Zou Yanjie's Feet Amputated Due to Persecution (Photos)

By Zou Yanjie

My name is Zou Yanjie. I lived in the Railroad Workers Community in Nong'an County of Jilin Province. The authorities brutally persecuted me because I am a Falun Gong practitioner. Both of my feet were frostbitten and had to be cut off. Currently, I have been forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.

Zou Yanjie

My wife Ye Mingzhu and I went to Beijing to appeal to higher authorities for Falun Gong on November 8, 2000. The Changchun Representative Office located in Beijing abducted us and took us home. The Nong'an County Politics and Security Department illegally detained us for a month and then sent us to the forced labour camp for one year. While we were imprisoned, the Halahai Township Government asked the secretary of our community, and a few others to search our home and confiscate our personal belongings. Chen Shufeng broke the door when he kicked it open. He took our bed, an electronic clock, a cabinet, an electric fan, bed linen, etc. When my mother asked the department accountant for some document to prove that those things were legally taken away, the accountant simply refused.

At 8 p.m. on December 20, 2001, when police knocked on the door to our courtyard, I didn't open it. I said, "It's pretty late now. Please come again tomorrow." The police then jumped over the wall from our neighbour's yard and broke into our home. Wang Shiquan, the director of the police substation, led a few other policemen inside. Without showing us any legal documents, they started to search our home.

My father tried to reason with Zhang Enfeng, who spat in his face. He also hit me in the chest with his torch and cursed me, saying, "I'll send you to a detention centre." Wang Shiquan then punched me. They beat me from our bedroom to the kitchen. Wang Shiquan tore the bed linen and took away our recorder. Zhang Enfeng took a Falun Gong exercise music tape. Then they abducted me, my mother, and my wife to the police substation.

When the police left to deal with other matters, I ran away from the substation. However, I became frightened when I got lost and trapped in the dense woods. This was during mid winter, and I had nothing to eat or drink for over ten days. I was extremely weak. My hands and feet were seriously frostbitten. Later someone found me and called the Wangfu Township Police Substation in Songyuan City, Jilin Province. The police came and arrested me. They interrogated me even though I was in a very weak condition. They asked me whether I would still practise Falun Gong. I said, "Yes." They detained me for one day and then sent me to the police station.

The police there again asked me whether I would keep practising Falun Gong. I said, "Yes." They knew that I was extremely weak, but they turned me out on my own anyway.

I managed to get in touch with my sister, who came and took me home. My feet were seriously frostbitten. Eventually, both of my feet had to be cut off.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/9/25/85003.html