(Minghui.org)

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Yan Zongfang (阎宗芳)
Gender: Female
Age: 65
Address: Dongtu Company Dormitory, Liu Jia Ally, Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province
Occupation: Retiree of a food company
Date of Death: June 5, 2013
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 18, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp (楠木寺女子劳教所)
City: Guangyuan
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, extortion, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, detention, denial of restroom use

Ms. Yan Zongfang Passes Away after Eleven Years of Abuse

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Yan Zongfang, 65, from Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province died on June 5, 2013. She suffered unbearable pain prior to her death from the tortures and drug injections in prison. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) special agents threatened her family to not allow other practitioners to be near her. She was still under the “forced labor outside of labor camp” term that was imposed by the local 610 Office until her death.

Ms. Yan was incarcerated for almost 11 years of the 14 years of the CCP's persecution. She suffered numerous tortures mentally and physically, including being shocked with electric batons, put into shackles and handcuffs, the death bed torture, hung up, forced to stand or sit in military style, kicked and beaten, locked in a solitary cell, not allowed to sleep, shower, or use the restroom, barbaric force feeding with food and drugs, long periods in the scorching sun, etc.

Ms. Yan started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, and all her diseases disappeared. She suffered brutal persecution for her belief in Falun Dafa, and was illegally detained at a labor camp five times for a total of ten and a half years. After she was persecuted to the point that she could not take care of herself, the regime still didn't give up their attempts to force her to renounce Falun Dafa. The 610 Office personnel coordinated with the domestic security agents to sentence her to “forced labor outside of labor camp.” The neighborhood committee also coordinated with the 610 Office to constantly harass her.

In May 2013, when her family member was not at home, a Falun Gong practitioner went to see her and found her near death. Her family member then took her to the hospital but they could not revive her, and she died at 4 p.m. on June 5, 2013.

Savagely Beaten and Tortured at a Labor Camp for Appealing in Beijing

Ms. Yan Zongfang was a retired worker at a meat factory in Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, and lived in the Dongtu Company dormitory in Cangxi County. In March 1997, she was suffering from multiple diseases and had multiple treatments, but it did not improve her condition. As a result, her life was in danger. After she started practicing Falun Gong, her body and mind became healthy again.

On July 20, 1999 the CCP started the nationwide persecution of Falun Gong, and in order to clarify the facts to government organizations, Ms. Yan went to Beijing to appeal in the new year of 2000. She was arrested. At that time the police swarmed Tiananmen Square and arrested many practitioners. Ms. Yan went to Jinshui Bridge at Tiananmen Square and unfolded a banner. She was taken to the Tiananmen Police Station, and forced to have her picture taken, and was savagely beaten. She was taken into custody by the Guangyuan Liaison Office in Beijing, but she got away the next day and once again went to Tiananmen Square with several fellow practitioners. They were spotted by plainclothes police on the square and arrested. The Guangyuan Liaison Office in Beijing and the Cangxi Domestic Security agents took them into the Cangxi Detention Center. The participants in the persecution were: Ke Daji from the 610 Office of Cangxi, Luo Xiaolong from the Domestic Security Division and policemen Li Ping, Yang Cong, Gou Dongsheng, political commissar of the police department Zhang Qiwei, wardens of the detention center He Yongfu and Zheng Zequan.

Practitioners Ms. Yan, Li Guangqing, Kou Zhixiu, and Luo Changhua were sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor by the Cangxi Court. They were taken to the Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp in Zizhong City where they suffered various tortures. They were not allowed to sleep or use the restroom. In the hot summer they were not allowed to take a shower and were forced to stay in the scorching sun while standing or sitting in military style, and forced to do military drills. The wardens often brutally beat them and put them in shackles and handcuffs. The wardens would wantonly strike the heads of the practitioners and their bodies with high voltage electric batons. They used all kinds of evil means to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong. In August 2001 Ms. Yan was released from the labor camp.

Torture re-enactment: Kicked and beaten

Ms. Yan once said, “After being imprisoned for five months at the detention center, we four practitioners were taken to the the Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp. At that time the Seventh Brigade was specially established to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, and there were over 100 practitioners. Captain Li was in her 50s, deputy captain Zhang Xiaofang in her 20s, Qin Zhaoxia, 40, and Hu, the section chief Li Ziqiang, and they were all very cruel. They picked many drug addicts to help them forcibly “transform” practitioners. From 5 a.m. to midnight, the practitioners were subjected to military drills, hung up in handcuffs, had to sit on tiny benches, exposed to the sun, locked in solitary cells, soaked in the rain, not allowed to use the restroom, or to sleep, limited in rinsing and bathing in summer, shocked and beaten with electric batons, force fed, etc. Practitioners didn't “transform” nor cooperate with them, and the labor camp dispatched a central group of helpers to try to “transform” us. I told them that I did nothing wrong in following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and being a good person, and it was good for my health. I recited Teacher's words in my mind to resist the persecution.

At that time, every practitioner who didn't “transform” was forced to sit under the scorching sun. Ms. Wang Hongxia and Zhang Wenhong almost sat for one year outside around the clock. At that time, the wardens intentionally forced the practitioners who didn't “transform,” to sleep on a twin sized bed with a person with severe scabies. Sixteen people slept in a small room of eight square meters, and all the people developed scabies all over their bodies. We were extremely itchy, and even our bones felt itchy. The Seventh Brigade slowly developed into a scabies brigade and everyone, including the wardens were fearful, and dared not inspect the cells. The labor camp bought large amounts of medicine and forced us to apply it to our skin. Even under that atmosphere of terror, I eventually walked through it because of my firm belief in Dafa.”

Forced Labor, Humiliation, and Long-term Torture on the “Death Bed”

In December of 2001, after Ms. Yan was released, she went to Longshan Town to raise awareness about the persecution and distribute informational materials. She was arrested by the Longshan Police Station director Hou Xiangyu and several policemen. She was taken to the Cangxi Police Department and then imprisoned at a detention center. The Domestic Security Division chief Kong Yun detested Falun Gong practitioners (including his mother Cai Wanzhen) and framed Ms. Yan along with the court, to sentence her to two years of forced labor. In June 2002, Ms. Yan escaped while being taken to Jianyang Prison.

The Cangxi Police Department set up a special force, issued an arrest warrant through their network, and spent a large amount of money to go to the home of her relatives all over China to search for her. In August 2002, Ms. Yan was arrested again and taken to the Cangxi Detention Center where she was tied to the “Death Bed” with her four limbs stretched. She was not allowed to get off the bed for two months and her back had pressure from an ulcer which caused great pain for her. The official leading the persecution was Xu Rongzong, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. The police drove around Ms. Yan, Ms. Zeng Yuxian and a practitioner from another area with last name Zhao, in a truck on busy roads to publicly humiliate them. The police officers were awarded by the 610 Office for doing this.

Torture re-enactment: cuffed to a bed

Ms. Yan once said, “They spent a huge amount of money to arrest me and finally locked me in a detention center. Zhang Rong and several others forcibly took my elder son to the Cangxi Detention Center. Zheng Zequan tied me to the 'Death Bed' with shackles and handcuffs for 59 days. The director He Yongfu came and I told them they should put me down. He said, 'If it was a murderer I could put him down, but not you. You must write a guarantee statement not to practice Falun Gong again.' I said, 'I'm not going to write it.' He said, 'I will personally take you on a specially assigned vehicle to the labor camp.' The police department specially set up a group of eight people, including Zheng Zequan and Zhang Rong. They took some pictures of me and published it in a publication. It was said that Zhou Yongkang (a senior leader China who served on the 17th Politburo Standing Committee, and the head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee between 2007 and 2012) secretly ordered to allot 250,000 yuan to arrest me. The police searched for me everywhere, and visited all of my relatives' homes. After I was caught, the police were awarded with a huge amount of prize money. My elder son was fined tens of thousands of yuan before being released. My sister's husband was also arrested because of me, and he was fined over 10,000 yuan before being released.

“The police department and detention center personnel forcibly dragged me to a street to take video shots and broadcast it at the local television station. The director He Yongfu, Zheng Zequan and the police, dragged me and several fellow practitioners to the main entrance of the court to publicly humiliate us and paraded us around the city on a truck. I never lowered my head, and I shouted 'Falun Dafa is good!' Upon returning to the detention center I could not raise my hands due to the long term torture of the 'Death Bed' so they dragged my hands to raise them. It was so painful that I was in tears. He Yongfu laughed and said, 'You should yell out. I guess you are faking the pain.'”

Ms. Yan was later sentenced to three and a half years of forced labor, not including the half year in a detention center. He Yongfu and Ma Yuchun tied her to a vehicle with shackles and handcuffs and took her to the Yangmahe Women's Prison in Jianyang City.

Persecution Suffered at the Yangmahe Women's Prison

In prison the wardens used all evil means and tortures to “transform” practitioners. They brainwashed and locked them in solitary confinement. They often hung up practitioners in handcuffs over iron gates. They stretched the arms of practitioners to one line with their feet in the air. They also tortured practitioners by tying them up with thin threads and forced them to do labor of sowing the seeds in the field. The practitioners were forced to work over 10 hours a day from 5:30 a.m. to after midnight. Ms. Yan was locked in a solitary cell eight times. The solitary cell just had a cement bed, and a thin quilt in the cold winter, and she was not given adequate food.

Torture illustration: hung up in handcuffs

Ms. Yan once said, “At the Second Prison Area, the chief's last name was Tang, the deputy chief was Luo and the person in charge of me was Li. The brainwashing class had just been established and I was taken there. Director Yu was assigned to “transform” me but I didn't “transform” after over a month, and they sent me back to the Second Prison Area. My labor task was heavy, stitching together shoe soles from 6 a.m. until after midnight. The older people couldn't take on this task at all. I later realized I was not a criminal inmate and should not cooperate with the evil, so I refused to report to the leaders, wear a prison uniform or do the labor. I started to do the exercises and recite Dafa articles, and clarified the truth, etc. The wardens handcuffed and locked me up in a solitary cell. I was once doing the exercises in the prison area, and policeman Yu handcuffed me to the iron gate with my hands stretched and my feet in the air. My hands and feet soon became swollen and I was in extreme pain. I suffered this torture several times. Since I still didn't “transform,” they transferred me to the Second Prison Area.

“The chief of the Second Prison Area had the last name Lai. Two inmates were monitoring me around the clock. I would do the exercises whenever their attention slacked a little, and I clarified the facts and told them Falun Dafa is good. They often played TV programs slandering Dafa and I would shout that those programs were slandering and smearing Dafa, so they locked me in a solitary cell. There was only a cement slab inside and I was not allowed to wash. I was not given any meat and my rice quota was cut in half. It's cold in the winter but I was only given a thin blanket. My hands were handcuffed behind my back when I was sleeping, and I went on a hunger strike to protest. Two days later they unlocked my handcuffs, and since they could not “transform” me, I was returned back to the Second Prison Area. I still persisted in doing the exercises in the morning and at night. Once we had a meeting and I shouted “Falun Dafa is good!” I was locked up in a solitary cell and later some visitors came. The wardens then locked me up at another prison area and assigned a person to monitor me. Chief Luo said, 'We won't ever take you again!'”

Persecuted Again, Internal Organs Severely Damaged

After being released from prison, Ms. Yan clarified the facts and distributed informational materials again and was arrested. She was sentenced to one and half years of forced labor and taken to the Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp in Zizhong City once again. The management at the labor camp became even more heinous and adopted a military style management. Four to five inmates were assigned to control one practitioner, not allowing the practitioner to go outside or to sleep. The practitioner was only allowed to use the restroom three times a day. If the practitioner refused to be “transformed,” she would not be allowed to go to the restroom and was forced to relieve herself in her pants. The practitioners were forced to stand in military style and were frequently savagely beaten. Some steadfast practitioners became disabled from the tortures. Several of them often brutally beat Ms. Yan. The people in charge were Zhang Fengming and Duan Yuanyuan.

Ms. Yan once said, “The director Tao of Lingjiang Police Station in Cangxi County led several policemen who arrested me at my son's home in Suining, and took me to a detention center. They sentenced me to one and half years of forced labor and imprisoned me at the Seventh Brigade of the Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp once again. Captain Ren Fengming, Duan Yuanyuan, Captain Jiang and several wardens and inmates who were drug addicts, monitored me. I was forced to stand or sit in military style from 5 a.m. to about midnight. I had no freedom whatsoever, and the collaborators tried to constantly “transform” me. Inmate Wang Yuan and wardens tried to intensify the brainwashing. I didn't listen to them and recited the Fa or went on a hunger strike. They then beat me brutally. The most evil people were Long Ying and Zhang Dan. Another two inmates Yang Min and Yan Bin locked me and fellow practitioner Xiao Guiying in room 314, claiming that it was me who incited the practitioners to go on a hunger strike. They asked me to write a repentance statement, and I didn't give in. Long Ying then beat me almost to death. Once Long Ying called me to the restroom, locked the door and the window, and squeezed my throat not letting me breathe. I almost died right there, and my neck had a scar from it.”

“Since then my neck continued to have drainage (until Ms. Yan's death.) I was often beaten to the point of being all purple and my internal organs felt extremely miserable. I was not allowed to use the restroom or sleep and I had to relieve myself in my pants or bed. Yang Min and Yan Bin couldn't bear it anymore and were afraid, and they reported to the supervisor claiming that they feared we would die. Captain Jiang then assigned Long Ying to another workshop and extended her term by 20 days. I was later transferred to room 315 with six fellow practitioners. I didn't do the labor or report to the leaders. Xiao Guiying and I also refused to write the monthly report card, and they extended my term by 20 days and Xiao Guiying's by one month.”

Labor Camp Sentencing Fails, Ms. Yan Continuously Harassed

In February 2009, Ms. Yan was framed once again by the 610 Office director Li Fengrun, Li Rong and policemen Yang Zuoping and Yue Gang, etc. She was sentenced to one and half years of forced labor.

Ms. Yan once said, “On February 8, 2009 when I was distributing the Nine Commentaries, I was followed by Li Rong of the Cangxi County 610 Office. Li Rong forcibly took me to the 610 Office and several policemen did a body search on me. Li Rong ordered Liu Ying, Yang Zuoping, Yue Gang and several others to take me to the Guangyuan Detention Center. They ransacked my home the next day and took away over 20 Dafa books. Yang Cong and Li Rong exaggerated the facts to frame me. Without any legal procedure they sentenced me to one and half year of forced labor. Soon after several policemen took me to the Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp. When they did my ECG they said I had a stomach disease. Seeing my neck had a big scar they asked me why and I said it's because Long Ying choked my throat to force feed me, causing a big bump, and Ren Fengming took me to the hospital where they severed the bump, leaving the terrible scar. The labor camp personnel told me, 'We won't take you, go home.'”

The Cangxi County 610 Office ordered the local neighborhood committee to watch over Ms. Yan around the clock. The neighborhood committee specially assigned a 'nanny' to stay at Ms. Yan's home to watch over her. This nanny reported Ms. Yan's situation every day to the 610 Office and Domestic Security Division. She would report whoever came to Ms. Yan's home to the 610 Office and they and the Domestic Security Division would dispatch personnel to arrest the visitor. Practitioners Huang Qiong from Dongqing Town and Chen Yong from Cangxi Town were all arrested while visiting Ms. Yan's home.

At 10 a.m. on August 25, 2011, Li Rong and Zhang Rong along with two women from the local neighborhood committee, broke into Ms. Yan's home, and ransacked it without showing any ID. They took away copies of Zhuan Falun and Minghui Weekly, two video discs of Shen Yun, two truth-clarifying CDs, one MP3 player, one laptop computer, and a telephone book.

At 6 p.m. on January 16, 2012 when Ms. Yan returned home after distributing truth- clarifying materials, a person with the last name Yao saw her carrying a handbag and tried to open the handbag to take a look, but Ms. Yan resisted. She then followed Ms. Yan and called the 610 Office and police. As a result, Ms. Yan was surrounded outside a cinema by Li Fengrun and Li Rong from the 610 Office, Yue Gang from the Domestic Security Division, and policemen from the Dongcheng Police Station. They took Ms. Yan to the Dongcheng Police Station and forcibly searched her. They also robbed Ms. Yan's key and ransacked her home, taking away over 20 Dafa books.

The lawless officers sentenced Ms. Yan to one and half years of “forced labor outside of the labor camp.” Due to the 610 Office's intimidation, Ms. Yan's family members were also very afraid and controlled her even more tightly, not allowing her to get in touch with fellow practitioners. Personnel of the 610 Office frequently called to make threats. Without being able to read Dafa books, Ms. Yan could no longer withstand the constant pressure and her health grew worse. She died at 4 p.m. on June 5, 2013.