(Clearwisdom.net) Since the beginning of 2008, the Chinese Communist regime has been implementing a new round of suppression against Falun Gong under the pretense of increased security for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. In Yueyang City alone, 38 practitioners have been arrested since March 3, nine of whom remain in custody. Seven of these practitioners are being held at the Yueyang City Detention Center: Mr. Zhou Yongbing, Mr. Ding Dongting, Mr. Xue Zhongyi, Sun Pinghua (gender unknown), Ms. Shen Chunfang, Mr. Zhang Jian, and Mr. Zhou Xiangbao. The other two are being held in the Yueyang County Detention Center: Ms. Fu Dongxiu and Wang Ping (gender unknown).

Mr. Hu Heping, 55, is a practitioner from Yueyang City, Hunan Province. On March 18, 2008, he was taken into police custody and later held at the Yueyang City No. 1 Detention Center. By June 7, he was on the verge of death as a result of torture.

Mr. Hu, of Han nationality, is a painter. He was first illegally arrested on March 12, 2003, when he refused to give up his belief. He was taken to Xinkaipu Forced Labor Camp and injected with chemical agents three times. The labor camp guards shouted at him, "If you don't 'transform' and write the Three Statements, you're going to go back to your cell and cough your head off." After they restrained him to give him an injection, Mr. Hu was unable to stop coughing and eventually coughed up blood. He Jun (male), a guard at the camp, ordered an inmate named Huang to strike Mr. Hu with shoes. The guards also deprived Mr. Hu of sleep for seven days and nights by forcing him to stand facing a wall. When he returned home at the end of 2004, Mr. Hu was able to regain his health shortly after he resumed practicing the Falun Gong exercises.

Several years later, at around 9:00 a.m. on March 18, 2008, Li Yongfei (male) of the Luowang Neighborhood Administration Office, Zhang Yifei (male) of the Luowang Residential Community, and half a dozen officers from the Luowang Police Department forcibly took Mr. Hu to the Luowang Police Station because of his firm belief in Falun Dafa. At around 2:00 p.m., they took Mr. Hu to the Dongting Hotel, where they interrogated him for the next 24 hours. They transferred him to the Yueyang City Detention Center the following day.

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Hu had not been feeling well and was at home on medical leave. After he was taken into custody, he developed symptoms of serious illness. He had pain in his internal organs, he had blood in his urine, his legs swelled all the way to his toes, and he developed a chronic cough. His weight dropped from 126 pounds to less than 90. Despite his condition, labor camp officials forced him to perform 12 to 16 hours of labor each day.

On June 16, 2008, Mr. Hu was taken to the Yueyang City No. 1 Hospital for an examination. Physicians found his internal organs to be in poor condition and diagnosed him with liver disease. But the authorities refused to disclose any details or to allow Mr. Hu's family to visit him. Later, as his condition deteriorated, labor camp officials contacted his family and extorted money from them in exchange for a visit. On the afternoon of June 18, they placed Mr. Hu on parole and directed his family to take him home pending further investigation into his case.

Individuals responsible for the persecution (all male):

Deng Anhua, Qi Guanyi, Jiang Chao, Fu (last name), Li Yongfei, Zhang Yifei, Lu Ran

Mr. Yao Dahua, 55, of Han nationality, is a practitioner from Yueyang City who has held firm in his belief in "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." At 10:00 p.m. on March 18, 2008, Mr. Yao stepped outside his home after receiving a mysterious call on his cell phone. A dozen police officers were waiting for him and took him into custody. Among them were Liu Jian of the Beigang Township Police Department and officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Yueyanglou District Police Department. They took Mr. Yao to the Dongting Hotel in the Dongtan Factory in Yueyang City, where they interrogated him for 48 hours. The police feigned kindness at the beginning, but when Mr. Yao would not cooperate, they began beating him on the head and abdomen. The officers tied his arms behind his back, picked him up, and threw him to the floor repeatedly. They also forced him to kneel as they attempted to extract information from him.

On March 20, a half dozen police officers searched Mr. Yao's home and confiscated his Falun Dafa books and a portrait of the founder of Falun Gong. During the search, the police took him to the Yueyanglou District Prosecutor's Office for a two-hour interrogation. The prosecutor's office, however, would not accept the materials the police had seized from Mr. Yao's home during the interrogation.

Mr. Yao was held at the Yueyang City Detention Center for 35 days. The police then took him to the Forced Labor Administration Department, but he was not admitted to a labor camp. The detention center, however, forced Mr. Yao to work 12 to 16 hours each day. Even when he went on a hunger strike for a week to protest this treatment, Mr. Yao was forced to work for the same length of time. The detention center officials extorted 3300 yuan in cash from Mr. Yao's family. Of this amount, 1300 yuan was supposedly to cover "living expenses," but there was no explanation for the remaining 2000 yuan.

Agencies and individuals responsible for the persecution:

Domestic Security Division, Yueyang City Police Department
Domestic Security Division, Yueyanglou District Police Department
Beigang Township Police Department
Jiang Chao, Fu (last name, cell phone number 86-13873929222), Liu Jian (all male)

June 21, 2008