Recently, Zhang Qing, the wife of the renowned human rights defender Guo Feixiong, entrusted the China Human Rights Organization to publish her letter of appeal to Nowak, the U.N. liasion on cases dealing with torture. In her letter, Zhang asked the U.N. to investigate the inhumane torture her husband was subjected to in jail while they tried to extort a confession from him.
A hearing on Guo’s case will be held in the Guangzhou Tianhe District People’s Court on June 15. After Guo’s lawyer Hu Xiao met with Guo on May 28, Zhang found out that her husband had been suffering humiliation and grievances in jail.
The Epoch Times interviewed Mrs. Zhang, who lives in Guangzhou. She said that she was very distraught upon hearing the news. She was unable to calm down for a long time.
Zhang indicated Guo was subjected to torture several times while he refused to incriminate himself or plea guilty. The police from the preliminary hearing handcuffed Guo’s hands and feet to a bed for dozens of days. They deprived him of sleep for several consecutive days and nights. In silent protest, Guo went on a hunger strike for 25 days.
On Febuary 12, while being secretly detained in Shenyang City, Guo was hung with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He was tortured with a “tiger stool” for four hours. This was done by having his thighs lashed to a bench and his legs bent to the opposite direction by adding bricks under his heels. In addition to this they used a high voltage electric baton on his face, hands, and genitals.
Zhang also stated, “On March 19, he was again hit with an electronic baton on his genitals for five to six minutes in a similar fashion, though the baton was not electrified that time.”
“From that day on, Guo decided to change his strategy, ‘I would admit anything they asked me, even if they were to ask me about what Wu Zetian did (an Empress in China’s history), I would admit it.’”
Guo indicated to his lawyer that he hopes to report this to the central authority. He also hopes that such torture can be completely eliminated in China.
Zhang also mentioned that Guo hopes that on his hearing on June 15, his family will not attend, as he is afraid his family will not be able to bear to see that he had been tortured since September 14, 2006.
GuoGuo Feixiong (original name: Yang Maodong), is a 40-year old, renowned human rights defender. He was detained for over three months in 2005 for defending human rights during the Taishi village incident.
On September 30, 2006, Guo was arrested and charged with being involved in illegal business operations.
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