(Clearwisdom.net) In September 2002, the authorities in Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp of Harbin City formed the Fifth Brigade, also known as the "Transformation Brigade," which specialized in using violence to persecute those Falun Gong practitioners who refused to be "transformed." Gathering a bunch of hatchet men, the labor camp authority used the brigade to execute the order of "forced transformation." In particular, they escalated the brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners prior to the Sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

In the Fifth Brigade, the labor camp first imprisoned the practitioners who upheld their practice, and forced them to squat down on a tiny ceramic tile and to hold their arms around their heads. If anyone stepped outside the designated tile, the guards would beat him badly. They dragged these practitioners to a dark room and tortured them. In addition, they dragged some other practitioners to the men's room, stripped them, and forced them to face the window, which was purposely opened to let in cold air. Then they soaked the practitioners with cold water, exposed them to the cold air all night long, and beat them with electric batons.

After stripping some male practitioners and forcing them to stand in the room, the perpetrators used water to wet the testicles of the male practitioners, and then shocked them with electric batons until the practitioners collapsed or were forced to sign the three statements.

The crimes committed by the authorities in the forced labor camp are too many to record. For instance, the officers shackled the practitioners on iron beds, completely immobilized in the spread-eagle position with all four limbs extended. Wearing gloves and holding towels, the officers then forcefully squeezed the male practitioners' testicles. The pain, the humiliation, and the trampling of their humanity were too horrific to describe with any human language. In the officers' own words, "You're here just for us to play with. We can torture you as we wish." As they admitted themselves, the vicious tortures they used against Falun Gong practitioners would have even shocked the Nazis in World War II.

The head of the Fifth Brigade, Zhao Shuang, led the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Instructed by Zhao and other leaders, the perpetrators persecuted the practitioners at will. They hung practitioners up and beat them day and night without giving them any chance to rest. As soon as the practitioners closed their eyes, the thugs would use the blue light of the electric batons to hurt practitioners' eyes, then they would burn their pubic hairs with cigarette lighters, stomp on their toes and feet with leather shoes, burn their hands and feet with cigarette lighters, and constantly wet their bodies with cold water.

The brigade head and other leaders instructed five to six people to hold down each practitioner's limbs, and to force him to place his fingerprint on the "three statements." The physical and mental torture was so horrendous that some practitioners collapsed mentally. Despite their condition, the perpetrators would put these practitioners into extra tiny cells or send them to the notorious Wanjia Labor Camp for further persecution.

Mr. Zhou Jingsen, a former professor at Harbin Broadcasting and Television University, was once imprisoned in the Fifth Brigade. The brigade head personally shocked him with an electric baton for over four hours, and forced Professor Zhou to sign the "three statements." After he was sent to the Fourth Brigade, the brigade head Hao Wei continued to force him to sweep the ground and do cleanup work. Professor Zhou finally collapsed and died from this persecution.

Also imprisoned in the Fifth Brigade was Mr. Zhang Bingxiang, whose daughter was imprisoned in the notorious Wanjia Labor Camp for practicing Falun Gong. Fearing that Mr. Zhang would die in the labor camp after his five-day hunger strike to protest the persecution, the Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp authorities sent Mr. Zhang home. At this point he was already reduced to a 35-kilogram bag of bones (approximately 77 pounds). Even when he was finally home, the local 610 Office, the local policemen, and officers from Changlinzi continued to break in and harass Mr. Zhang until he died.

Contacts information for the Changlinzi Labor Camp of Harbin City:

The First Brigade: Head, Yang Jintang' "instructor"Yang Yu; Li Jinhua, the former head of the brigade and now promoted to be the Associate Director of the labor camp. Tel: 86-451-820370101
The Third Brigade: Head, You Shiqiang; the No.2 head, Li Changchun. Tel: 86-451-82037102
The Fourth Brigade: Head, Hao Wei; "instructor" Zhang Bing. Tel: 86-451-82037104
The Fifth Brigade: Head, Zhao Shuang. Tel: 86-451-82037105