Mr. Zhang Tichao, 68, Heilongjiang

Name: Zhang Tichao (???)
Gender: Male
Age: 68
Date of Most Recent Arrest:  March 30, 2007
Date of Most Recent Release:  Late spring, 2009
Date of Death: January 22, 2010
Province: Heilongjiang
City: Daqing
Address: Tai’an Village, Liutuan Township, Yanshou County, Heilongjiang Province
Most Recent Place of Detention: Daqing City Prison (????) 

Case Details:

In 2002, Mr. Zhang was arrested while tending to his field and was sentenced to Changlinzi Labor Camp for a three-year term. His wife had been born mentally retarded and could not take care of their children without him. They had three children at the time, aged 13, 11, and 7. During Mr. Zhang’s time in the camp, his family had little to eat and relied on help from their neighbors. The authorities also took over Mr. Zhang’s fields while he was in the labor camp.

Mr. Zhang was repeatedly tortured while at the camp. In one instance, the guards instructed other prisoners to stab Mr. Zhang’s head, neck, back, and chest with three-inch long steel needles, causing severe bleeding. The guards also had prisoners hit Mr. Zhang in the head with metal nuts tied to the end of yarn. He was released in 2005, then briefly detained again in 2006, apparently after someone reported to the police that Mr. Zhang had distributed material about the persecution against Falun Gong.

On March 31, 2007, Mr. Zhang was again arrested from his home and subsequently “sentenced” to Daqing Prison following a sham trial. Mr. Zhang was severely tortured to the point that he could not move or care for himself. In mid-2009, he was taken from the prison to Liutuan Township Police Station after falling unconscious. Soon after, the police notified his children to take him home. Mr. Zhang never recovered from the injuries incurred in custody and died on the evening of January 22, 2010.