Tangshan Labor Camp Persecutes Zhao Huanzhen: Forced Sitting For Several Months Results in Severe Open Sores

By Mainland practitioner Zheng Yang

October 11, 2003

Mr. Zhao Huanzhen is from Shanhaiguan. In December 2000, he went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested. The court in Shanhaiguan illegally sentenced him to 3 years at the Tangshan Labor Camp. Since July 22 of 1999, the courts in Shanhaiguan have routinely sentenced practitioners to 3 years in the labor camp.

While in the labor camp, the guards tortured Mr. Zhao with 3 electric batons and Mr. Zhao was forced to write the so-called "transformation statement." Later, since he declared the statement to be void, the guards brought him in to torture him again.

During May and June of this year, the guards took Mr. Zhao to the "forced-regulation" class to force him to renounce Falun Gong. They made him sit on a wooden board daily. This torture was very painful. After 4 months of such abuse, Mr. Zhao became very weak and he needed two people to support him when he walked. He developed open sores around his rectum and he lost all feeling in his legs, indicating nerve damage. In early September, he could no longer urinate or defecate properly. He was unable to eat for 20 days and was in critical condition. On September 30, the guards requested medical treatment for him and quickly sent him back home.

His family members sent him to the hospital in early October. It was reported that the large open sores around his rectum were so infected that the hospital removed a significant quantity of infected matter from the wounds when they cleaned him. He also suffered open sores to his scrotum, and the hospital had to surgically create new openings so he could urinate and defecate.

This is an account of what happened to only one of a number of practitioners that the guards have torturing during the past 4 years. There are more Falun Gong practitioners being tortured every day. We hope people will take a stance for human rights and justice, and not let these crimes go unnoticed.

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