HRIC has learned from various sources that on May 13, 2013, seven lawyers were severely beaten by police officers in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, when they attempted to visit Ziyang Legal Education Center (资阳市法制教育中心), the largest black jail in Sichuan. The lawyers are Guo Haiyue (郭海跃), Liang Xiaojun (梁小军), Jiang Tianyong(江天勇), Tang Jitian (唐吉田), Tang Tianhao (唐天昊), Lin Qilei (蔺其磊), and Zhang Keke (张科科).

Among them, Tang Tianhao sustained the heaviest injuries resulting in his head covered in blood, and Jiang Tianyong’s right leg was injured by stones pelted at him.

Four other lawyers who went to Ziyang after hearing news of the beatings were also held by the police. They included three Beijing rights defense lawyers Li Heping (李和平), Yang Huiwen (杨慧文), and Wen Haibo (温海波), and Hangzhou lawyer Wang Cheng (王成).

By 2:00 a.m. on May 14, Beijing time, Wang Cheng and two others were released, leaving a total of eight lawyers still in custody, including Tang Jitian—the Beijing rights defense lawyer who was tortured during the 2010 Jasmine crackdown and still needs to take medicine because of the torture—and the two wounded lawyers, Jiang Tianyong and Tang Tianhao.

Sources say that during the 2013 Spring Festival period, the Ziyang Legal Education Center, also called Ziyang Er’E Hu “Brainwashing Center,” was holding more than 260 people. Reportedly, some of the detainees in the Center have been held there for 5-6 years, and some people were tortured to death.