Hu Zhibin (pseudonym), male, born in 1953, was a Christian of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in the central province of Hubei. In October 2018, Hu was arrested by the CCP police for his faith in Almighty God and was subjected to torture during interrogation. When he was held in the detention house, he was mistreated, and suffered illness without treatment, which caused his condition to be worsening. He died of illness on November 7, 2021 in prison.
On October 30, 2018, Hu Zhibin was arrested by officers from the county’s Public Security Bureau when he was in a meeting at a CAG Christian’s house. To extort the information on the CAG, the police cuffed him to a tiger bench (a torture tool) and took turns to interrogate him for two days and three nights, depriving him of sleep. As he refused to tell, the police tried hard to tighten his cuffs and shackles, causing his ankles to be covered with bruises. Later he was transferred to the county’s detention house. There the police ordered him to sit on a small stool from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, which lasted as long as 15 months. During the detention, he was not given enough food. After more than a year of such mistreatment, Hu felt swollen and weak all over his body, his feet so swollen that he could not put in his feet into his shoes, and his stomach so bloated that he had no appetite. He repeatedly asked the police for treatment but was always refused.
Hu’s condition was getting worse and worse. On February 23, 2020, because the police were afraid to be held accountable if he died in the detention house, they had to take him to the hospital. The examination showed that he suffered cirrhosis of the liver and severe anemia. He fell into a critical condition after being hospitalized for three days. Only then did the police informed his family to take him back home for treatment.
As his family took good care of him, his condition turned a little better. Four months later, however, he was arrested again by the police.
On June 22, four police officers went to Hu’s house, and forcibly put him into the police car and took him away, without listening to his family’s dissuasion. Later, the court sentenced Hu to five years in prison and fined him 20,000 RMB (about $3,120). He was then sent to a prison for his terms.
At the end of September 2021, Hu’s family received a phone call from the prison, saying that Hu was seriously ill, but they were not allowed to visit him. On November 6, his family received another call from the prison, saying that Hu was in a critical condition. The next morning Hu died. Hearing this bad news his family were extremely grieved.
The next day, his family rushed to the Public Security Bureau and asked the police why they were not allowed to visit him, and why he was not allowed to go back home for treatment as he was in such a critical condition. However, the police found many excuses to muddle through and shirk responsibility.
