Case Update: Guo Feixiong Tortured, Sister and Brother Harassed
January 16, 2007
Human Rights in China (HRIC) has learned that the brother
and sister of rights defender Guo Feixiong have been harassed by local
officials, while Guo himself has been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman
and degrading treatment in detention.
According to news reports and
HRIC's own sources in China, during a prison visit on January 11, 2007, Guo told
his lawyer, Hu Xiao, that he was subjected to physical abuse and was handcuffed
and shackled to his bed for more than 40 days. Guo said he was deprived of sleep
for days at a time and subjected to around-the-clock interrogation, and went on
hunger strike for 25 days in protest. Since his detention, Guo has reportedly
gone on hunger strike for a total of 40 days. Sources say that because Guo has
complained about his treatment, one of the interrogating police officers
purposely inflicted flesh wounds on himself and has claimed that Guo attacked
him. Guo has reportedly been interrogated nearly one hundred times since he was
detained on September 14, 2006, on suspicion of "illegal business
activity."
In addition, sources told HRIC that on January 13, 2007, a
female police officer from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Shiyan City,
Hubei Province, located Guo's sister through the leader of her work unit, then
told her to "psychologically prepare" herself for the likelihood that Guo would
be sentenced to five to eight years in prison because of the severity of his
crimes. On the afternoon of the same day, Guo's brother in Hubei's Xiangfan City
reportedly received a telephone call from the local PSB saying someone wanted to
see him, and that Guo's case was being transferred to Liaoning Province. Upon
learning of this phone call, Guo's wife, Zhang Qing, immediately telephoned
Guo's lawyer, Hu Xiao, who then telephoned the procuratorate in Guangzhou, where
Guo is being held. An official responsible for Guo's case assured Hu that there
was no question of Guo's case being transferred to another province.
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