An account of extortion and mistreatment over a period of several weeks in a labor camp.

Mr. Wang Zhongyuan Recounts His Arrest and Labor Camp Experience

Mr. Wang Zhongyuan is a practitioner from Shulan City, Jilin Province. On March 25, 2009, the police arrested him, ransacked his home, and jailed him in Pingan Township Police Station. They later took him to the detention center while they attempted to extort money from his family. On April 4, the police took Mr. Wang to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp. The following is Mr. Wang's account of his persecution.

In the afternoon on March 25, 2009, officers from the Pingan Township Police Station in Shulan City forcibly entered my home and proceeded directly to the upstairs bedrooms. There were many officers, including Tian Jun, Gu Er, and Wang Da. Without any explanation, they grabbed my father, who is over 60 years old. Officers Tian, Gu, and Wang then began ransacking my home. When I asked, "What do you think you are doing?" Wang slapped my face and punched me several times. Four of the officers forced me into my room, and Gu and Wang locked the door. The police continued to make a mess of my home and made a video recording of their search. The police were planning to take me to the police station, so they told my parents to persuade me to wear some shoes. When I said I wouldn't, the officers carried me down the stairs and forced me into the police car.

When we got to the police station, the officers tried to get me out of the car, but I refused to cooperate. Officer Gao Yuguang and some others said, "If he won't get out, take him to the Domestic Security Division." They took me to the Domestic Security Division and carried me out of the car. They played the video recording, which was two hours long. They had confiscated my cellphone, battery charger, many small flashlights, and a painting. They claimed that these were Falun Gong items. When I asked, "Are they?" Gao said, "Even if they are not, we'll say they are."

They forced me back into the car, took me to the detention center, and carried me out of the car again. As Gu and Wang were carrying me, they intentionally dragged me over the ground. When they reached the front of the building, they dragged me up the steps so forcefully that I was unable to sit for over ten days. Wang searched me once we were inside the detention center.

While I was at the detention center, the police tried to extort over 500 yuan from my family. They claimed that it was to cover the cost of food, so I began a hunger strike the next day. They threatened to force-feed me if I didn't eat. On the seventh day of my hunger strike, four or five people from the detention center carried me into a car and took me to a hospital, where I was force-fed. While I was there, one of the guards tortured me by pressing my legs against the metal bedposts. After two hours of brutal mistreatment, they carried me back to the detention center.

While this was taking place, the police continued to try to extort money from my family. They said that if my family paid 1,000 yuan, then the police would release me in fifteen days. On April 3, my mother gave Officer Yang Yuejin the 1,000 yuan. On the morning of April 4, Yang, Tian, and a driver for one of the senior officers lied to the detention center staff, telling them that they were taking me to see a doctor. They took me to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp instead. When my family went to the detention center to visit me, they told my family that they had transferred me to Jilin City.

When I arrived at the labor camp, I was again carried out of the car and given a medical exam. The labor camp doctor asked them how many days it had been since I had eaten. They said five or six days. The doctor asked whether I had had any water. They said that I had drunk some rice water. On April 4, the tenth day of my hunger strike, they carried me to the Changchun Hospital. At the hospital, four people held my arm while they drew blood for a test. While this was taking place, Tian tried to pour water into my mouth, but he ended up drenching my hair instead. When they were ready to check my heart, Tian opened my shirt and told the doctor that I had not eaten for six or seven days but that I had had rice water. On the way back, the police from Shulan City said I had been dishonest and handcuffed me. Tian cuffed my hands behind my back and said that I had better cooperate.

Two days after I returned to Shulan City, the officers that arrested me and four or five officers from the Pingan Township Police Station went to my house to harass my family. Police from Qili Village also came to interrogate me, but they didn't get the information they wanted. On the morning of the fourteenth day of my hunger strike, two officers from Qili Village handcuffed my hands behind my back and took me back to the labor camp.