June 10, 2003

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Dong Qiuyan is 39 years old, and was a teacher. She was discharged from her job for being a Falun Gong practitioner, and was also arrested and detained several times. In May of 2002, the police broke into her home and forced her into a police vehicle using clothing to cover her head, leaving her 11-year-old daughters alone at home to fend for themselves. Police beat Ms. Dong terribly in order to try to force her to reveal information about other practitioners. She was then sent to the 2^nd Detention Center of Qiqihar City and was sentenced to two years in jail. She is now in the Harbin City Prison.

Ms. Guo Xiuzhen is 40 years old, and was previously an accountant. She was discharged from her job for no reason other than for practicing Falun Gong. In May of 2002, the police abducted her, and took her to the police station with no legal grounds. She was beaten badly in the police station for refusing to tell the police information about other practitioners. She was later sent to the 2^nd Detention Center of Qiqihar City and was sentenced to three years in jail. She is now detained in the Harbin City Prison.

Ms. Li Hongmin is 42 years old. She worked as a packaging designer, but lost her job for practicing Falun Gong. She was once forced to leave home for over a year in order to avoid being persecuted. In April of 2002, the police abducted her, took her to the police station, hung her up by her handcuffed wrists, and beat her badly. They threw her up in the air, and then let her drop to the ground with much force. They also kicked her with their heavy boots. She was later sent to the 2^nd Detention Center of Qiqihar City and was sentenced to three years in jail. She is now in the Harbin City Prison.

Ms. Li Fengyi is 36 years old, and was abducted in April of 2002, then taken to the police station. Four police officers tortured her. They locked her on a "Tiger Bench."* Two policemen grabbed her legs, one for each leg. The other two policemen then sat on her legs, to hold her down. They handcuffed her hands behind her back, with one arm over the shoulder to meet the other arm from behind. The police pulled her arms with such force that her elbows were dislocated and her arms were stretched longer than normal. She was then sent to the hospital. Right after her elbows were set back into place, she was sent back to the 2^nd Detention Center of Qiqihar City and later sent to the Shuanghe Forced Labor Camp of Qiqihar City.

Mr. Song Auyu was abducted from a materials center. To avoid persecution, he jumped out from upstairs and broke his legs. The police then kicked his broken legs twice, fracturing them worse. He was then sent to the 1^st Detention Center of Qiqihar City despite his leg injuries. His legs did not receive timely treatment. He was later sent to jail and illegally sentenced to more than 10 years.

Ms. Wang Aihua is over 30 years old, and was abducted several times for practicing Falun Gong. She was also sent to a forced labor camp. Last spring, the police abducted her and beat her badly. They shocked her with high voltage electric batons. Her heart was injured and has often twitched since then. Not only did the police not release her, but they also sentenced her to 8 years in jail with no legal grounds.

* A "Tiger Bench" is a small metal bench that a practitioner's knees are tightly tied to for long periods of time, and the practitioner is forced to remain motionless in this position. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioner's lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse.