(Clearwisdom.net) Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin's followers started persecuting Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, the practitioners in Yishui County, Linyi City, Shandong Province have suffered from ruthless mental torment and physical torture.

On July 20, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners Wang Yuecheng, Li Fujiang, Li Lechang and Zhao Wenan from Shagou Township of Yishui County went to Beijing to appeal. They were illegally arrested and detained at the Yishui County Detention Center for four days and were each fined 200 yuan. Later, they were transferred to a brainwashing session held by the Shaogou Township Party Committee and were persecuted for seven days. Moreover, they were forced to write the three statements.

Mr. Li Fujiang clarified the truth to the guards, but the guards tortured the practitioners even more severely. Guard Xiao Jinggang forced the practitioners to sit on the cold concrete floor, with their arms raised and held out straight at eye level, and kicked them when they lowered their arms. Later, he forced them to hold their hands behind their heads while handcuffed, sitting upright, and beat them when they could no longer keep the posture. He forbade them to eat or sleep, and poured cold water on their heads or faces if he saw them dozing off. He made no exceptions for elderly practitioners, including Wang Yuecheng and Li Lechang, who were in their 60s.

Practitioner Mr. Zhao Liwei was arrested in Beijing and taken back to Yishui County. He was detained and tortured at the Yishui Detention Center for more than a month, then detained at the Shagou Township Party Committee. During his detention, township officials Xu Yilin, Xu Maowei and Ji Yuqing incited others to torture him ruthlessly. They kicked him with heavy shoes. When he fainted, they poured cold water on him to wake him up, and then continued torturing him. They kept him in a dark room and forbade his family members to visit him. One day, he fainted again from beatings and the guards had to send him to the Yishui Central Hospital. After Mr. Zhao was released from the hospital, the guards still denied family visits. They detained him until he agreed to sign the "three statements" and pay a fine. From then on, they required him to report to the township government twice a day.

The township authorities have never stopped harassing Falun Gong practitioners. A person named Lu Jinhe wrote many letters in the name of a Falun Gong practitioner and delivered them to Falun Gong practitioners' homes, telling them, "Spread it, and come gather at the Shangyuhe Bridge." Then, the township authorities made the practitioners hand over the letter and if anyone refused, they would persecute that practitioner for "refusing to report." The authorities made a video recording of Mr. Li Fujiang and ordered him to repeat what they told him to attack Dafa and poison people's minds.

Toward the end of 1999, the Shagou Township officials, including Xu Maowei and Ji Yuqing, along with agents from the police station and leaders from the village, fined Falun Gong practitioners in the township, including Mr. Li Lechang, 200 yuan each.

On November 21, 1999, practitioners Ms. Zhou Rong and Ms. Liu Weijuan went to Beijing to appeal, but were arrested and detained in Zibo City. Later, Shagou Township police officers Lu Jingmin and Feng (surname) went to Zibo City to take them back. On the way, the officers beat Ms. Zhou so brutally that she lost her hearing. Moreover, they arrested practitioners Mr. Ren Lifa (Ms. Zhou Rong's husband), Zhao Wenan, Zhao Liwei, Wang Aihua, Li Xiaofen, Zhang Baojun, Wang Tao and Li Xiaomei, and took them to the Shagou Township government compound. Incited by township officials Xu Yilin, Xu Maowei, and Su Guiming, and police officers Ji Yuqiang, Lu Jinhe and Duan Baoliang, more than twenty individuals tortured the practitioners ruthlessly. They locked them in separate rooms, removed their cotton-padded jackets and trousers, made them sit on the cold concrete floor with their arms raised and held out straight at eye level, and put bricks on their arms. When Mr. Ren Lifa could no longer hold the bricks, town official Xu Maowei kicked him so heavily that he sustained a broken rib. The guards also forced practitioners to curse Dafa and Master, and beat them if they refused. They tied Ms. Li Xiaofen to a tree and beat her, leaving bruises all over her body.

Guard Xiao Jinggang grabbed practitioners Ms. Zhou Rong and Ms. Liu Weijuan by the hair and dragged them into a room. Xiao removed Ms. Zhou's cotton-padded jacket, threw her to the floor, and ordered more than ten people to kick her ruthlessly. They dug into her ribs using handcuffs. She fainted again and again from the pain. The former township director and the CCP committee secretary Xu Yilin said viciously, "If you die today, it counts as committing suicide and no one will find out!" After being tortured for an entire night, the guards forced the practitioners to clean the courtyard. They were forbidden to eat anything from November 21, 1999 until 5:00 p.m. the next day. The guards kept the practitioners in detention until each of them paid 1,500 yuan and wrote a guarantee statement. Then they were released.

However, on the morning of November 23, township official Su Guiming took Ms. Zhou Rong and her husband Mr. Ren Lifa to the Shagou courtroom. Xu Lilin said that Ms. Zhou had not made her statement clear enough and ordered three guards to beat and kick her again. They removed her jacket and shocked her with electric batons until she could not get up or walk. Then they ordered her and her husband to report to the town government twice a week. They also ordered practitioners Zhao Wenan, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Xuesheng and Wang Tao to do the same for more than a month.

During the night of May 25, 2001, practitioners Ren Lifa, Zhou Rong, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Wenan, Wang Aihua and Liu Qijuan went out to hang up Falun Gong banners. Police officers Ji Yuqing and Duan Baoliang arrested them and took them to the Shagou Police Station. The practitioners were then sent to the Yishui County Detention Center and sentenced to forced labor terms a month later. Mr. Ren Lifa and Ms. Zhou Rong were sentenced to two years of forced labor, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Wenan and Liu Qijuan to three years, and Wang Aihua to a year and a half. Police officers extorted more than 5,000 yuan from Mr. Ren and Ms. Zhou. Their school-aged child was severely discriminated against and was forced to drop out of school. The police fined Mr. Zhao Liwei many times for a total of nearly 10,000 yuan.

Practitioner Wang Tao is only 17 or 18 years old. As soon as he was taken to the Shagou Township government compound, he was severely beaten. He sustained a swollen neck and a bruised face. After being detained in the Shagou Township government compound for nearly a month, he was transferred to the Yishui County Detention Center for more than two weeks. He was fined 1,000 yuan after being released. His family was having financial difficulties but was still fined 4,700 yuan.

Police officers handcuffed practitioner Mr. Lu Fengtian from Jinzhongyu Village to a bed and tried to brainwash him, with three police officers taking turns monitoring him day in and day out. When the on-duty police officer was asleep, Mr. Lu opened the handcuffs with Teacher's help and walked away. To avoid further arrest, he chose to leave home. His mother died from worry, but he could not go home to be with her in her last days. Ever since he escaped, Shagou Township Police Station head Duan Baoliang has repeatedly led four or five police officers to search for him in other practitioners' homes, harassing them in the middle of the night and disturbing their lives. The police won't leave Mr. Lu alone. His whereabouts are unknown.

On July 20, 1999, Party secretary Zhao Futing called practitioner Mr. Zhao Baojun to the Shagou Township Brainwashing Center and fined him 300 yuan. On November 25, 1999 of the Chinese lunar calendar, Shagou Township deputy supervisor Jin Yuqing arrested Mr. Zhao and took him to the Shagou Township government compound, forcibly removed his cotton-padded jacket and pants, and made him sit on the cold concrete floor. Jin kicked him in the mouth so hard that he immediately fainted. When he came to, deputy supervisor Su Guiming punched him in the face and made him squat, with his legs wide apart, while more than twenty people took turns kicking him. They tortured him from the evening until the next morning without stopping. Mr. Zhao had huge bruises all over his body. The guards did not release him until he agreed to pay a 100-yuan fine. Mr. Zhao could not walk for a week after this. Besides Jin Yuqing and Su Guiming, the more than twenty people who have beaten him include Xing Shouren, Xu Maowei, Jiang Hui, Xu Yilin, police officer Duan Baoliang, Liu Jinxin, and Ji Yuqiang.

Practitioner Mr. Wang Yucheng chose to leave home and live with his out-of-town relatives because of frequent mental torment and extortion by the police.

In July 2001, when practitioner Mr. Li Lechang was visiting Mr. Zhao Liwei, someone reported him. The police officers immediately ransacked his home and confiscated two tape recorders. They detained him for two weeks and fined him 3,000 yuan. His wife Xiang Zhaomei was also persecuted and fined 800 yuan.

Since the persecution started, the Shagou Township authorities have extorted money from Falun Gong practitioners in amounts ranging from 300 yuan to several thousand yuan. The authorities in Yazhuang Village have been even more rampant. They have fined every person who has been seen practicing the Falun Gong exercises 300 yuan.

Practitioner Ms. Zong Guiyun and her husband Mr. Zhang Shengji live in Fengtaizhuang Village, Yaodianzi Township in Yishui County. They started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, and both became healthy after practicing cultivation.

On July 20, 1999, the CCP regime began an overwhelming persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. One day, township officers Wang Zhaocai and Liu Peiyu forced Ms. Zong Guiyun to attend a brainwashing session held in the Yaodianzi Township Center, where numerous Falun Gong practitioners were already detained. The guards included Shi Jun, Lin Qingbai, Liu Zhen and Zhao Wei. They forced practitioners to watch videos denouncing Master and Dafa, and ordered practitioners to curse Master. If anyone was sleepy or refused to watch, they would beat him or her with a stick or book, or otherwise punish him or her using varying methods. Ms. Zong Guiyun was detained for seven days and fined 800 yuan. Her husband was fined 1,000 yuan. Since then, the police have been frequently harassing them, day and night.

On August 29, 1999, Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji went to study the Fa and share experiences in a practitioner's home in Jizishan Village. Officer Wang Sike led a group of people from Yaodianzi to arrest the practitioners and take them to the Yaodianzi Education (Brainwashing) Committee. They beat the practitioners, and further tortured them using all kinds of methods, including forcing them to squat with their legs wide apart and both arms raised in the air, or forcing them to stand on one leg for a long time. The perpetrators included Shi Jun, Lei Fudong, Wu Gang, Zhang Yudong and many others. Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji were detained for six days and fined 3,300 yuan.

On January 16, 2000, Ms. Zong Guiyun hung the following words on her door to celebrate the Chinese New Year: "The Buddha-Light Illuminates Everywhere and Rectifies All Abnormalities." (Zhuan Falun) Someone reported her. Wang Sike led a group of officers to arrest Ms. Zong and take her to a room in the Township Police Station. Dou Yutan beat her with a hard rubber baton. Later, Wang Sike moved Ms. Zong to a different room and ordered a group of people to beat her with wooden sticks and rubber batons. Both of Ms. Zong's legs turned blue and she sustained bruises all over her body. She was released the next day.

Early one morning in June 2002, officer Wang Zhaocai led a group of officers and broke into Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji's home. They arrested the practitioners and took them to the Township government compound. That same day, they sent Ms. Zong to the Wang Village Brainwashing Center and didn't release her until a month later. They sent Mr. Zhang to the Yishui Brainwashing Center, where he was held for 11 days.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/2/27/149826.html