(Clearwisdom.net) I have witnessed firsthand the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners at the Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp in Zizhong City, Sichuan Province.

Tall, strong, brutal inmates are selected to be placed in the same brigade with practitioners to persecute them. The authorities offer them rewards as incentives to participate in the persecution.

The brigade head would force practitioners into a small cell. The inmates placed practitioners in solitary confinement in the music room or storage room to stand or squat for a whole day in uncomfortable positions. The slightest bit of non-compliance would result in kicks and punches from the inmates. Practitioners' painful screams could be heard every now and then even from the courtyard. The brigade head pretended that he was oblivious to the screams, as if he didn't hear them, while in fact, he was the one who ordered the torture.

If practitioners meditate, the inmates would tie their legs and arms up and would not loosen it even when the practitioners were screaming from the agonizing pain or defecating and urinating in their pants. Once, a practitioner was found whispering a word to another practitioner who was sitting nearby. She was then dragged to the corner and punched until her whole face was bruised. To qualify for the benefits, such as reduction of their prison terms, the inmates resorted to all means in persecuting practitioners: they would kick, punch, pinch or pull practitioners' hair. Some practitioners had their teeth knocked out; some were disabled and still others were left with chronic pain as a result of their injuries.

Practitioners were only allowed to sleep for 2-4 hours a day as they endured torture such as being forced to stand or squat for extended periods of time. Inmates would not allow them to close their eyes or look up. They even used stimulating balm on their eyes to keep their eyes open. They pulled practitioners' eyelids, pinched their flesh, and swore at and insulted practitioners day in and day out. Even if practitioners were sick, they would still be subjected to the torture. After the practitioner is forcibly given intravenous drip, she is still made to face the wall and stand for the whole night.

The inmates would also starve practitioners and/or deny practitioners access to the washroom as a form of torture. They rationed their food, giving each of them only 100g of rice per day. In the morning, three practitioners were given only one small bun to divide amongst themselves, with half a bowl of rice soup. Lunch is a bowl of broth containing only a dozen or so grains of rice. It is the same for supper. Practitioners were forced to drink 5-7 cups of water daily, but were not allowed to go to the washroom. Even elderly practitioners in their 50s and 60s were not spared.

If practitioners could not help defecating or urinating in their pants onto the floor, the inmates would swear at them while taking their shirts or sweaters off to wipe the urine and excrement off the floor, and then throw their clothes into the garbage. Even on the coldest days during the Spring Festival, each of the practitioners was left with only one piece of clothing. They even pushed the practitioners to the floor and pulled them around to wipe the urine off the floor. Following this degrading treatment, practitioners are made to stand and/or sit in the courtyard. If they have money in their account, they are forced to pay a 20 Yuan fine. One brigade leader even tied practitioners to a tree and used something to obstruct their anuses, not allowing them to defecate. Once, a practitioner could not endure it any more and urinated by the manure pit. When the inmates found out, they stripped off her clothes and forced her to stand in the courtyard for hours. When it was exposed, the brigade head denied issuing orders to the inmates to do that.

Once, there was a practitioner who was on the verge of mental collapse. When she arrived at the detention center, they used electric batons to shock her, hit her and starve her. She was getting much worse, and could not look after herself at all. After a few months, they released her for medical reason and sent her back home. As soon as she recovered, she was taken away again to be further persecuted.

2003-10-2