(Falun Dafa Information Center) July 3 - Around June 20, 2001, at least 15 female Falun Gong practitioners died in a spate of violence and torture at the Wanjia Labor Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Sources report that the women were all tortured to death in the Wanjia Reeducation Labor (Laogai) Camp in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province on or around June 20th, and an unspecified number of Falun Gong practitioners are still undergoing emergency treatment for injuries.

The Wanjia Reeducation Labor Camp claims that the cause of death was that the women committed mass suicide by hanging, but could not explain how this could happen given the fact that the victims were under 24-hour surveillance in the labor camp. Figures also show that throughout the nearly two years of persecution against Falun Gong, authorities have claimed that almost all deaths in police custody were because of "heart disease" or "suicide."

A complete list of the deceased is unavailable at this time, but among the deaths already confirmed are the following:

• Ms. Zhang Yulan, 55 years old, was the assistant of the Heilongjiang Province Mishan City Practice Site. It is understood that she has been held in Harbin labor camps for about two years. Zhang's family rushed to Harbin on June 20 upon hearing of her death, but it was not until June 23 when the body was cremated that they were allowed to see the body. They noticed deep strangulation or rope marks on her neck.

• Ms. Shao Yin, 33 years old, was a staff member at the Mishan Animal Husbandry Bureau. She was sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp sometime in the year 2000 and died on June 20 this year.

• Ms. Li Xiuqin, an elderly woman, was a retired worker from the Lishu District grain depot in Jishi City, Heilongjiang. After she was arrested when she went to Beijing to appeal in 1999, she was illegally sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp on December 26. She died on June 20th. The labor camp immediately cremated her body without notifying the family. The family only received a box containing her ashes. Li Xiuqin's family relayed the words of the prison guards: "The authorities have stated that when a Falun Gong practitioner is beaten to death, it is counted as a suicide. The bodies are not to be identified and are to be directly cremated."

• Ms. Zhao Yayun, 54 years old, was a villager in the Lequn Commune in Shuangcheng City. She was taken from her home in July, 2000 and sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp after about a month. She died on June 20th. One June 21st, the family saw her body in the following condition: the hair was matted and unkempt, the area around the eyes were black and blue, the eyes were slightly open, there was a pinch mark about the size of the nail of the little finger at the Renzhong acupoint [between the nose and the upper lip; pressure is usually applied there in emergencies such as coma, shock, apnea, etc.], there were still finger marks on her face from being slapped, the entire face was bloated, there was one light and one heavy strangulation or rope mark on the neck, the shoulder blades were bruised, the arms were injured, and there was a large area of bruising on the lower back. The family noted that the teeth were clenched tight on Zhao Yayun's corpse even though officials had said that her tongue had extended outside her mouth when she had ostensibly hung herself.

Because of the seriousness of this incident, officials from the central and provincial governments have already gone in person to inspect the site. The labor camp and other security agencies have also taken great pains to block information. Staff and guards at the Wanjia Labor Reeducation Camp have not been permitted to go home and people on the outside are not allowed to enter. All personnel have had to hand in their cell phones and pagers and most of the labor camp's telephones are not being answered.

It is thought that those directly responsible for this incident include the Director of the camp, Shi Yingbai, the leader of No. 7 Team Wu Jingying, and the leader of No. 12 Team Zhang Bo. Reporters who have called Harbin local authorities note that a "responsible person" in the judicial system will only say that "things have been arranged quite well" and "the higher authorities are all observing the matter closely." Certain local police stations that originally notified family members of the deaths have also since been blamed by the labor camp for leaking information.

Many of the family members of the deceased are currently traveling to the labor camp. One of the family members of the victims says that the labor camp has appointed a "fully authorized representative" of unknown identity who wants the families to sign a document saying that the deaths have nothing to do with the labor camp.

Labor camp personnel told one family member: "According to government regulations, no compensation will be given. A Falun Gong practitioner's death is worth nothing. In consideration of the fact that it is not easy for the family members to come here, each family is allowed to claim a total of RMB2,000 (about US$250). Be aware that we are being considerate to you." Distraught family members also indicate that certain public security officers have brazenly stated: "Go ahead and sue us if you can."

Observers have pointed out that the escalation in frequency and intensity of torture since the month of June is a direct cause of the large number of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Wanjia Labor Camp. According to reliable sources, in order to get a higher percentage of Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their practice and become "reformed," Wanjia Labor Camp has been using many different kinds of forms and instruments of torture against practitioners, and the situation worsened in June of this year.

• Sources disclose that some 50 female practitioners who refused to write a "Separation Statement" denouncing Falun Gong were thrown into male prisoners' cells to face abuse. Labor camp guards demanded that they also stand on the cement floor 24 hours a day, tied them up all night long and deprived them of sleep, with male prison guards and male prisoners monitoring them for eight or nine days straight.

• Information leaked from the prison indicate that the prison guards in such way: "They pressed Song Yusu down in the water then dragged her out; they poured water on Wu Shulian's body and then shocked her with an electric baton; Cao Liandi fell unconscious after she was strung up."

• Sources also reveal that the labor camp asked the male prisoners to firmly hold onto female practitioners Wang Fang, Zuo Xiuyun, and Li Yanhong, whose bodies were covered with pustules, and "use razors and razor blades to scrape back and forth, mixing their flesh and blood."

• Prison guards forced Gao Shuyan, Chen Yali and others to sit in a certain type of iron chair for up to 14 hours a day, for 28 days. Sometimes, they were locked up in the chairs day and night. The prison guards admitted "even male prisoners aren't able to take it after sitting in it for two days."

• Sources also say that in one of the small cells, the head female prisoner gave the Falun Gong practitioners only little bit of corn gruel twice a day, just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl. The practitioners could finish the gruel in just two mouthfuls and were starved very badly.