...Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Mr. Shi has been arrested many times and detained in labor camps. His family has been harassed and their home ransacked. Finally, he was tortured to the brink of death and then sent back home. When he had slightly recovered, he left home and wandered about to avoid further persecution. ...
Mr. Shi Zhimin, male, 70, a retired office employee of the Langfang County Fabric Factory in Hebei Province.
On December 11 2004, local police arrested Mr. Shi in his hometown, Nanzhuangbei Village in Meng County, Henan Province. Then he was sent to the Mengzhou Detention Center, where he was tortured, and he went on a hunger strike for two months to protest the torture. As a result, he was force-fed and handcuffed continuously. Guards left the force-feeding tube in his nostril for five days. During that time, he could not move or use the toilet. At the end of February 2005, he went on another hunger strike that lasted almost three months.
In May 2005, guards tied up Mr. Shi on a "death bed” for three days, with all four limbs handcuffed tightly, and with a tube in his nostril. He could not move at all. On May 15, a guard whose last name was Zhang gave orders to force-feed him for ten days without removing the tube or the handcuffs. Zhang also ordered that the force-feeding be increased from two times to four times a day, each time with much more substance. On May 19, they removed the force-feeding tube and handcuffs because Mr. Shi was on the verge of death. Due to the torture, he quickly lost weight, and became nothing but skin and bones, unable to walk, and prone to losing consciousness. He could barely talk. A large lesion on his waist oozed out pus.
He was sent to a hospital for treatment. After four days, he was sent back to the detention center.
On May 31, 2005, despite his critical condition, the Mengzhou City Court sentenced Mr. Shi to four and half years in prison. Around June 20, 2005, Mr. Shi was sent to Zhengzhou Prison. However, the prison refused to accept him because he weighed only 50 pounds at that time and was about to die.
Afraid of being held responsible if Mr. Shi should die, authorities of Mengzhou Detention Center sent him to Langfang Police Station in Hebei Province on July 6, 2005. By that time, he was unable to speak and his body was only bones covered by a layer of skin and he was on the verge of death. The flesh on his waist had rotted away and the bone was exposed. Finally, he was sent back home. When he had slightly recovered, he left home and wandered about to avoid further persecution. |
