Mr. Zhang Beiqi from Jilin Province Arrested in Shandong Province After the Chinese New Year

Name: Zhang Beiqi

Gender: Male

Age: 48

Address: Antu County, Jilin Province

Occupation: Engineer

Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 27th, 2010

Most Recent Place of Detention: Pingdu Detention Centre

Hometown: Pingdu City, in Qingdao City, Shandong Province

Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, hung up, solitary confinement, torture, fired from workplace, interrogation, detention

On February 27th, 2010 Mr. Zhang Beiqi was arrested in his hometown in Shandong Province by police from Yanbian City, Jilin Province, because Mr. Zhang helped find an attorney to defend practitioner Li Fengyun.

In the past 10 years, Mr. Zhang was detained for eight years at various places, including Yanji Labour Camp, Jiutai Labour Camp, Tonghua Labour Camp, Tiebei Prison in Changchun City, Jilin Prison, and others. Now he has been arrested once again.

Du Peng (an attorney from Luotai Law Firm in Luoyang City, Henan Province) defended Ms. Li Fengyun's right to practise Falun Gong. Ms. Li Fengyun also defended herself. After the court hearing, many people learned the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. When one police officer who had been deeply involved in the persecution walked out of the court room, he pressed his palms together in front of his chest to show his respect to the practitioners. However, under the influence of the 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong], the court sentenced Ms. Li Fengyun to eight years of imprisonment.

After the court hearing, a deputy director was sent by the central 610 Office to Yanbian City to enforce the persecution and send practitioners to brainwashing centres to "reform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] them. Several practitioners were sent to forced labour camps, including Ms. Jin Guangri, Tang Yibin, and others. Mr. Zhang was sent to Jiutai Labour Camp, where he was rejected due to his poor health. Mr. Zhang was then sent to Changchun Police Hospital. Another practitioner, Ms. Yin Fengqin, fell from the building during the violent arrest and died. Under pressure from police, her family members had to immediately cremate her remains before the Chinese New Year of 2010.

On February 27th, 2010 Mr. Zhang was arrested in his hometown of Pingdu by police from Yanbian City and the local police. At that time, he only carried a cell phone, a bank card, and some cash. Although Mr. Zhang was detained at a local detention centre after his arrest, Yanbian police insisted on guarding him themselves, instead of using local police. Therefore, except for some police officers from Yanbian, nobody was able to meet with Mr. Zhang.

Mr. Zhang is an engineer. After moving to Antu County in Jilin Province in 1990, he was a manager at Antu County Second Construction Company. In 1996, he began to practise Falun Gong. In 1999, he went to Beijing to appeal. One month after being seized at Dalian Airport, he was subjected to two years of forced labour and detained at Yanbian Labour Camp. Three months later he was released, and he was subsequently detained many times at Antu Detention Centre.

Around the New Year in 2001, Mr. Zhang went to Beijing to appeal. His detention was extended by one year. After being detained at Yanji Labour Camp, Jiutai Labour Camp, and Tonghua Labour Camp, he was released in 2003 when his term expired.

On the morning of March 24th, 2004, Mr. Zhang was arrested and secretly detained at Haigou Gold Mine in Antu County. After seven consecutive days of brutal torture, his legs were paralyzed, and he could not walk. Mr. Zhang was tied up on a Tiger Bench (a device for torture) the whole time. Guards severely beat him with heavy plastic and wooden batons several inches in diameter. Guards also inserted a lit cigarette into his nose. Mr. Zhang lost consciousness and could not walk.

Mr. Zhang made several attempts to appeal. When the court hearing started, he suddenly fainted and the hearing had to be cancelled. After being sentenced to six years, he was transferred to Tibei Prison in Changchun City in November 2004 and later Ward 7 in Jilin Prison. On July 25th, 2006, while in solitary confinement, the guards asked inmates to torture Mr. Zhang by stretching him. He was severely injured and passed out.

Mr. Zhang was transferred to Jilin Prison. He assisted other inmates, even those who had infectious diseases. As a result, the inmates got along well with him. He could not tolerate practitioners being brutally tortured in the prison. Whenever he heard any practitioners being tortured, he would request the prison director or find other ways to help practitioners who were persecuted.

In March 2009, Mr. Zhang was released from prison after a total of eight years, enduring torture with electric batons, being stretched, tortured with the Death Bed¹, solitary confinement, and other torture, altogether more than 20 types of torture.

At about 5:30 am on the day of his release, Mr. Zhang went to Ward 11 to visit his friends, where he was badly beaten by the other inmates. Guards in Ward 11 did not stop them, but instead said, "Let us bring him back to Ward 11 and handcuff him!" Inmates beat him all the way from the third floor to the second floor.

Note

1. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/3/4/219201.html