According to a preliminary investigation, numerous Falun Gong practitioners in Panjin City, Liaoning Province were recently illegally arrested. Participating in the early morning arrests on August 30, 2007 were officials from the National Security Team and local police stations. The practitioners were taken to Panjin City Detention Center in Shisanlipu. Two or more police cars were dispatched to each practitioner's home to carry out the arrests.

These officials broke into Falun Gong practitioners' homes between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. that morning, arrested the practitioners and ransacked their homes. They also took money and personal belongings. The police knew the exact location of computers, printers and other equipment, and they carried a list of names and addresses. Once they arrived at the practitioners' homes they demanded, "Bring them [pieces of equipment] out. There is no need for explanation."

So far at least eight practitioners were arrested, and one practitioner was forced to leave home. Below is a brief summary of their encounters.

Mr. Li Fusheng lived in Dabaozi Village in Tianjia Town, Dawa County. Six officials from Panjin City National Security Team and from Xinglongtai National Security Team broke into his home at 6:00 a.m. on August 30 and took him away. They also took the book Zhuan Falun, photographs of Mr. Li Hongzhi [Falun Gong's founder] and a satellite antenna. It was learned that National Security agents were seen near this practitioners' house one week before the arrest.

Practitioner Mr. Meng Qinghui was originally from Heilongjiang Province and worked in Panjin City. He lived with his older sister in a remote region, in suburban Tianjia Town, Dawa City. His home was ransacked at 7:30 a.m. on August 30. Two police cars from the city's National Security Team went to his home, and one officer said to Meng Qinghui, "Now bring out the stuff you put in the little room over there! We've been following you for four months. You don't need to say anything. We saw who brought those things to you! We have installed surveillance cameras in every corner of the city, and we can find the footage to identify those people!" They drove off with Meng Qinghui's equipment, which he used to produce Falun Gong truth-clarification materials.

Practitioner Zhang Ying lived in Xinli Town, Dawa County. The police from Xinli Town Station led the officials from Panjin City and Xinglongtai District National Security Team to her home at 7:30 a.m. on August 30. They ransacked it and took computer equipment, printer(s) and Falun Gong books. One officer said, "Everyone saw you guys carrying stuff in and out in broad daylight. We've known about it for a long time. Hurry up and bring [the equipment] out to us! We've also made arrests in Xinglongtai."

Ms. Zhang Hua, in her fifties, is a retired teacher and had taught the children of employees at Xingong Street Fertilizer Factory School in Xinglongtai, Panjin City. The officials from Panjin City, Xinglongtai District National Security Team and Xingong Police Station ransacked her home early on the morning of August 30 and took her computer equipment, printer(s) and Falun Gong books, among other things.

Practitioner Ms. Wang Yulian, an employee of the 3rd Factory found her home ransacked when she returned from work on August 30, and 500 yuan cash was missing. Her neighbors told her that officers from Xingong Police Station had pried the door open and ransacked her home. Someone reportedly overheard the chief of Xingong Police Station asking his subordinate, "Why didn't you arrest Wang Yulian? We haven't met our [arrest] quota yet." Wang Yulian thus could not return home, in order to avoid the police.

Practitioners Mr. Liu Hongpu and his wife Ms. Li Xiufen lived near the Liaohe Oilfield. Liu Hongpu was a technical expert at the Lujing Company and Li Xiufen was a teacher at the 1st Xinglong Elementary School. They lived in Redian Community in Xinglongtai District. The officers from Qinggong Police Station, Panjin City Police Department and Xinglongtai National Security Team arrested both of them. The police ransacked their home and took computer(s), printer(s), Falun Gong books, and some other things. Their young son is now left home alone.

Practitioner Sun Zhencai from Wanjia Township, Dawa County and practitioner Li Jianguo from Xinglongtai District were also arrested.
 

I am a Falun Gong practitioner in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province. Staff from the local police department illegally arrested me in May 2002. They cuffed me to a metal chair and took turns interrogating me. I refused to answer their questions, so the police verbally abused me and threatened me. A police officer surnamed Zhang slapped my face and hit my head. Another policeman surnamed Xue from the local 610 Office kicked me fiercely when I refused to answer the questions in the way he demanded. In the evening, I was locked to the leg of a desk inside the conference room and forced to sit on the floor with my back straight. The police took one-hour shifts monitoring me for the entire night. I was locked onto a mental chair for two days at the police department. Later, I was sent to a local detention center and was held there for almost three months.

The local court sentenced me to four years in prison in August 2002. I was sent to Xianglan Prison where more than 2,000 prisoners were held. The guards were all very ferocious. The suppressive atmosphere made one feel as if the whole prison was hell. Upon arrival, the guards checked my bags and forbade me from bringing a single item into the prison. They even took away bathroom tissue. On my third day in the prison, my family came to visit me. The guards watched closely, standing beside me. When I asked about how my family was doing, the guard stopped me immediately and verbally abused me. In the following days, the guards tried to coerce me to "transform" by writing the so-called "four statements" (similar to the three statements) At that time, I had practiced Falun Gong for four years, and I had benefited tremendously from the practice. I truly wished to be a good person according to the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." However, under the enormous pressure from the viscious guards, I wrote the "four statements" against my will and my conscience. I felt extremely sorrowful.

The food in the prison was terrible. Prisoners were given drinking water that was used to raise fish. I subsequently developed stomach problems and became very weak. On one occasion, I slightly bumped into a guard passing by when I was working. He brutally beat me without giving me any chance to explain the situation. On another occasion, when the guards organized a meeting to give orders to the prisoners, I felt uncomfortable and moved a bit. For this, a guard beat me with his leather belt. I instantly saw numerous stars in front of my eyes. One day, a group of criminals started a fight. I tried to persuade them to stop, as I was afraid they might seriously hurt each other. A guard heard the noise and came over. A criminal pointed to me and told the police, "He wants to join the fight." The guard didn't bother to find out the true situation and shocked me with an electric baton as punishment.

In October 2002, I was transferred to Lianjiangkou Prison. It was the harvest season for rice, and the guards ordered us to harvest rice every day, and they monitored us as we worked on the farm. I tried my best and I sweat a lot, yet I still could not catch up with the others and finish the assignment in time, because I was too weak. The guard surnamed Ma beat me several times. It went on like this for two months. One evening I went to the bathroom and passed out for five minutes. It was not until a criminal inmate told me what had happened, that I knew that I had passed out in the restroom.

In late March 2003, I was transferred again. This time I was taken to Jiamusi Prison. I was ill, and SARS was at its peak at that time. The guards were afraid that I might get SARS and allowed me to stay in the patients' cell for a few days. Then I was assigned to the 6th Ward. Because I had previously written the "four statements" which made me feel extremely sad, I wrote a "Solemn Declaration," nullifying the statements, and handed it in to a guard because I didn't want to betray my conscience. In it, I declared that all my past "renunciation statements" were void and that I would not give up the most precious belief in my life.

The guards then often made trouble for me. One day, guards Sui Jin and Xu Chongwen ordered me to announce myself in a certain way as required for criminal inmates when entering the office. I said I didn't know how to do it. They then dragged me upstairs and beat me violently. My nose and mouth bled profusely. They didn't let me go until very late. On the next day, the guards ordered me to go to the office and cuffed me to a bed. Guards Sui Jin and Teng Qining took turns shocking me with electric batons, and my neck blistered all over. As they continued shocking me on the blisters, blood and puss seeped out. I didn't recover for quite some time.

One day in October, I didn't go to their class. For this, the ward head, surnamed Chang, and guard Sui Jin cruelly beat me. When I fell onto the ground, and they continued kicking me. They even came back to kick me again several times after they rested. The next day, they ordered me to have a meeting with the other (criminal) inmates. I passed out on my way to the meeting room. It was then that the guards allowed me to take a break. Several days later, my illness became more severe. I could not eat, nor could I walk. Even so, guard Sui Jin still treated me harshly. When other (criminal) inmates were working in a big hall, he ordered me to go to the hall as well and lie down on the floor. One month later, upon seeing that I was indeed in a terrible situation, they ordered a criminal inmate to carry me to the cell for patients, where I stayed for a little over a month. The guards at the patients' cell accused me of "pretending to be ill" and often beat and cursed me. When I was lying on the bed, they kicked my bed harshly.

In late March 2004, the Jiamusi Prison merged with Lianjiangkou Prison. I was then sent to the 2nd Ward of Lianjiangkou Prison. A few days after the transfer, an inspection group was said to be coming for an inspection. The guards rushed us 13 ill detainees to a dark room inside the patients' area so that the inspection group would not see us. It was also a measure to prevent us from reporting to the inspection group how we were treated in the prison. As soon as the inspection group left, we were sent back to our original cells.

Several days later, guards Zhao Jinpeng and Xu Congwen assigned common inmates to watch all practitioners in the Second Ward. The guards threatened us and tried to force us to write the "four statements." Zhao Jinpeng and Xu Congwen often beat and verbally abused me. They also instructed criminal inmates Han Benshuang and Zhang Pingwen to bully me. We several practitioners were separated from one another and were put under strict surveillance. Our families were not allowed to visit us, and we were forbidden from talking to other inmates. The guards also restricted us from buying needed daily items.

One day in May, inmate Zhang Pingwen, who was assigned to watch me, told me that the head of the Second Ward would award me 2,000 yuan with additional favorable treatment if I wrote the "four statements." I told him that I would not write the statements. Guards Zhao Jinpeng and Xu Congwen then continued torturing me, even though I was already in poor health.

In late June, the guards ordered the inmates to lock us several practitioners into one room, and they came in and violently beat us. They forced me to bow down and face the wall. They beat and kicked me, causing my nose and mouth bled heavily. I was forced to write a repentance statement again under tremendous pressure.

My health deteriorated significantly due to the torture. In January 2005, the doctor weighed me when I went to the clinic. I was 170 cm tall (~5'6"), but I only weighed 40 kg (~90 lbs). In March, I could not eat or drink for three days. The guards took me to the 2nd Hospital of Jiamusi City for an examination. When we came back from the hospital, I was sent to the patients' cell. When my family managed to visit me through their personal connections, they were heartbroken upon seeing that I was so weak. The guards read through the medical reports in front of my family and me, saying that I was critically ill and that I could not eat anything, otherwise my life would be in danger. My family demanded my release on medical parole. The prison authorities disapproved, regardless of my family's pleas.

I was held in the patients' cell for several more months. Inmate Han Benshuang, as instigated by the guards, always made trouble for me. In June, he reported to the guards that I practiced the exercises inside the cell. I was thus driven out of the patients' cell. At that time, I was able to eat a little food, but I was still very weak. A criminal inmate carried me on his back to return me to a normal cell. I stayed in bed in the cell for nearly six months. It was not until the new year of 2006 that I began to recover. I was fortunate to survive.

I was finally released in May 2006. After I returned home, I continued reading Falun Gong teachings and practicing the exercises, and this restored my health within a very short time. My family was amazed to see the wonders of Falun Gong manifest in me.