(Minghui.org) By the time Mr. Zhou Xiangyang finished serving seven years in prison, he had become so weak that he couldn’t get out of a car on his own. The Tianjin resident wasn’t allowed to go back to his own home to reunite with his wife but was ordered by the authorities to live with his parents in Matuo Village, Changli County, Hebei Province.
Under the directive of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, 610 Office and Public Security Bureau, the police in Changli County spent 160,000 yuan and installed 12 surveillance cameras to monitor Mr. Zhou, including around the homes of his parents and brother and the parents of his sister-in-law, who all live in the same village.
In addition to the surveillance cameras, Mr. Zhou is being followed by agents whenever he goes out. His family is living in constant fear and worries whether he will be arrested again at any time.
Tortured During Latest Imprisonment
Mr. Zhou, a 49-year-old former modern cost engineer, was widely known for his years-long hunger strike that started on the day of his arrest on March 2, 2015 and continued until he was released on March 1, 2022. At one point his organs failed, but he survived and returned home alive.
In Binhai Prison in Tianjin, the guards shocked Mr. Zhou with electric batons and sprayed his eyes with chili pepper water. The guards instigated inmates to torture him, including pinching his nipples, squeezing his genitals, fingering his anus, plucking his eyelashes, jamming his fingernails, pushing in his rib cage, prying out his teeth, and force-feeding him urine.
Earlier Persecution
After the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution in 1999, Mr. Zhou was given 1.5 years of forced labor for going to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. He was arrested again in 2003 and sentenced to nine years in prison on May 31 in the same year. He was held in two detention centers and three forced labor camps before he was transferred to Gangbei Prison in Tianjin.
During his time in various detention centers and labor camps, the guards shocked him with electric batons overnight, deprived him of sleep for 30 days, locked him in solitary confinement, and force-fed him. While in Gangbei Prison, he started a hunger strike in June 2008 to protest the persecution. During his more than one year of a hunger strike, his weight dropped to 80 pounds and he was too weak to walk and take care of his daily needs. The authorities granted him medical parole on July 28, 2009.
The police seized him at his rental place in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, and took him back to the prison on March 5, 2011.
His wife, Ms. Li Shanshan, also practices Falun Gong. Because of her efforts to rescue her husband, the authorities retaliated against her and put her in a forced labor camp twice for a total of over three years. She was released in 2013. She and her husband spent less than two years together before both were arrested again on March 2, 2015. This time, Mr. Zhou was given seven years in prison and Ms. Li six. Mr. Zhou was sent to the same Gangbei Prison (now renamed Binhai Prison) to serve his second jail term.
Related reports:
Prisoner of Conscience Recounts Horrific Torture While Serving 7 Years for Upholding Falun Gong
Zhou Xiangyang – One of the Strongest Believers I Ever Met
Tianjin Man Suffers Multiple Organ Failure After Six Years of Hunger Strike and Force-Feeding
Imprisoned Man on Hunger Strike for More than 3.5 Years to Protest Against Persecution of His Faith
Binhai Prison in Tianjin Continues to Abuse Falun Gong Practitioners
Daughter Imprisoned for Her Faith, Mother Denied Visits for Sharing Same Faith
Tianjin Couple Given Prison Term for Their Faith, Vow to Appeal Unjust Sentence
Tianjin Couple Appears in Court Again—New Lawyers Defend Their Right to Practice Falun Gong
On a Hunger Strike over a Year, Mr. Zhou Xiangyang Being Force-Fed
Surveillance Leads to More Arrests and Trial Without Legal Representation
Young Couple Arrested Again after 10 Years Spent Trying to Rescue Each Other from Prison
Ms. Li Shanshan Leaves Labor Camp with Dignity after Closure of Hebei Women’s Forced Labor Camp
Young Couple Subjected to Extreme Torture and Forced to be Apart
A Young Couple’s Journey: Zhou Xiangyang’s Fiancee Appeals Seven Years for His Release
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