(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Fu Yafang was an employee of the Qunxing Supermarket in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, and is now retired.
The persecution of Falun Gong has damaged Ms. Fu’s physical health and peaceful family life. Police often harass her and her family at her residence. She is also forced to report to the police station and the community association office every day. Her family lives in fear and anxiety, and is under great pressure.
The following is a brief account of the persecutions she suffered from 2002 to 2008.
Incarcerated in Detention Centers
Xu Yuting, deputy chief of the Xingan Road Police Station, along with officers Wang Xiaodong, Zhao Baodong, and Chen Shoujie, broke into Ms. Fu’s home and ransacked it on July 6, 2008. They checked every single item and every corner of her residence, including her family photo albums, and marriage certificate, looking for “evidence.” They threatened to arrest Ms. Fu’s children if they interfered with the search.
The police accused Ms. Fu of possessing “anti-revolutionary items” when they found a calendar and a symbol with Falun Gong information. They arrested Ms. Fu after finding a copy of Zhuan Falun, and Minghui Weekly.
When Ms. Fu’s children tried to stop the police from arresting their mother, Xu Yuting threatened them, and said they would be arrested too, and that they would put shackles on Ms. Fu and drag her away. Xu said that the police would not be responsible for Ms. Fu’s well-being, and her family would also be taken to court.
The police took Ms. Fu and her children to the Xingan Road Police Station, and later detained her at the Hegang Second Detention Center that evening. Ms. Fu was transferred to the First Detention Center afterward, where she was detained for two months.
Ms. Fu’s home had previously been ransacked by police, and she had been detained. On January 1, 2002, without showing any identification, Zhao Baodong broke into her home and ransacked it, but found nothing. He arrested Ms. Fu and detained her for seventeen days.
Ms. Fu was locked inside a small, dark and damp cell with other practitioners. They could only relieve themselves in the toilet inside the cell. The air was filthy and congested, with no ventilation. The guards yelled at them if they practiced the exercises.
The guards physically tortured and verbally abused Ms. Fu, and tried to make her write statements promising to stop practicing Falun Gong. Since Ms. Fu refused to write the statements, the guards forced her family write the statements for her before she was released.
Zhao Baodong, along with four other police officers, broke into Ms. Fu’s home once again on April 20, 2002. They ransacked it but found nothing.
The police returned at 10:00 p.m. that night, threatened her, and said they had launched a mass arrest. They tried to force Ms. Fu to press her fingerprint, but she refused. When the police asked her if she would continue practicing Falun Gong, she replied yes.
Ms. Fu was detained this time in the Second Detention Center for three months. She was forced to sit on a small stool every day, and deprived of sleep. She was not allowed to cross her legs or speak to anyone. The guards instigated the prisoners to insult and curse at her.
All the practitioners detained there were seniors, with the eldest, Ms. Xie Xianglan, being 75 years old.
Torture re-enactment: Forced to sit on small stools for long periods of time
Three-year Forced Labor and Torture
Ms. Fu was eventually given a three-year forced labor sentence in 2002, and incarcerated in the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Center to do slave labor.
1. Strip-search
When she first arrived at the drug rehabilition center, Ms. Fu was strip-searched. She was forced to take off everything, including her underwear, and then stand facing a wall. The guards also searched her clothing and underwear.
2. Brainwashing
Ms. Fu was subjected to brainwashing every day. She was forced to sit on a small stool all day long, and watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. She was made to get up at 5:00 a.m., given five minutes to get ready, and then sit on the small stool until 9:00 p.m. More than twelve practitioners were held in a small room. They were not allowed to use the toilet, and had to relieve themselves inside a plastic bucket. The entire room smelled filthy and suffocating.
3. Other Tortures
The guards forced Ms. Fu to squat on a pair of iron bars that were two inches apart. After a while, her feet were very painful and her legs became numb.
Guard Wang Dan cuffed Ms. Fu’s hands onto an iron bar, and then instigated the criminal prisoners to step on the handcuffs violently. The flesh on her wrists was ripped open, exposing the bones.
Torture re-enactment: Rings chained to the floor
Wang Dan also stuffed a small cloth bag filled with some unknown drugs into her mouth, and then tied the bag around her neck with tape. The foam she spat out was black.
When winter came, the guards locked over eight dozen practitioners in the basement, took away their winter jackets, then opened the windows to freeze them.
To force Ms. Fu to sign the statements denouncing Falun Gong, the guards tortured her for 72 hours. They used a high intensity light to blind her eyes and confuse her.
Team head Li ordered the prisoners to shave only certain parts of her hair to humiliate her.
Ms. Fu became so fragile that her feet hurt and felt as if she was walking on broken glass and needles. Her body became numb, and she became unable to walk without help.
Two months later, when she regained some strength, the guards forced her to do slave labor again sorting toothpaste tubes and chopsticks all day long until after 10:00 p.m.
