|
Two Falun Gong Practitioners in Hebei Province Pass Away after Suffering Severe Abuse in Labor Camps
(Clearwisdom.net) It was recently confirmed in Hebei Province that
Falun Gong practitioners Gao Shiping and Li Shuli died in December of 2003 due
to the abuses they suffered in Baoding City Gaoyang Labor Camp and Tangshan City
Hehuakeng Labor Camp. Currently there are as many as 89 confirmed deaths of
Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province due to the persecution. Ms. Gao Shiping, 58 years old, lived in Zhangjiafang Village of Shenjiatun
Town in Qiaoxi District of Zhangjiakou City. In February 2001, officials and
police from Shenjiatun Town detained the Falun Gong practitioners of
Zhangjiafang Village in the village committee for several days, trying to force
them to sign their names on a banner slandering Dafa, and to write what they
call the "Three Statements." [Practitioners are coerced under
brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their
belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a
letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list
of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are
practitioners.) At that time, Ms. Gao Shiping did the Falun Gong exercises
and refused to sign her name. Two months later, Shenjiatun Town Police Station
sent her to Baoding City Gaoyang Labor Camp. Ms. Gao was detained in the labor camp until the spring of 2003. Her health
was severely damaged both physically and mentally in the labor camp, and she
never recovered after she was released. Ms. Gao died on December 19, 2003. We
called Zhangjiafang Village Committee Office (phone: 86-313-4090190) and
confirmed Ms. Gao's death. We learned from insiders that the parties who participated in the persecution
of Ms. Gao and are responsible for her death include: Li Shengke, former head of Town "610 Office" Mr. Li Shuli lived in Changli County of Qinhuangdao City. On December 10,
2001, he was arrested by city police and sent to Tangshan City Hehuakeng Labor
Camp in Hebei Province. He suffered three months of ruthless torture in Division
No. 6 of the labor camp, including being locked up in a small cell,
"Tightening Rope" and "Stretching Bed." Under the abuses of
guard Wang Yuling and criminal detainee Huang Yongxin, Mr. Li Shuli's health was
severely damaged both physically and mentally. He was suffering from
tuberculosis by the time he was transferred to Division No. 4. In June 2003, Mr.
Li was sent to a hospital outside the labor camp, and he passed away in December
2003. We called Changli County "610 Office" (phone: 86-335-2023052) and
the man who answered the phone admitted it was a government office at first. As
soon as he heard we were calling about the cause of Li Shuli's death, he told us
"this is a residential phone number." The torture method "Tightening Rope" utilizes a finger-size hemp
rope soaked in water. The persecutors set it on the Dafa practitioner's neck,
and tightly wrap it around the arms. In order to maximize the pain for the
victim, they often strip the practitioner down to his underwear. Usually, more
than three people work together to apply this torture. When the rope reaches the
wrists, it is tightened. They pull the practitioner's hands behind his back,
both ends of the rope are inserted through the portion of the rope on the neck,
then two persecutors forcefully pull down both ends of the rope as hard as they
can and then tie it. At this time, the blood circulation is being choked off and
the victim will experience increased heart rate, excruciating pain in both arms
and within a few minutes, heavy sweating. In order to make sure the rope is as tight as can be, the persecutors insert
glass bottles and wooden sticks under practitioner's wrists, so the rope will
sink deep into his flesh. Meanwhile, they also slap the practitioner's face and
shock him with electric baton(s). Each session of "Tightening Rope"
lasts ten to twenty minutes. After the rope is loosened, the victim has lost the
feeling in his arms, and it takes a long time to regain it. For those who have
experienced this torture, their arms are often disabled in severe cases, or they
cannot raise their arms or they lose some function in the arms. The marks left
on the arms by the rope usually don't disappear for one or two years. In the torture method "Stretching Bed," the victim is stretched out
flat on a bed and his feet are tied to two opposite bed poles; then his hands
are stretched above the head and cuffed to the other two bed poles, so the
practitioner cannot make the slightest movement. They put bricks under the
practitioner's body; they hit his legs with wooden rods, they order inmates to
stomp on his body and they poke his ribcage with their hands or with sticks. In
the heat of summer, they cover the practitioner with several layers of quilts
and don't give him any water. Many practitioners who suffered the
"stretching bed" torture could not lift their arms because were
extremely sore and numb. January 28, 2004
|