(Minghui.org) A resident of Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province, was recently harassed yet again for his faith in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
For refusing to give up his faith, Mr. Hu Zhonghou has been repeatedly arrested and detained over the past two decades. He served two forced labor terms for a total of over two years and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2014.
In July 2020, Yingbinlu Police Station officers harassed Mr. in his home twice.
First Arrest and Detention in Forced Labor Camp
Mr. Hu used to suffer from bronchitis and kidney disease and felt weak and out of breath when he had to do anything strenuous. He was under tremendous stress because he felt he was useless and had to rely on his wife to provide for the family. In 1998, Mr. Hu started to practice Falun Gong and recovered in three months.
After regaining his health, he busied himself with work and also helped to repair the bridges in his village countless times. Everyone in the village saw how he had changed and knew that Falun Gong was good. Mr. Hu often told people about the benefits of practicing Falun Gong.
After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Hu never hesitated to tell people about Falun Gong and urge them not to believe in the lies propagated by the CCP.
In early October 2001, Mr. Hu went to a villager's home for a party and talked to other party-goers about Falun Gong. A few days later, on October 8, a man who had heard Mr. Hu talk about Falun Gong that day brought a stranger to the village and both of them asked Mr. Hu for Falun Gong literature. The stranger then left.
The villager secretary and two police officers came shortly after and asked Mr. Hu where he had gotten the brochures. He refused to answer. Two police vehicles soon arrived and several officers entered Mr. Hu's home. One of them grabbed Mr. Hu by his hair, and several clumps of it came out. Other officers grabbed Mr. Hu's arms and pushed him out the metal door, scratching his forehead on the hinge. He started to bleed, but they carried him into their car and drove to the local police department.
Mr. Hu was handcuffed to a chair and interrogated by the police chief, but he refused to disclose where he had gotten the Falun Gong materials.
Torture re-enactment: Hands cuffed behind a chair
Unable to get anything from Mr. Hu, the police fabricated a statement and held him down to get his thumbprint. That night, Mr. Hu was taken to the Mengjiagou Detention Center, was put in shackles, and had his hands cuffed behind his back. The handcuffs were made of thick metal plates and secured with screws and bolts. A wrench was needed to secure or release the handcuffs.
The handcuffs were so tightly secured that Mr. Hu broke out in a sweat due to the pain. Two inmates pinned him to the floor and refused to let him sit or get into bed. Mr. Hu then went on a hunger strike to protest this treatment. By the next morning, Mr. Hu's arms were swollen and the handcuffs had cut into his flesh.
Torture illustration: Handcuffed behind the back
The leader of the inmates pitied Mr. Hu and asked the detention center the next morning to take the handcuffs off of Mr. Hu. The authorities had to use a wrench to remove them they were screwed on so tightly.
Three days after Mr. Hu went on the hunger strike, the staff of the detention center asked the police department for further instructions. The police chief told them to beat Mr. Hu. Three inmates took off Mr. Hu’s pants and made him face the wall. Then two inmates held Mr. Hu's arms while another pressed his back and used a rubber-soled shoe to hit his back, bottom, and thighs. The beatings were carried out in the morning and again at night in an attempt to make Mr. Hu eat. When he refused to eat, he was beaten.
Mr. Hu continued his hunger strike to oppose the persecution. He was later admitted to Yulin City Detention Center. The police officer who escorted Mr. Hu to the new detention center insisted that Mr. Hu be admitted and be placed in the division that specifically persecuted Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Hu was held in Yulin Detention Center until January 2002, when he was transferred to Zaozihe Forced Labor Camp in Xianyang City. He was tortured in the labor camp for more than a year before he was released in May 2003.
Sent to Brainwashing Center
Mr. Hu was working in the fields on June 23, 2006, when the police came and arrested him. Mr. Hu was still wearing his rain boots and work clothes. He was put in shackles and taken to the brainwashing center in the Taohuashanzhuang Tourist Area in Yulin City.
The brainwashing center was unable to “transform” Mr. Hu. He was released 17 days later.
Sent to Forced Labor Camp Again
Mr. Hu and another practitioner, Mr. Zhang Guangtian, were posting “Falun Dafa is good” stickers on the telephone poles near the police department in March 2007, when patrol officers discovered them. Mr. Zhang was arrested but Mr. Hu escaped.
Several days later, Zhang Ying, the team leader of the Shenmu County Domestic Security Division, went to Mr. Hu's house and arrested him. Zhang interrogated Mr. Hu at the police station and asked him where he got the stickers. Mr. Hu refused to answer.
Mr. Zhang and Mr. Hu were later given one year of forced labor and sent to the Zaozihe Forced Labor Camp.
The labor camp first tried to deceive the men with lies and then started to torture them when their deceptions failed.
Mr. Zhang was hung up and beaten, and all his teeth fell out after an officer punched him twice on the mouth. Mr. Hu was brutally beaten several times and his health deteriorated. He only recovered when he resumed doing the Falun Gong exercises after he was released in May 2008.
Arrested Again and Tortured
Mr. Hu and several other practitioners were reported to the police when they went to Shanxilin County on May 13, 2011, to distribute Falun Gong materials. Mr. Hu was arrested, taken to a local police station, and handcuffed to a metal chair. The officers shined bright lights at Mr. Hu’s eyes. They also warned him that he had to tell on the practitioners who were with him. When Mr. Hu refused, the police shocked his legs, arms, head, and ears with electric batons.
Torture re-enactment: Shocking with electric batons
The police wanted Mr. Hu to identify the practitioners’ photos on the police computer, but he refused to answer. When they again ordered him to answer, Mr. Hu told them that they were violating the constitutional law, which protects a Chinese citizen’s right to freedom of religion and expression.
Mr. Hu was later sent to a detention center, where he clarified the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong to its management. After that, they left him alone.
Mr. Hu was taken home by his relatives on July 26, 2011.
Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
Mr. Hu was distributing Falun Gong materials on July 9, 2014, when he was reported to the police and arrested. He was taken to Zhonglou Police Station and interrogated. The officers fabricated a statement when he refused to answer any questions. However, Mr. Hu refused to read the statement or sign his name. The police chief then instructed an officer to hold Mr. Hu, while another officer used a needle to pierce Mr. Hu's finger to get his thumbprint.
When Mr. Hu was about to be sent to the detention center, the head of his village called the police and explained that Mr. Hu was a good man and requested his release.
In December 2014, Mr. Hu was sentenced to three years in prison by the Shenmu City Court. He appealed the verdict and hired rights lawyer Mr. Yu Wensheng to represent him.
During the trial, lawyer Yu argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that his client should never have been prosecuted for his faith. The lawyer also pointed out violations of legal procedures committed by the police and judicial officials and asked for Mr. Hu to be acquitted. The judge still sentenced him.
Mr. Hu was taken to Weinan Prison. Despite being tortured, Mr. Hu remained steadfast in his faith. He was released on July 9, 2017.
Although Mr. Hu's health declined after each detention and imprisonment, he was able to recover when he resumed doing the Falun Gong exercises once he returned home.
Harassed Again
On July 10, 2020, Mr. Hu was at home when Yingbinlu Police Station officers showed up and asked to look at the books he was reading. When he refused to cooperate, they called in four more officers.
Mr. Hu still resisted. His 90-year-old mother and young granddaughter were terrified by the police.
Yingbinlu Police Station officers harassed Mr. Hu again on July 24.
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