Arrested and Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Practicing Falun Gong

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May 7, 2014 | By Zhang Xingguo, a practitioner from Heilongjiang Province, China

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Xingguo was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2008 for practicing Falun Gong. He is being held in Daqing Prison.

Mr. Zhang has been arrested six times and has suffered brutal torture. After his most recent arrest in 2008, his mother, in her 80s, had a mental breakdown and passed away.

Mr. Zhang's Recounts Being Persecuted

My name is Zhang Xingguo. I am 56 years old and live in Suihua, Heilongjiang, and was employed by the Suihua Pharmaceutical Regulatory Office. I started to practice Falun Gong in 1997.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started its unprecedented persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Since then, I have been arrested, detained and illegally sentenced in labor camps.

I visited the Heilongjiang provincial government office on July 22, 1999, to tell them the facts about Falun Gong. I was arrested, interrogated, and beaten by security and then taken to the Suihua Detention center.

Chief Wang Xingzhou of the Political Security Section in the Beilin District and another section chief with the surname of Zhang were in charge. They demanded I sign a guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong. They also demanded 10,000 yuan from my employer to bail me out. I was detained for 23 days. I was closely monitored after I was released.

I was detained and accused of supplying another practitioner with Falun Gong materials on November 2, 1999. I was detained for over three months. Because of my family's efforts, I was released on bail after my family paid the procuratorate 10,000 yuan.

Arrested and Sentenced to Forced Labor in 2000

A dozen practitioners held a group exercise event at Nanshan West Road Park on July 12, 2000. They were arrested by officers from the Beilin District Political Security Section, Beilin District Police Department, Chunlei Police Station, and the Domestic Security Group. My wife, Zhang Shuqing, was among the arrested.

Because I organized the local Falun Gong activities in the past, the Fendou police determined that I had organized the group exercise. I was arrested, interrogated, and sentenced to one year of forced labor.

I was taken to Suihua Forced Labor Camp, which refused to admit me due to poor health. Beilin Police Department Branch Office chief Gao Wenfu, Zheng Defu, and Wang Xingzhou then took me to the Suihua No. 1 Detention Center.

I went on hunger strike several times to protest the detention and was force-fed many times. I was closely monitored after I was released.

Torture illustration: Force-feeding

Arrest and Detention in 2001

I went to visit a fellow practitioner on the evening of November 28, 2001, and was arrested by Sun Tiemin and police from the the Beilin Crime Squad.

Wang Xingzhou tied me to an iron chair, carried me to a van, and took me to the Political Security Section. I was interrogated through the night. Wang ordered police, “Beat him if he closes his eyes and pour cold water over his head.” Officers involved in my torture were Li Jianfei and Dong Jiangpeng.

Torture illustration: Hanging

Several people from the 610 Office interrogated me the next day. They took me to the Suihua Detention Center No. 1 two days later. I demanded to be released and went on a hunger strike. I was brutally force-fed by Yang, the prison doctor, and inmates.

I was in critical condition and taken to Suihua People's Hospital No. 1 on February 8, 2002. I was released on medical parole that afternoon.

Arrested and Sentenced to Labor Camp

I was arrested in June 2002 for putting up posters about Falun Gong and sentenced to three years in a labor camp. My wife, Zhang Shuqing, was arrested at the same time and also sentenced to three years in the Qiqihaer Shuanghe Women's Labor Camp.

My home was ransacked in April 2004, and my personal belongings, worth over 10,000 yuan were confiscated.

Belongings Confiscated, Extortion, and Arrests

Political commissar Wang Zhijie from the Suihua Police Department was in charge of mass arrests of practitioners on September 20, 2006. My home was ransacked, and they confiscated personal belongings worth over 50,000 yuan. My wife and I escaped.

Wang Zhijie and Li Jianfei from the Suihua Police Department and my employer arrested my daughter at work. She was taken to a detention center and detained for over a month. They extorted 15,000 yuan from her before she was released.

I searched for a job in the Daxinganling area in April 2008. I was followed by the Domestic Security Group and arrested at the Jiagedaqi Train Station on May 31 by the Suihua Domestic Security Group and Jiagedaqi Police Department.

They covered my head and handcuffed me. I was taken to a motel for the night. They confiscated 1,000 yuan and other personal items. I was taken to the Jiagedaqi Detention Center the next day.

My wife and daughter, who were living in Qiqihaer at the time, were also arrested. Our home was ransacked, and 4,000 yuan and other personal items were confiscated.

My wife, daughter, and I were taken to Suihua on June 1, 2008. My wife was sentenced to one year and nine months of forced labor and taken to the Heilongjiang Women's Drug Addiction Rehab Center. My daughter was detained at the Qinggang County Detention Center and then released after they extorted 5,000 yuan from her.

I was taken to Wang Zhijie's family farm for four days of interrogation and tortured by Wang, Yang Xiaodong from the Domestic Security Group, Beilin District 610 office personnel, and policeman Li Jianfei.

I was taken to the Wangkui County Detention Center on June 4 and to the Suihua Detention Center No. 1 on August 7. My feet were shackled.

I was sentenced to eight years in prison on August 8, 2008. I was taken to the Hulan Prison Intense Training Camp on November 5, 2008. While there, I was tortured and had to do hard labor. I was transferred to Ward No. 2, District No. 1 in Daqing Prison on January 13, 2009.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Zhang Xinggu o 张兴国 Gender: Male Age: 56 Address: Unit 29, Committee No. 4, Fendou Street, Beilin District, Suihua, Heilongjiang 黑龙江省绥化市北林区奋斗街四委二十九组 Occupation : Suihua Pharmaceutical Regulatory Office 绥化市药品检验所 Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 31, 2008 Most Recent Place of Detention: Daqing Prison 大庆监狱 City: Daqing Province: Heilongjiang Persecution Suffered : Sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion, fired from workplace, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, detention