison with a 30,000-yuan fine. Later, Mr. Wang was taken to Hulan Prison and Ms. Leng to Heilongjiang Women’s Prison. During his time in prison, Mr. Wang was abused until he was coughing and vomiting blood. He passed away in a hospital on August 9, 2020.
Select Torture Cases
Former Prison Guard Savagely Beaten While Jailed, Spleen Ruptured and Removed
Mr. Dai Qihong, a former prison guard himself, suffered a ruptured spleen after being beaten by the inmates, while serving five years in the Hulan Prison.
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, the prison authorities ordered even stricter management of incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. Many were forced to sit on small stools all day long and not allowed to move. Those who refused to renounce Falun Gong were held in solitary confinement and denied family visits.
Mr. Dai refused to do the night shift keeping watch on September 29, 2022, and was beaten by the inmates. He suffered severe abdominal pain and became incontinent. Around midnight, the inmates dragged him out of bed, kicked his chest and abdomen, and whipped him with a shoe.
The next day, Mr. Dai struggled with intensified abdominal pain. His face was pale and he went into shock. The guards took him to the hospital and the doctor found he was in hemorrhagic shock due to a ruptured spleen. As the damage in his spleen was beyond recovery, the doctor performed a procedure to remove it. Mr. Dai was taken back to the prison on October 8.
75-Year-Old Woman Tortured to Mental Disorder While Serving Six Years
Ms. Mou Yongxia, a 75-year-old retired teacher in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province was diagnosed with mental illness earlier this year after being subjected to long-term abuse in prison.
Ms. Mou was arrested on September 11, 2019 and sentenced to six years by the Ranghulu District Court in Daqing City in May 2020. She was subjected to various forms of abuse while serving time at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Mou became incontinent and soiled her pants one day in August 2022. Inmate Zhao Chao savagely beat her and splashed cold water on her. From that point on, Ms. Mou exhibited an abnormal mental state. Yet the inmates and guards continued to beat her, until she was found to have a mental disorder.
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