After Over 13 Years Behind Bars for Practicing Falun Gong, 61-Year-Old Hunan Man Arrested Again for His Faith
(Minghui.org) A 61-year-old resident of Yiyang City, Hunan Province was arrested at home in late December 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. The police kept Mr. Zhang Chunqiu’s family in the dark regarding his whereabouts and case status. His loved ones still do not know where he is detained to this day.
This is not the first time that Mr. Zhang has been targeted for his faith. His latest arrest took place only five months after he completed a three-year-and-seven-month prison term. Prior to that, he served an eight-year prison term and a forced labor term of one year and nine months.
For details of Mr. Zhang’s past persecution, see the related reports. Below is a quick recap of his suffering over the years for upholding his faith.
Brutally Tortured Throughout 8-Year Prison Term (April 2001 – April 2009)
Mr. Zhang was arrested on April 19, 2001 and later sentenced to eight years in prison. He suffered brutal torture at every facility he was held throughout his prison term.
After he was taken to the Yiyang City First Detention Center following his arrest, guard Wang Tiejun instigated the inmates to beat him. They had him kneel in front of a wall and kneed him in the back repeatedly. He spit out blood, which splattered onto the wall.
Mr. Zhang was transferred to the Hunan Province First Transfer Center on October 1, 2002. The Yiyang City First Detention Center director asked captain He at the transfer center to teach Mr. Zhang “a lesson” because he was a “diehard Falun Gong.” The next afternoon, captain He punched and kicked Mr. Zhang, and slapped him in the face.
Mr. Zhang condemned captain He for breaking the law in beating him up, only to be shocked with multiple electric batons all over his body. When the electric batons landed on his head, the current was so strong that he was immediately shocked unconscious. The flesh on his head, chest, hips, soles, and the crotch area were severely burnt. His limbs were also out of commission.
After six months at the transfer center, Mr. Zhang was moved to the Jinshi City Prison, where he faced more torture.
On May 17, 2003, guard Zhou directed several inmates to hang Mr. Zhang up by his wrists with his feet off the ground. To increase his suffering, they hung a nearly 200-pound wooden board around his neck. “In contempt of prison guards” was written across the board. Mr. Zhang was not let down until 13 hours later.
Torture reenactment: being hung-up with a heavy object on the neck
On March 26, 2007, the prison moved Mr. Zhang to a cell to stay with 14 tuberculosis patients, even though he was perfectly healthy. He learned later that the prison was using him to conduct an experiment. He wasn’t moved out of the cell until May 1, 2007, when the news of using human subjects in the illicit experiment was exposed to the outside world.
Captain Zhang Ming instructed guard Zeng Wangjin to beat Mr. Zhang on the night of March 19, 2008. Zeng first punched and kicked Mr. Zhang in the head and the rest of his body for about ten minutes non-stop. He spewed out blood as a result. After a bit of rest, Zeng resumed the beating for about nine minutes straight. When the third round of beating began, Mr. Zhang felt he was on the verge of death. He condemned Zeng for beating innocent people, and only then did Zeng stop.
Mr. Zhang sustained severe head trauma and was injured all over his body. He stayed in bed for four days. He was released on April 19, 2009.
Given One Year and Nine Months of Forced Labor in 2010
Mr. Zhang was arrested on February 21, 2010 and given one year and nine months of forced labor at the Xinkaipu Labor Camp in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province.
The labor camp forced Mr. Zhang to do hard labor without pay. When he was not working, he was subjected to various forms of abuse and forced to watch anti-Falun Gong propaganda.
He was released on November 21, 2011.
Two Arrests Between 2012 and 2014
Mr. Zhang went to Foshan City, Guangdong Province to do odd jobs after he was released from the labor camp. He was arrested by several plainclothes officers from Hunan at his Foshan residence on October 10, 2012. The police raided his apartment and took him back to Yiyang City, Hunan Province. He was held at the Datonghu District Detention Center in Yiyang City until November 18, 2012.
The local police kept harassing and monitoring Mr. Zhang and his family in the years that followed.
Mr. Zhang was arrested on April 8, 2014, while he was visiting Huaihua City, Hunan Province. He was taken back to Yiyang City and held for an unknown amount of time.
Sentenced to 3 Years and 7 Months Following Arrest in 2019
Mr. Zhang later landed a job at a company in Loudi City, Hunan Province. The Louxing District Police Department in Loudi City arrested him on December 6, 2019 and took him to the Loudi City Second Detention Center. The Louxing District Court heard his case on June 11, 2020 and later sentenced him to three years and seven months.
Mr. Zhang was admitted to the Wangling Prison on January 15, 2021 and released on July 5, 2023. He moved back to his hometown in Yiyang City, only to be arrested again in late December 2023.
Related Reports:
After Spending Nearly Ten Years Behind Bars, Hunan Man Sentenced for His Faith Again
Once Incarcerated for Ten Years, Hunan Man Faces Prosecution for His Faith Again
Ten Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Huaihua City; Police Rob Them of More Than 60,000 Yuan
Mr. Zhang Chunqiu in Hunan Province Persecuted for Eight Years