In 2005, there were large scale arrests locally, and more than a dozen practitioners were arrested, and sentenced to prison for up to five years. In order to avoid being arrested, Ms. Chai Shuzhi, 37, fled her home. For the past four years, due to living under harsh conditions, Ms. Chai appeared very ill. In May 2009, Ms. Chai had to return to her mother's home for treatment. The local police kept harassing her. She died on September 10th, 2009, with her eyes wide open, unable to find peace amidst the relentless persecution.

Mr. Ding Guangcheng was arrested in May 2001. He was brutally tortured and sentenced to six years of imprisonment in February 2002. He suffered a lot at the Tianjin Prison. During his detention in a police station in 2001 he recounts: "Officers beat us and punched our faces. Two of my teeth were knocked out. They made us take off our clothes, leaving us in only our underpants, and then poured water on us. We had to stand in a puddle while they gave us electric shocks on our chests, belly buttons, necks, and the other sensitive areas on our bodies. They tortured us for several hours."

The Sanshui Women's Forced Labour Camp utilises brutal methods to force Falun Gong practitioners to "transform". The guards usually lock the practitioner in a small cell and disallow all contact. Even taking a walk in the small cell requires authorisation from the guards, not to mention other activities. There is no freedom in the forced labour camp, yet practitioners have to endure even more inhumane persecution and suffering in the small cell.

Ms. Liu Ronghua was arrested on September, 23rd, 2009. She is being detained in Yaojia Detention Centre. Those in charge didn't allow her family to visit her. Police found her ex-husband and acquired some useful information and "evidence" on Ms. Liu from him, planning to further persecute her. Ms. Liu is a lecturer and well-respected in the field of education in Dalian City. Because she lost her job due to the persecution and was forced to divorce her husband, she has relied on the rent of the house that her ex-husband left her, and has never borrowed money to survive.

Mr. Huang Lizhong was arrested on February 25th, 2008 at home. He was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Lianshan District Court. In April 2009, guards brutally beat and shock Mr. Huang with electric batons for doing the Falun Gong exercises. They shocked Huang Lizhong every day and his internal organs were damaged. On October 25th Mr. Huang died in custody.

On October 20th, 2009, the Qingpu District Court in the Huaian City, Jiangsu Province held a trial for Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen Chao following his arrest for possessing Falun Gong books and materials used for exposing the persecution. His wife, Ms. Zheng Hongxia, submitted a plea of "not guilty" in his defence. While Ms. Zheng was preparing to defend her husband, court personnel openly refused to provide her with the indictment paperwork and the charges for which he was being prosecuted. Before and during the trial, the prosecutor Feng Jiandong was disrespectful to her and even threatened her.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen Shaodong was sent to a brainwashing centre by police. His legs were beaten severely and broken. He was sentenced to three years in a forced labour camp. Police claimed that they had found Falun Gong materials in Chen Shaodong's home. Later, at his wife's request, they allowed Mr. Chen to be released for medical treatment. However, the staff members refused to release him, with the excuse that he had not been "transformed".

On October 19th, 2009, the heads of the Jilin Prison Administration and Education Departments organised a vicious attack on four Falun Gong practitioners. They instigated and led criminals at the prison to persecute practitioners. Among inmates are patients with all kinds of infectious diseases. At this time there are frequent outbreaks of H1N1 influenza. However, prison authorities forced the prisoners to sit on the cold floor from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Prisoners are forced to work from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. They are then forced to "study" from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., a common method to persecute the Falun Gong practitioners.

By order of Jiahe County court in Hunan Province, a group of policemen arrested Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Guo Huisheng and his wife Li Jumei, a school teacher in Zhuquanwan, on the night of August 6th, 2009. Mr. Guo was brutally beaten. Upon arrival at the local police station, Mr. Guo's face was covered in blood. According to eyewitnesses, at least four people dragged him out of the interrogation room, and he had blood stains all over his clothes. Mr. Guo died two months later, on October 12th. His wife remains detained in prison.

In December 2008, Nong'an County Court conducted a "secret trial" against seven Falun Gong practitioners without notifying their families. On March 27th, 2009 the court used the same tactic and pronounced judgement against them. The practitioners did not agree with the verdict and jointly appealed to Changchun Intermediate Court. Practitioners in Nong'an County and the family members of the seven practitioners hired 14 lawyers to defend them. Presently, the court wants to pronounce a judgement without trial, and it claims that "There is no need to follow court procedures regarding Falun Gong issues."

Mr. Ge Kun was arrested on July 9th, 2008. He was imprisoned and tortured him for more than a year. Mr. Ge Kun, who was a very healthy young man, is now emaciated and physically weak. He went on hunger strike. After six days, he was force fed and tortured. He was tied to a cross for six days. The cross was supported with iron pipes. His hands were stretched out and strapped to the cross. He suffered excruciating pain. On October 18th, the Hanting District Court, Weifang City, Shandong Province sentenced Mr. Ge Kun to a nine year prison term.

On September 19th, 2009, Ms. Wang Yuxin, from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was studying Falun Gong teachings with her husband, Mr. Sun Yufu, and over ten other practitioners. She was reported and arrested and is being held in the Jiamusi Detention Centre. Her husband was released after he passed out as a result of brutal beatings from the police officers. Mr. Sun is now suffering from heart problems, has palpitations and also insomnia. Because of his sickness he cannot walk down stairs. He is unable to take care of himself at home and requires his wife to look after him.

After Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Jianguo of Jilin City, Jilin Province died while detained at Jilin City Detention Centre, the local police continued to harass his family members. At that time, Mr. Wang's wife, Ms. Zhao Qiumei, was imprisoned at a forced labour camp. After she was released, she was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution and arrest. The police then went to harass her mother who is in her late sixties. Mr. Wang's family members still don't know the real cause of his death. The guards at Jilin City Detention Centre refuse to provide a clear explanation.

Ms. Li Chunlan was detained three times in the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp, where she was shocked with electric batons around her mouth by guards and brutally beaten. As result of being tortured, she suffered a mental collapse and cannot take care of herself. Ms. Li's father was also sentenced to forced labour for practising Falun Gong and was tortured.

On October 3rd, 2009, Mr. Wen Shixue suffered a brain haemorrhage as a result of torture he suffered in Lanzhou Prison. Mr. Wen suffered paralysis and is hospitalised in the Dashaping Forced Labour Hospital. Mr. Wen's attempt to protect practitioner Mr. Yuan Jiang caught the police's attention. In November,2001, Mr. Yuan died of the injuries he sustained from being tortured at Baita Mountain. After Mr. Yuan passed away, the authorities launched a mass arrest of practitioners who had provided shelter for Mr. Yuan and helped him. In November 2003, the People's Court in Lanzhou City, sentenced Mr. Wen to an eight-year prison term for harbouring a suspect.

Ms. Zhu Yaohui is 57 years old. She was a government employee in Huaying City. Since the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20th, 1999, she has been persecuted as many as ten times. She has been held in a detention centre three times, confined in the local police station three times, detained up in a brainwashing centre twice, and imprisoned for six and half years at the Nanmusi Women's Forced Labour Camp twice, where she was brutally tortured.

Police broke into a store on October 13th, 2009, run by Mr. Lu Peigen, a retired teacher from the Nonghe Town Middle School. They arrested Mr. Lu and confiscated several Falun Gong books, a DVD player, and other personal belongings. Mr. Lu's son, Lu Qianli, went to the Tonghe County Domestic Security Division to ask for his father's release on the morning of October 14th. Police detained him as well. Mr. Lu was abused and mistreated until he was vomiting and dizzy on October 15th. The Tonghe County People's Hospital diagnosed him with precursor to cerebral haemorrhage. Five to six officers also went to Mr. Lu's home three times to intimidate his wife and their eight-year-old daughter.

On October 15th, 2009, Tiexi District court in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province brought Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Lirong to trial based on false charges fabricated jointly by the local 610 Office and the National Security Group. The court did not inform Ms. Zhang's family of the trial. Guards were present the day of the trial as if something dangerous were going to happen. The street was closely monitored by police, who took photos of every person who passed by. The court successfully prevented Ms. Zhang's family from attending the trial, and also one of Ms. Zhang's lawyers from entering the court.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Guangbao has been homeless for several years due to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution. On September 23rd, due to illness, his wife passed away, and they held the funeral on September 24th. Unexpectedly, a group of people from the 610 Office and police came to the funeral and harassed the attendees. This caused anger among the neighbours and relatives, who were upset with the inappropriate actions of the police.

Ms. Yu Jingzhen, 65, has been practising Falun Gong for thirteen years. She is sixty-five years old and still in good health. On July 28th, 2009, Ms. Yu Jingzhen was picked up by police while she was distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution in Tonggou. That night, police ransacked Ms. Yu's home and confiscated some Falun Gong leaflets. Ms. Yu's family has been forbidden from seeing her, and they haven't received any information about her. They were not informed until recently that Ms. Yu's case had been sent to the Procuratorate of Sujiatun. Ms. Yu is now being framed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Ministry of Public Security, the Procuratorate and the court. Ms. Yu is now being held in the Shenyang Detention Centre.

On October 18th, 2009, Judge Mou Aiping brought Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Kong Qian to trial. Ms. Kong received a prison sentence of nine years. Ms. Kong was arrested on July 9th, 2009, and has been detained for more than a year. During her incarceration, this attractive young lady of good character was tortured to the point of emaciation. Not long after she was detained, she was tortured until her feet and legs were swollen. In order to protest the inhuman torture, she went on hunger strikes four times. She was then tied to a cross and subjected to inhuman tortures.

Mr. Wang Youjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, was detained by police on June 7th, 2009. He was interrogated and tortured. After five days, he was sent to the Yueyang City Detention Centre on June 12th. A Chinese Communist Party-controlled court began hearing the case against Huang Youjun on October 15th. Mr. Huang recounts: "Policemen took turns torturing and interrogating me. They tied my hands and feet together with a rope while I was facing down. They hung me up by throwing the rope over a rod above the window and pulling me up. Zhao Wenhua frequently used his feet to kick my head. I was in a lot of pain. I was covered in sweat. Zhao put me down."

In July 2004, police entered Ms. Gao Guilan's home by telling a lie, claiming that they were going to give her a physical examination. Actually, they took her to Liaoning Province Women's Prison. When she was in prison, she was brutally beaten by prisoners, abetted by the guards. Guard Jia Yingchun incited murderers to brutally beat her. All three took turns watching her to prevent her from sleeping. They even followed her into the toilet. They employed different kinds of tactics, such as confining her in a solitary compartment, forbidding her from sleeping, beating her with an electric baton, forcing her to sit on an extremely small stool, stripping her clothes off and forcing her to stand in the toilet, and the list goes on. It was a living hell.

In August 2003, after nearly a year in detention, the 610 Office sentenced practitioner Mr. Li Gangfen to three years in prison, even though Mr. Li denied all charges. They sent him to the Suzhou City Third Prison, which followed four basic steps to deal with Falun Gong practitioners: 1. All new practitioners were assigned to a squadron to do hard labour; 2. Practitioners were sent to a brainwashing centre in an attempt to "transform" them; 3. Anyone that couldn't be "transformed" was subjected to the most inhuman torture in a second attempt to be "transformed"; 4. If they were still not "reformed," they were put in solitary confinement and put in shackles for one to three months.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liu Fanqin, 58, was arrested on June 22nd, 2003, after she made public the rape of Ms. Wei Xingyan, a student at Chongqing University. Ms. Liu was tortured by the police, sentenced to nine years in prison, and detained in Chongqing Women's Prison. Ms. Liu was hung on a rack out of the window so that she could barely touch the ground with her toes. Her lower back was held flat against the edge of the window. She was not allowed to go to the toilet for over 30 hours or sleep. If she closed her eyes, they would beat her. After a long time of being hung up, pulled, and beaten, her arms became dislocated, and she lost feeling in them, fainting several times.

Ms. Wang Xiuyan was arrested three times and twice sent to forced labour camps during the past ten years. She was subjected to gross abuse and mistreatment while in detention. Ms. Wang recounts: "While at Wanjia labour camp, the guards forced me to squat and denied me sleep to make me "reform." They also made practitioners do hard labour. They watched us closely. They beat and kicked us, forced us to stand and squat, used the Big Hang-up [the hands are handcuffed and then pulled from behind the back and hung up on a hook high above the ground. The feet are made to hang just above the floor], electric batons and the Airplane [the practitioner's body is bent at 90 degrees while both hands are outstretched similar to the wings of an airplane. Sometimes a cup of water is put on both hands. If the water is spilled, prison guards will beat the practitioner brutally.

On August 12th, 2009, while going to her brother's home, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Xuchun was arrested by the local police. She was later force-fed to the point that she was on the verge of death. Wang Xuchun rejected all the police's demands and was finally released. She describes her experience in the detention centre: "A person then forced my head to face up and stepped on my mouth. Mud on his shoe fell into my mouth. I heard that the deputy director of the centre used to use the same approach to treat other people. I was thin and in my sixties. Finally, they tied me up on a stretcher and inserted the tube into my nose. I was seriously injured inside and bleeding. My collar was covered by fresh blood. Even after four days, blood was still in my phlegm."

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong, Mr. Huang Futang, 58, has been sent to detention centres four times. In 2001, he was sentenced to Boshangqiugu Forced Labour Camp for three and a half years. In the forced labour camp, the guards spit on the ground put a lit a cigarette on it. Huang Futang was forced to sit on a stool, where his feet could not touch the ground anywhere except on that cigarette. Once Mr. Huang's feet fell down, they were burned. Even now, there are still scars on his feet from that cigarette burn. Mr. Huang was arrested again, brutally tortured on June 6th, 2009 and was sentenced to one and a half years in a forced labour camp.

On October 9th, 2009, the Shulan Court in Jilin Province started the trial of Falun Gong practitioner Yang Junqi. Mr. Yang was innocent, and his attorney did a great job defending him. The trial made a mockery of Shulan Court. Before the trial started, police from the court called the attorney and said, "First, do not offer a 'not guilty' plea for Yang. Second, submit your defence transcripts to the Court." The attorney refused and said, "We are not going to co-operate with these kinds of illegal requests. I will not defend my client illegally. As for the defence transcripts, the trial hasn't started yet, how would I have any defence transcripts?" A person from the Legislative Department of Jilin Province said, "Let them (the court and the judge) save a little face. We need to be on the side of local government. Please follow their procedures and accept their sentence." The attorney refused.

On July 6th, 2007, police arrested Ms. Tang and other practitioners, detained them in the Aohan Prefecture Detention Centre, and did not allow their families to visit. At the beginning of January 2008, Ms. Tang was sentenced to three years in prison and taken to the Hohhot City Women's Prison in March 2008. There is no information on when or why Ms. Tang was taken back to the detention centre. On October 9th, 2009, her family received a notice saying that she was dying. They rushed to the Aohan Prefecture Detention Centre. Upon entering the women's cell, they saw Ms. Tang's body, which was frozen hard in the freezer. Although they could not examine her closely, they still saw that her head, back, and chest were covered with purple bruises.

On October 8th, 2009, police surrounded Mr. Zhu Jingyun's family home. Mr. Zhu tried to escape when he saw this group of police officers, but was captured and brought back to his home. Mr. Zhu Jingyun shouted "Falun Gong is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good! Faith is not a crime." However, his words resulted in a beating by the officers. Then, they grabbed his hair, and dragged him into the police car. Mr. Zhu's wife and his 90 year-old blind father attempted to stop this crime, but both were savagely beaten. Mr. Zhu was held in custody at the Chaluhe Public Security Branch, where he was brutally beaten and subjected to electric shock treatment until he fell unconscious, then was taken to the hospital.

In July 2006, approximately eight police officers forcibly took Du Mingsheng to the Lishi County Detention Centre. Mr. Du was severely abused because he persevered in his faith and was not willing to reveal information about his fellow practitioners. According to people who were released from the detention centre, Du Mingsheng was tortured to the point of mental collapse and his body became very weak as well. His family visited him only once during that period and found that his mind was not clear. Du Mingsheng was released from the detention centre in October 2009. His current situation is quite worrying. He is quite restless at home and incapable of eating food by himself.

On September 11th, 2009, Beijing Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Su Wei and Qing Xiuying were arrested by police and detained at Chaoyang Detention Centre. Currently, they are being held in a forced labour camp. Su Wei was sentenced to two years and six months of forced labour, and detained at the Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp. Qing Xiuying was sentenced to two years of forced labour and also taken to the same labour camp. Between 2003 and 2009, Su Wei served two forced labour sentences, for a total of five years. This is her third time in a forced labour camp.

Ms. Zhao Qiumei was detained and sentenced to a forced labour camp twice. She recounts her experience in the labour camp: "Five of (the guards) beat me using handcuffs, two high-voltage electric batons, and three leather belts. They cuffed my hands behind my back and tied my feet using the belts. Wang Limei and Xiao Aiqiu slapped me with their hands and bamboo chips, shocked the sensitive places on my body including my neck, wrist and eyes." Her husband Wang Jianguo was persecuted to death in the detention centre in Jilin City on April 10th, 2006. His body is still kept in the funeral home.

Mr. Dai Guohe is 44 years old. Over the past 10 years, Dai Guohe has been sent to forced labour camps three times. His father has been sent to a forced labour camp once. He has been arrested twelve times. The accumulated amount of time he has spent in detention is more than 1600 days or over five years. His home has been ransacked five times, and the police extorted 5,000 yuan from him. At this time, his daughter is being held in detention.

When Mr. Fu Yu used a small loudspeaker to inform the public about the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong, he was arrested and taken to a detention centre on February 8th, 2009. The police brutally tortured him in order to coerce a "confession." On July 7th, the court held a trial in the detention centre and sentenced Mr. Fu to five years of imprisonment. He was transferred to the Jiamusi City Prison on August 20th. His 70-year-old mother has sought his release through various channels, but to no avail.

Ms. Liang Yuzhen was arrested by police from the Yayo Police Station on February 25th, 2009, as she was handing out Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution to people in the countryside. The police obstructed her lawyers from seeing her, and she was subsequently sentenced to four and half years in prison. She is still being held in the Heshan Detention Centre.

In its 2009 Annual Report released last week, the U.S. Government's Congressional-Executive Commission on China thoroughly documents the continued and intensified targeting of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese security apparatus over the past year. The section on Falun Gong cites, in particular, the involvement of top Chinese Communist Party officials in directing a "strike hard" campaign against Falun Gong, as well as the robust activity of the extralegal 6-10 Office in carrying out such directives.

Ms. Li Xiuzhen was arrested 19 times for practising Falun Gong, sent to forced labour, imprisoned for 7 years, and brutally force-fed 616 times. She endured more than a dozen tortures, but she still refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong. The guards used electric batons to shock her. Ms. Li went on hunger strikes to protest the cruel beatings which occurred 5 or 6 times every day. The guards inserted a thick rubber tube into her nose to force-feed her. By the end of 2002, she was released when she was close to dying. In June 2009, police arrested her again. Ms. Li was held in a brainwashing session especially set up for her, where she endured cruel torture. Ms. Li died in October.

Ms. Liang Shaolin, 58, has suffered repeated persecution because she practises Falun Gong. On September 24th, 2009, 17 policemen from the Maoxi Police Department broke into her house by breaking down her double doors with an electric saw. She was then taken to the Maoming City Brainwashing Centre. Prior to this event, Liang Shaolin was severely tortured in the Shanshui Forced Labour Camp in Guangdong Province. In 1999, she was sentenced to a forced labour camp for two years because she went to appeal for justice for Falun Gong in Beijing. Because Ms. Liang refused to give up her practice of Falun Gong, she was not released until March 2005.

Ms. Wang Xiaoying, 31, a Falun Gong practitioner from Shihezi City, Xinjiang Province, was beaten, tortured, and taken to Wujiaqu Women's Forced Labour Camp in Changji City. Ms. Wang has been beaten by the guards in the labour camp. She has protested this abuse by means of a hunger strike. Her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter cries every day for her mother. Ms. Wang is now appealing her case.

The Shengjian 83rd Factory in Shandong Province, also known as the Shandong No.1 Forced Labour Camp, is located in Zibo City, Shandong Province. Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners are being detained as forced labourers. At one time the Wangcun Forced Labour Camp detained more than 800 male practitioners and over 1,000 female practitioners.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20th, 1999, Mr. Feng Zhen has been arrested eight times and imprisoned for seven years due to his refusal to renounce Falun Gong. In December 2002, the Wuchang District Court sentenced him to 7 years in prison. He was then sent to the Quanqingkou Prison and then the Fanjiatai Prison in Hubei Province. On October 28th, 2008, Mr. Feng's prison term was up. He got his release certificate the day before. His family came to the prison gate at 5 a.m. on the day of his release. However, the prison officials refused to release him and told his family that he had left. After his family left, the officials from the 610 Office arranged to transport him to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre. He was subjected to brainwashing for a month.

Ms. Wu Zhengping has been arrested and detained four times since the persecution began in July 1999. Her happy family was destroyed by the persecution. Wu Zhengping now lives in a very difficult situation with no financial resources. Because of the endless persecution, her husband refuses to help. In detention in the Guangzhou Armed Police Hospital, Wu Zhengping became emaciated. She weighed less than 90 pounds, and her body was extremely weak. Even in this condition, police dragged Wu Zhengping to a prison cell and bound her feet and arms to the bed, force-feeding her in front of many people in the same cell. They did not remove the feeding tube which had been inserted through her nose into her stomach until the next afternoon.

Mr. Zhang Xu is a Falun Gong practitioner from Yitong County, Jilin Province. In March 2002, he was arrested and tortured. In November 2002 he was sentenced to five years and sent to Jilin City Second Prison. When he was arrested police tortured Mr. Zhang in the police station. Police hit him with metal objects, leaving injuries on his wrists, lower back, and ankles. They also stabbed his fingers with needles and covered his head with plastic bags. They didn't give him any water to drink or allow him to sleep. One man put a copy of a Falun Gong book on his chest while another man banged the book with a hammer.

Ms. Huang Guifen was arrested in May 2007. Later she was sent to Shandong Province No. 2 Forced Labour Camp and tortured brutally there. Ms. Huang was deprived of sleep. She was not allowed to brush her teeth or to shower. They forced her to sit on a little bench for a long time. The guards also instigated Wang Meixia, who helps the police to persecute practitioners, to watch Ms. Huang. Wang Meixia did not allow Ms. Huang to speak. She even watched Ms. Huang when she used the toilet. In the meantime, the perpetrators kept playing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) recordings and videos that slander Falun Gong. Guards forced Ms. Huang to work every day for 13 hours.