(Minghui.org) Mr. Xiong Youyi, a Falun Dafa practitioner from Macheng City, Hubei Province, was illegally arrested on June 20, 2012, and transferred to the Banqiao Brainwashing Center in early July. He was brutally tortured in detention, becoming emaciated and weak. On September 6, 2012, he was transferred to the First Detention Center of Macheng City, and continued to be persecuted. His family's request for visitation was denied; they were told that Mr. Xiong's case had been sent to court, and visitation could only be granted after the written judgment was issued.
Mr. Xiong, 49, is a peasant from Shenjiazhuang, Macheng City. He had contracted hepatitis as a youth, but regained good health through Falun Dafa practice. Through Dafa cultivation practice, he became a sincere person who enjoyed helping others.
Mr. Xiong was often harassed by the 610 Office in Macheng and local village officials for his belief in Falun Dafa. He was also arrested multiple times. His wife could not cope with the emotional stress of the persecution and divorced him, leaving him to take care of their teenage son.
Following Mr. Xiong's June 2012 arrest, he was secretly transferred to the Banqiao Brainwashing Center in Hubei Province. He remained there for over 40 days, being subjected to inhumane torture. He was made to stand still for 8 consecutive hours and then deprived of sleep at night. He was also deprived of food. A villager hired to monitor him gave him two steamed buns out of sympathy. However, the guards caught his act of kindness and replaced him with another villager.
An insider revealed that Mr. Xiong was strictly monitored and often beaten. As a result of the persecution, he became very thin and weak, suffered edema in the lower extremities, and appeared near death.
On September 6, 2012, Dong Jiapeng and other officers from the local 610 Office transferred Mr. Xiong back to Macheng City and imprisoned him in the Macheng First Detention Center for further persecution. Upon hearing the news, his family rushed to the detention center to see him. However, the staff refused to admit that Mr. Xiong was there. His family then went to ask Dong Jiapeng at the 610 Office. Dong Jiapeng said that with the 18th Communist Party Congress coming up, he “would not want to lose my job due to Xiong Youyi's case.” Later, the family were able to confirm that Mr. Xiong was indeed held at that detention center.
Because Mr. Xiong refused to be “transformed,” communist officials refused to let his family visit him. They claimed that this case had been filed in court, and no visitation would be allowed until after the court reached a decision. Mr. Xiong's family went to talk with the Domestic Security Division head Hu Kaiwen, requested him to release Xiong. However, Hu Kaiwen claimed that since Mr. Xiong refused to give up his belief, he would be sent to a labor camp.
Police, Domestic Security Division and 610 Office repeatedly denied Mr. Xiong's family's requests for visitation and Mr. Xiong's release. Some police officers also tried to convince his son to presuade him to give up Falun Dafa, as well as to sign papers indicating that Mr. Xiong broke the law. However, Mr. Xiong's son would not waver. He knew that his father was a good man who did not commit any crime; thus, he refused to betray his father. Mr. Xiong's son then quit his job in another city and came back home to help rescue his father. Despite his many efforts, however, the police refused to even let him visit his father.
Parties involved in the persecution:
Yang Yao, Party secretary of Macheng City: +86-13636008326 (Cell)
Feng Xiang, Political and Legal Affairs Committee director: +86-13508654220 (Cell)
Liu Jun, police director: +86-13581278088 (Cell)
Dong Jiapeng, deputy police director: +86-13995905839 (Cell)
Hu Kaiwen, head of Domestic Security Division: +86-18986758123 (Cell)
Shangguan Fuling, director of police station
Please refer to the original Chinese text for additional parties involved in the persecution.