Case 8:
Ms. Ma Suoping, 40 years of age at that time, was a native of Xiangning County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. In 1999, she joined The Church of Almighty God. Before she was murdered, she was one of the main leaders of The Church of Almighty God in mainland China. According to inside sources, the police had known for a long time that Ma Suoping was one of the main leaders in The Church of Almighty God and even designated her as a “state leader level person.” She was already wanted online by the Ministry of Public Security in July 2008. The Public Security Bureau in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province had already attempted to capture Ma Suoping many times but had been unsuccessful. In the afternoon of July 17, 2009, Ma was arrested by the police in a Christian’s house, located in Luan County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. And then she was taken to Tangshan Military Hostel for secret interrogation. On July 22, Ma Suoping was persecuted to death by the CCP police. On July 24, the police notified Ma Suoping’s family that Ma Suoping had already died. Ma Suoping’s husband discovered that her body had bruises and scars which were caused by beating. However, the police denied that they attacked her. They claimed that Ma Suoping was captured alone on July 21 and died suddenly of a heart attack at 6 p.m. on July 22. They said that the scars and bruises on her body appeared after she died. Ma Suoping’s husband is certain that his wife has been healthy all along and that she never had any problems with her heart.
Case 9:
Mr. Ye Aizhong, 42 years of age at that time, was a native of Shuyang County, in Suqian City located in Jiangsu Province. He became a member of The Church of Almighty God in 1999. In the morning of March 26, 2012, Ye Aizhong and another Christian were going to the Computer City in Shuyang County to repair their MP5 players and they were arrested by two Shuyang County plainclothes police officers. In the evening of March 27, the police took them to the Criminal Division of Shuyang County Public Security Bureau for interrogation. During this time, Ye was tortured with an electric chair and electric batons. On March 30, the Criminal Division of Shuyang County police notified Ye’s family that he had been dead on March 29 when they “drew blood from him for a health test.” Ye’s family doubted the information that the police gave them. Afterward, to conclude the case, the police asked Ye’s family to sign a compensation agreement. They even threatened them, saying that they had to sign the paper otherwise they would not be allowed to see Ye’s remains. After Ye’s family were forced to sign, on April 5, they were allowed to see Ye’s remains. According to the descriptions of Ye’s family members, Ye’s body deformed because of the beatings he endured. Wounds covered his body from head to toe. There wasn’t an area on his body that was not damaged.
Case 10:
Ms. He Chengrong, 44 years of age at that time, was a native of Aksu City in Xinjiang. She was a member of the Spirit Sect before converting to The Church of Almighty God near the end of 2004. On December 21, 2012, at around 1 p.m., the police of National Security Brigade of the Public Security Bureau of Aksu City was able to track her location by her phone and arrested her. At noon of January 9, 2013, police officers of National Security Brigade notified her family that on the night of January 8, He Chengrong died due to a heart attack at the Nongyishi People’s Hospital in Aksu City. He Chengrong’s family claimed that she did not have heart disease nor myocardial infarction. On January 10, at around 4 p.m., He Chengrong’s family were able to see her remains. Her entire body was swollen and her skin was in an abnormal color. Bruises were evident behind her ears, on her neck and on her arms. According to an insider, when He Chengrong was taken into custody, the police tortured her. They ferociously slapped her across the face, force-fed her with hot pepper-laced water and food through a leather tube, and did not let her sleep or use the washroom day and night. On that evening, before He Chengrong passed away, she was groaning very loudly all night and it sounded like she was in extreme pain. On February 5, the Aksu City police forcibly cremated He Chengrong’s remains.
Case 11:
Ms. Zhang Hongtao, 55 years of age at the time, was a native of Tianshui City, Gansu Province, and originally a member of the Wonderful Words of Life sect. She joined The Church of Almighty God in 2002. On December 6, 2012, Zhang Hongtao was captured by the police whilst preaching the gospel in Xiaochuan Town, Cheng County, Longnan City, and was taken into custody at Xiaochuan Town Police Station. The next day, the police informed Zhang Hongtao’s family that they’d go to Cheng County Public Security Bureau to identify the body and told them that Zhang had died of cerebral hemorrhage. Zhang’s family saw that Zhang’s whole face was covered in bruises, unrecognizable and that there was an egg-sized lump on her head, with many bruises on her face, neck, shoulders, back and legs. They suspected that she had been beaten to death by the police and so they went to departments including the Public Security Bureau, the Provincial Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Department and the County government to figure out the cause of death. Several departments shirked responsibility and passed responsibility to each other, prevented Zhang’s family from investigating the cause of death stating it was on the grounds that “Zhang Hongtao believing in Almighty God and preaching the gospel were unlawful acts” and prevented and closed the case on the condition of “one-time compensation of 100,000 RMB, with the body dealt with by the government.” Zhang’s family saw that there was no way to file a suit against them and eventually signed acceptance.
Case 12:
Mr. Zhang Mengling was a native of Zhoukou City, Henan Province. He started believing in the Lord in 1993, and joined The Church of Almighty God in 1999. In 2013, Zhang preached the gospel in Huaying City, Sichuan Province. On the night of April 2, he was caught by the police of the Huaying City Public Security Bureau. On April 3, he was escorted to Wusheng County Forced Study Base. He was subjected to torture during detention: slapped on the face, asymmetrically handcuffed on the back, chain-locked on the feet, seated on the tiger bench for over half a month, and deprived of sleep. On June 14, Zhang was escorted to the Huaying City Detention Center where he was forced to work in hunger and often starved to dizziness. He was unable to get up under severe conditions. After falling unconscious for four hours on one occasion, he developed persistent hypertension. On November 18, Zhang was sentenced to three years in prison. During that time, he was still being forced to perform heavy labor. Zhang’s health was extremely weak, and his blood pressure rose perilously. On May 9, 2016, Zhang was released upon completion of his sentence. His blood pressure was so high that he couldn’t walk. He felt dizzy and threw up three times on the way home. On September 22, 2016, Zhang Mengling’s uncontrollable high blood pressure led to cerebral vascular rupture. He was rushed to the emergency room. He died on October 5, at age 53.
Case 13:
Ms. Gao Cuiqin, 53 years of age at that time, was a native of the town of Suo, located in Huantai County, Zibo City in Shandong Province. She joined The Church of Almighty God in 2003. Early morning on July 15, 2014, Gao was arrested for her belief in Almighty God by six plainclothes police officers, led by Gong Yuebing, deputy captain of National Security Brigade of Shandong Huantai County Public Security Bureau. She was then transferred to the Huantai County Detention Center for interrogation. On July 16, Gao was tortured to death. On July 17, Gao’s family were notified of her death. When Gao’s family were taking care of her remains, they saw that there were a number of red marks on her back, her face was blue, and her armpits had turned black. Gao’s family demanded to see video recordings of her interrogation, but the police refused. To conceal her true cause of death, the police claimed, “Gao had a pre-existing heart condition, which led her to death from sudden cardiac arrest.” But her family said she had no such medical history. An insider of Public Security Bureau analyzed the conditions of her death and concluded that Gao’s death was caused by a high voltage electric baton. Huantai County Public Security Bureau later provided Gao’s family with 660,000 RMB for a settlement.
Case 14:
Ms. Jiang Guizhi, 46 years of age at that time, was a native of Ping’yu County in Zhumadian City located in Henan Province. In November 2002, she became a member of The Church of Almighty God. Before she was killed, she was a leader in The Church of Almighty God. On January 4, 2013, Jiang Guizhi was arrested while at a Christian’s house by 8 policemen of National Security Brigade, led by the Captain Yu Hongchao. Afterward, she was brought to the Xiyuan Hotel in Xinmi City for secret interrogation. On January 25, 2013, Jiang was transferred to Zhengzhou City’s No. 2 Detention Center. During her detainment, Jiang’s reflexes gradually became slower. She would not eat or talk and she suffered from incontinence. After 18 days (on February 12), she died. Inside sources say that Jiang told them that the police tortured and raped her during the interrogation. They stuffed things into her vagina during this time. The second day after Jiang died, the police contacted Jiang’s family members and told them that she died suddenly from a heart attack. Jiang’s family claimed that she never had a history of heart problems. When the family asked the police for the reason of her arrest, Police Officer Bai Shuangfeng of the Xinmi City Public Security Bureau said that it was because she was a leader of The Church of Almighty God. They had “no comment” for everything else.
Case 15:
Ms. Liu Jinhua, born in 1987, 28 years of age at that time, was from Hengdong County, Hengyang City, Hunan Province. She joined The Church of Almighty God in September 2012. In August 2014, when Liu Jinhua printed materials concerning religious belief in a rented house in Chengguan Town, Hengdong County, she was discovered and reported by the landlord. At 5 a.m. on February 2, 2015, police officers from Chengguan Town Police Station in Hengdong County lay in wait around the rental house and at around 6 a.m. they took advantage of Liu’s unpreparedness and beat her to death. At about 8 a.m. Liu was found dead in the yard of the rented house. At noon that day, Liu’s family was told that Liu had committed suicide by jumping over the building. Her family went to Hengdong County funeral parlor and saw an egg-sized hole on top of Liu Jinhua’s head and the scalp was gone; there was a depression in her bone which had clearly been caused by a heavy blow from a hammer-like blunt object. Her family asked the police for an explanation and the police officer He Jianheng from Chengguan Town Police Station, seeing the matter had been exposed, threatened Liu’s family with the issue of Liu believing in Almighty God and said that the State did not permit belief in Almighty God and that those who believed in Almighty God had to be captured. He also said that Liu had been monitored for a long time and that at 5 a.m. they had surrounded the rented house and made the capture.
5 Cases of Torture Resulting in Disability
Case 1:
Mr. Ye Jianjun, living in Longkou Economic Development Zone, Longkou City, Shandong Province, worked in a glass factory of Longkou City. In 1987, Ye believed in the Lord and was originally a believer of the Sola Fide Movement. He joined The Church of Almighty God in 1998. Ye Jianjun is honest, well-behaved, served enthusiastically, and enjoyed spreading the gospel. One day in May 1999, Ye returned home having been out preaching the gospel for more than ten days and was suddenly as skinny as a bag of bones and absent-minded in spirit. His wife asked why and found out that Ye had been caught by the police whilst preaching the gospel and had been brutally tortured. Ye Jianjun said that the police tied him to an iron chair and violently slapped him around the ears until he was deafened. During the period of interrogation by torture, the police did not give him food or drink for five days. At that time, Ye’s wife hurried to cook for him. During the dinner, Ye suddenly threw his bowl on the floor, and stood up to beat her wife. Ye’s wife found that Ye was mentally disordered. Ye’s family sent him to Huangshan Psychiatric Hospital of Long kou City in Shandong Province, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Since Ye was persecuted and became mentally disordered, he was always discriminated and ignored by the world. In February 2012, Ye Jianjun died with his name uncleared, at 63 years old.
Case 2:
Mr. Bai Rongguang (alias) is 47 years old this year. In December 2012, he was arrested by the police in Xinxiang City, Henan Province, for believing in Almighty God and preaching the gospel. In July 2013, Bai was sentenced to four years in prison on the charge of “using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement.” During incarceration, the prison guards repeatedly forced Bai to undergo “forced conversion” (inculcating the theory of atheism in order to make him deny and betray God), and forced him to sign “the three statements” (a confession, a repentance, and a declaration of breaking off ties), which were all refused by him. The prison guards repeatedly instigated prisoners to beat Bai, and had once locked him on a torture rack for three days and three nights, beating him with leather soles and forbidding him to eat, sleep, urinate and defecate. In March and April 2014, Bai was unable to eat due to emotional stress. After seven days, he passed out from exhaustion. The prison guards brutally force-fed him from the nose by using a stomach tube. Afterward, they continued to force him to do labor. The prison guards sprayed pepper water in Bai’s eyes, wantonly beat and tortured him until he fell unconscious. They only notified his family when his body began to emit putrid odor. Under the intense demands of his family, the police agreed to send him to the hospital. When Bai regained consciousness three days later, he began to talk deliriously. A week later, before Bai had recovered, he was taken back to prison. Since then, Bai was exhibiting mental disorders with sporadic outbursts of crying and laughing. His eyes were blank and his behavior was abnormal. But the prison guards insisted that Bai was pretending and sent him to the strict management team where he was repeatedly tortured. When his wife visited him in prison, he had been tortured into psychosis. His body was covered with wounds, and there were large blisters on the back of his left hand. Her application to the prison for compassionate release was denied…. In December 2016, Bai completed his sentence and was released from prison. On the fifth day after his release, he was sent to the psychiatric hospital for treatment. To date, he has not been able to take care of his own living.
Case 3:
Mr. Zeng Yu (alias) is now 29 years old. In December 2012, he was arrested by the CCP police in Henan Province for believing in Almighty God and spreading the gospel. While detained, the police repeatedly suspended him from handcuffs, viciously beat him, forced him to perform backbreaking manual labor, and instructed other prisoners to beat and torment him. In July 2013, the court sentenced him to three years in prison on the charge of “using a Xie Jiao organization to disturb and undermine national order.” While serving their sentences, the CCP attempted multiple times to brainwash Christians from The Church of Almighty God, forcing them to sign the “three statements” (a confession, a repentance, and a declaration of breaking off ties), as well as write monthly “thought reports.” Early 2015, Zeng Yu wrote in his thought report, “All positive things come from God, and all negative things come from Satan.” When the guards read this, they frenziedly beat him on the head and back with high-voltage electric batons until he was trembling and going numb from head to toe, started to experience delirium, and collapsed to the ground. After that the guards arranged for two other prisoners to keep watch over Zeng Yu around the clock. Then in 2015 he was shut up in a tiny 42 meter room for a month, after which he started to experience hallucinations and trance-like states. When his sentence was up and he was released, Zeng Yu suffered from amnesia. He was plagued by thoughts of dying, would stare blankly, would not eat or drink, and behaved abnormally. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia by a doctor. Zeng Yu’s condition saw some improvement through treatment, but he requires daily medication, and he is never free from monitoring and control by the CCP police.
Case 4:
Mr. Liang Geng (alias) is 48 years old this year. In December 2012, while preaching the kingdom gospel of Almighty God in Xinjiang, he was beaten unconscious and arrested by the police of the National Security Brigade. During interrogation, the police repeatedly beat Liang for extended periods of time. His internal organs were injured from kicking. He fainted and discharged blood in his urine for several days. In September 2013, the CCP sentenced Liang to prison for three years on the charge of “using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement.” During incarceration, in order to force Liang to renounce his faith, the prison put him under strict supervision for several months, forcing him to sit on a bench with nail grooves for more than 20 hours every day. Whenever he made the slightest move, he was viciously beaten, resulting in skin ulceration on his hip that adhered to clothing, and severe coccyx nerve damage. To date, Liang still experiences numbness over his entire body after sitting for more than 10 minutes. In addition, the police forced Liang to take psychotropic drugs for up to six months, resulting in long-term symptoms of mind-wandering, splitting headache, severe hypertension, cerebral infarction, and syncope shock on several occasions. In 2015, Liang was tortured near death, and the CCP was forced to grant him compassionate release, and placed him under the supervision of the local police station and community office for five years on regular home inspection, forbidding Liang to leave the city.
Case 5:
Ms. Xiang Chengzhong (alias) is 41 years old this year. In December 2012, she was arrested by the CCP police in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province for believing in Almighty God and preaching the gospel. She was sentenced to three years and six months in prison on the charge of “using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement.” In July 2013, she was transferred to the prison for women. To force her to give up her faith, the prison guards punished her to stand for more than 20 hours each day and put her under supervision by specially-assigned personnel to deprive her of sleep. At the slightest sign of resentment, she was punished to standing in a horse-stance, confinement, and so on. During that period, the prison guards repeatedly exploited the moments when Xiang was in a trance and forced her to write a statement of guarantee, a statement of breaking off ties, a statement of exposure and criticism, and a statement of repentance. The period lasted for several months, causing her to experience drastic weight loss, severely swollen legs, instability in standing, loss of sensation in both hands from handcuff wounds, and difficulties in eating and dressing. Even so, Xiang still refused to sign the “four statements.” In 2014, the prison guards tricked Xiang into taking some unknown medication, causing her to experience hallucination a few days later, making her unable to control her behaviors. Afterward, the prison guards forced her to watch brainwash propaganda videos. When she refused, they handcuffed and suspended her off the ground, and instigated prisoners to beat and torment her. They deprived her of sleep for several days and forced her to do intensive labor. When Xiang Chengzhong was released from prison, her body was already debilitated with slow reflexes and severe memory decline. She suffered from hallucinations from time to time, and could only engage in simple manual labor.
8 Cases of Imprisonment
Case 1: Mr. He Zhexun
Date of birth: September 18, 1963
Date and place of arrest: On March 11, 2009, in Xuchang City, Henan Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement and disturbing social order because of being an upper-level leader of The Church of Almighty God in mainland China and was responsible for the overall work of the church.
Statement of the defendant: He Zhexun refused to accept the decision and said what he believed in is not a Xie Jiao.
Court decision: In February 2010, he was sentenced to fourteen years of imprisonment.
Other information: He Zhexun was arrested alongside four other people including Xin Ge, Zou Yuxiong, Song Xinling and Gao Qinlin, who were sentenced to twelve years, eleven years, eleven years and six months and twelve years of imprisonment respectively.
Case 2: Ms. Luo Yanping
Date and place of arrest: On December 11, 2012, in Tonglu County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of printing over 30,000 copies of Selections of the Records of the Three Stages of God’s Work and Judgment Begins With the House of God, which are books of The Church of Almighty God.
Court decision: On November 21, 2013, People’s Court of Tonglu, Zhejiang sentenced Luo to ten years in prison, from December 11, 2012 to December 10, 2022, and deprived her of political rights for two years.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2ExtkKx
Case 3: Ms. Ren Guixia
Date of birth: October 7, 1966
Date and place of arrest: In April 2015, in Qiaocheng District, Bozhou City, Anhui Province.
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of distributing over 2,000 books on believing in God to the Christians when being a leader of The Church of Almighty God.
First court decision: On May 18, 2017, sentenced to nine years in prison.
Last court decision: On July 31, 2017, Intermediate People’s Court of Bozhou, Anhui upheld the decision.
Other information: On February 19, 2015, she was put under administrative detention for fifteen days for her belief in Almighty God.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2stzBSX
Case 4: Mr. Fang Ronghua
Date of birth: November 1, 1969
Date and place of arrest: In November 2015, in Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of arranging Christians to preach the gospel and transferring the books of the church when being a leader of The Church of Almighty God.
Court decision: On December 7, 2016, Fang was sentenced to eight years in prison by People’s Court of Dongtai, Jiangsu, from November 23, 2015 to November 22, 2023, and was deprived of political rights for two years.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2EgDhso
Case 5: Ms. Li Huaxian
Date and place of arrest: On August 23, 2014, in Jinxiang County, Jining City, Shandong Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of preaching the gospel of Almighty God to others and keeping more than 2,000 pieces of evangelical materials at home.
Court decision: On December 12, 2014, People’s Court of Jinxiang, Shandong sentenced Li to eight years in prison, from August 23, 2014 to August 22, 2022.
Other information: On August 23, 2014, Li was put under administrative detention for fifteen days because of being found to be a Christian from The Church of Almighty God by the CCP police.
Source of CCP: https://goo.gl/y3XwGQ
Case 6: Ms. Li Mei (alias)
Date and place of arrest: On July 1, 2014, she was put under criminal detention in Wulian County, Rizhao City, Shandong Province.
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of being in charge of the gatherings of Christians and the work of preaching the gospel when being a leader of The Church of Almighty God, and keeping many books and materials of The Church of Almighty God at home.
Court decision: On December 16, 2014, People’s Court of Wulian, Shandong sentenced Li Mei to eight years in prison, from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2022.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2o7EOKu
Case 7: Mr. Sun Teng
Date and place of arrest: On November 11, 2013, in Zhucheng City, Shandong Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of being in charge of the transfer of the books and materials in a church in Zhucheng City, and a book and an MP5 player that contained materials of The Church of Almighty God were found at home.
Court decision: On July 16, 2014, People’s Court of Zhucheng, Shandong sentenced Sun Teng to seven years in prison, from November 11, 2013 to November 10, 2020.
Other information: He was arrested alongside Sun Xihua and Zi Fang, who were sentenced to four years in prison on the same charge and had completed their prison term and been released.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2H6gu4j
Case 8: Mr. Yao Maigui
Date of birth: January 10, 1937
Date and place of arrest: On August 19, 2013, in Ru’nan County, Henan Province
Charges: Using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine law enforcement because of distributing books and CDs of The Church of Almighty God to others and preaching the gospel of Almighty God and keeping 505 books, 192 CDs, and 322 pieces of evangelical materials of The Church of Almighty God at home.
Court decision: On March 12, 2014, Yao Maigui was sentenced to five years in prison by People’s Court of Ru’nan, from October 16, 2013 to October 15, 2018.
Source of CCP: http://bit.ly/2H7wh2K
Note: Personal information of victims is not revealed in order to protect them from retaliation by the CCP. Filed in March 2018.
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