Uncovering the Hideous Treatment That Led to Death of Practitioner Ms Zhao Dewen

Ms. Zhao Dewen was a 50-year-old Dafa practitioner from the Tianjin City. She was illegally arrested by the police at her home in early 2001 and sentenced to one year of forced labour and brainwashing at the Banqiao Female Labour Camp. She was assigned to the 1st team in the 5th brigade, and then reassigned to the 1st team in the 2nd brigade. Her jail sentence was extended twice due to her steadfast perseverance in practising Dafa. She was tortured to death on June 3, 2003.

During her detention at the labour camp, she was constantly tortured because of her refusal to sign the "repentance statement." The prison guards instigated drug addict convicts and other criminals to beat her, furthering the idea of "Beat them to death without concern. Count the deaths as suicides;" "Whoever can coerce Dafa practitioner to sign the repentance statement after beating them will receive a bonus and a sentence reduction. Otherwise, failure means additional sentences." Under such coercion, convicts act without any remorse or apprehension. A guard with the last name "Hao" ordered four inmates to lift Zhao Dewen then slam her onto the floor. Many other Dafa practitioners were tortured as well.

Many Dafa practitioners were hung and beaten and shocked with electric batons by the prison guards. Zhao Dewen died after she suffered massive internal bleeding caused by being slammed onto the ground repeatedly. In order to cover up the real cause of her death, labour camp officials notified her family that she committed suicide. After her family paid their last respects, they noticed that the prison authorities had put brand new clothes and socks on her body. Yet after they lifted the clothes they saw an inch long bloody wound under her right armpit. Her wrist had another "X" shaped wound. Her neck also showed signs that she had been strangled by a rope. The prison authorities refused to let her family transfer her body home and cremated her body themselves.

According to the latest information, four Dafa practitioners were tortured to death recently. Invariably, the prison authorities used "sudden heart attack" or "suicide" as the causes of death when notifying their families.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/7/17/54134.html