Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Mudanjiang Prison in Heilongjiang Province holds and persecutes Falun Gong practitioners from Heilongjiang Province's eastern area. More than 100 practitioners have been detained here in different prison wards.

Prison director Chen Shougang and deputy prison director Luan Jinghe openly torture practitioners and mentally torment them to reach their "reform" rate. Many practitioners were ruthlessly abused under the persecution, and several of them died as a result. Prison guard Wu Xuejun was said to use "humane management" on criminals and "forceful management" on Falun Gong practitioners - meaning beating and cursing them every day. He also claimed that this was the "policy" that prison director Chen Shougang had stipulated in a prison meeting.

Mudanjiang Prison has more than 20 different wards, each holding more than three Falun Gong practitioners. Every practitioner is closely monitored according to the "five-united-into-one" policy -- which means having four inmates monitor one practitioner, or at least two inmates per practitioner.

The main parties involved in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners are the prison ward heads, political heads and guards who manipulate inmates to persecute practitioners. If practitioners study Falun Gong teachings, practice the Falun Gong exercises, talk to each other or pass notes, the inmates will be punished, such as having their sentence extended or losing any opportunity to have their sentence reduced. Prison authorities force inmates to monitor practitioners using these methods. The prison guards in some wards beat practitioners themselves, shock practitioners with electric batons, send practitioners to solitary confinement cells, forbid practitioners from sleeping, goad inmates into beating practitioners, and torture practitioners savagely in attempts to force them to write the so-called "statement of repentance."

The prison director and the deputy director are the main persons who instigate inmates to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in the Mudanjiang Prison. They instigate the prison Education Section and the Administration Section, especially the heads, political heads, and guards of different prison wards to persecute practitioners. In December of 2004, in order to reach their "reform" goal, they held a meeting and set a goal of 85% "reform" rate of practitioners. All the heads, political heads and guards were to be held accountable for meeting this quota.

In April of 2006, the "law enforcement team" discovered three MP3 players among Falun Gong practitioners that had the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party recorded on them. They immediately held a prison-wide meeting, requiring all prison wards to intensify the persecution of practitioners. They also had the law enforcement team do several more consecutive searches. If any MP3 players or camcorders were found, it meant a 2000-yuan fine and lock-up in solitary confinement cells. The corresponding political head would be fined 2,000 yuan as well.

After anyone arrives at the Mudanjiang Prison, they have to participate in the so-called group training with new inmates. The group training usually lasts for three months, and then people are sent to different prison wards. But for Falun Gong practitioners, in order to reach the so-called "reform" quota, the training usually gets extended. The duration can last up to one year.

The conditions in the group training team are worse than that in the prison wards. During group training practitioners are forbidden to shower or do laundry. Beatings and verbal abuse happen on a regular basis. The guards incite inmates to gang up and beat practitioners. They deprive practitioners of sleep, make practitioners sit with their legs crossed for long periods of time and forbid practitioners from meeting with their families. They also maintain that if practitioners don't "transform" they will be kept in the group training team. Their policy is to torment practitioners for as long as they can to force them to give up Falun Gong practice.

In different prison wards, they use "guilt by association" rules on the regular inmates in order to incite them to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They also use solitary confinement cells to torture practitioners. The conditions in such cells are extremely terrible. A solitary cell has room for only two people to lie down flat on the floor. If there are three people, they have to lie on their sides. Such cells are completely isolated. There is only a small hole in the small door to let air in. It is hard to breathe in the cell and one has to sleep on the concrete floor. A period of confinement lasts at least 15 days. Some practitioners are handcuffed or shackled to an iron ring affixed to the floor. Some practitioners were brutally beaten and shocked with electric batons by the guards and some were forced to sit with their legs crossed from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

In December 2004, instigated by deputy prison director Luan Jinghe, a group of prison guards were trained specifically for "transforming" Falun Gong practitioners. They use very brutal torture methods on practitioners, such as not allowing practitioners to go to sleep, physical abuse, heavy physical labor, and beatings with plastic tubing or wooden boards. In the meantime, they also instigate inmates to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They offer inmates rewards (privileges and reduced terms) for participating. When higher authorities visit the prison to check on their status, in order to cover up the persecution and the fake "transformation" reports, they hide the practitioners who refuse to give up their beliefs and have the inmates watch them.

I. Death Cases of Falun Gong Practitioners Due to Persecution

Mr. Du Shiliang, a practitioner in his 50s, lived in Hailing City, Heilongjiang Province. On January 27, 2002, Mr. Du Shiliang and his wife were illegally arrested by the Political Security Section of the Hailing City Police Department. Mr. Du was sentenced to six years of imprisonment and his wife was sentenced to three years. In September 2002, Du Shiliang was sent to Mudanjiang Prison. On January 13, 2006, Mr. Du's wife went to Mudanjiang Prison to visit him, and his health condition was normal. On January 20, 2006, she suddenly received a message saying that Mr. Du Shiliang had died.

Mr. Pan Xingfu was a talented young man. In 1998 he was awarded the distinction of "Trans-century Talent in the Postal and Telecommunications System of Heilongjiang Province." He was the former deputy director of the Telecommunications Exchange Center in Shuangyashan City and also deputy director for the Telecommunications Bureau in Youyi County, Heilongjiang Province. Pan Xingfu persisted in his belief in Falun Gong. He was arrested several times. Early in 2002 he was unlawfully sentenced and sent to the Qitaihe Prison in Heilongjiang Province and was then transferred to Mudanjiang Prison. He was brutally tortured, repeatedly beaten and compelled to do odd jobs. In July 2004, when he was tortured to near death, he was released. In January 2005, Pan Xingfu's physical condition suddenly deteriorated. His family couldn't afford to send him to a hospital, and he died on January 31, 2005. He was only 31 years old.

Falun Gong practitioner Pan Xingfu

Pan Xingfu after being released from Mudanjiang Prison after he was tortured to the verge of death

Mr. Wei Xiaodong, not yet 34 years old, formerly lectured at the School of Engineering at the Bayi Land Reclamation University in Heilongjiang Province. On April 26, 2002, Wei Xiaodong was arrested by the Political and Security Section Police from Jiguan District. He was handcuffed and suffered inhumane beating. The handcuffs made his wrists bleed. After enduring beatings and torture, Mr. Wei was sent to the Jixi No. 1 Detention Center. Because he was persecuted for such a long time, his physical condition became worse and worse. He became skinny and lost most of his hair. In October 2002, Wei Xiaodong developed tuberculosis. The detention center not only did not give him any treatment, they asked his family for more money to cover his daily expenses. They extorted more than 2,700 yuan from his family. Wei Xiaodong was detained at the Jixi No. 1 Detention Center for eighteen months. According to his personal testimony, his family paid at least 600-700 yuan each month to cover his daily expenses. His family paid over 10,000 yuan, which did not include medical expenses of over 3,000 yuan.

Falun Gong practitioner Wei Xiaodong

In December 2003, the Jixi Detention Center sent Wei Xiaodong to Jianshanzi Prison in Mudanjiang for further persecution. By the end of 2004, Jianshanzi Prison started a month-long "compulsory transformation" campaign on Falun Gong practitioners. Led by the deputy prison director, Luan Jinghe, all of the team leaders, the political heads, the guards and the inmates beat practitioners every day, forced them to do heavy physical labor, would not allow them to sleep, and subjected them to other forms of brutal abuse. After repeated beatings and ongoing sleep deprivation, Wei Xiaodong's illness became serious. Afraid that he would infect other prisoners, the prison police detained him in the prison hospital for further persecution.

On March 20, 2005, Wei Xiaodong was dying. The police still tried to force him to give up Falun Gong. They tried to deceive him by saying, "We will let you go home as soon as you say you do not practice anymore." He firmly said the last word of his life, "Practice!" On March 21, 2005, Wei Xiaodong died from the persecution.

After Wei Xiaodong died, with the excuse of checking for the root cause of his death, without agreement from the family, the Procuratorate of Mudanjiang City performed an autopsy on his body to destroy the evidence of abuse.

Mr. Li Ruqing, 66 years old, was a retired worker from the Shangyashan City Mine Bureau of Heilongjiang Province. In no more than two months after he was detained in the prison, he was tortured to death around October 9, 2003.

Mr. Ning Jun was 50 years old and lived on Xiertiao Road in the Xian District of Mudanjiang City. Mr. Ning had a firm belief in Falun Gong and was sentenced to forced labor several times. In the labor camp he suffered inhuman torture many times. On September 9, 2002, he was reported to the police for clarifying the truth at the Hongqi Hospital of Mudanjiang City. He was arrested and sent to the Aimin District Police Department, where he was tortured until he almost died. The Aimin District Police Department was notified twice by the detention center that Mr. Ning's condition was critical, but the detention center authorities refused to respond. They sentenced him to five years of forced labor. At the beginning of 2004, Mr. Ning was sent to Mudanjiang Prison. He was in critical condition in the prison in September 2004 and had a physical exam performed by a city hospital. They declared that he was dying. The prison administration did not send him to the Police Hospital until November. Eventually, Mr. Ning's family was allowed to take him home, but the long-term persecution had destroyed his health, and he passed away on August 12, 2005.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Ning Jun

Mr. Wang Jiguo, 40 years old, was an employee of the Mudanjiang Normal Institute. He was illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor. In August 2000, Wang Jiguo was tortured to the brink of death and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, liver ascites, and comprehensive hepatorenal syndrome. The labor camp officials reluctantly allowed Mr. Wang Jiguo medical parole to receive treatment. Mr. Wang Jiguo was then hospitalized. In December 2000, three months after Wang Jiguo left the hospital, perpetrators from Mudanjiang Normal Institute arrested him again and sent him back to the labor camp. They ignored the fact that Wang Jiguo was urinating blood and almost blind in both eyes. Mr. Wang was later sentenced to prison and was incarcerated at Mudanjiang Prison. He was cruelly tortured until he was again on the brink of death. Medical treatment failed to revive him and he passed away in September 2003. Wang Jiguo's wife is also a Falun Gong practitioner. She is currently being detained at a labor camp. Their child is eight years old.

Mr. Yu Junxiu was from Zhejiang Province. He was formerly a criminal sentenced to a life term. In 1997, he learned Falun Gong from the prison guards. In 2000, Mr. Yu was transferred to Mudanjiang Prison. Because of his belief, he was put in solitary confinement in the 14th Ward of the Jianshanzi Prison between April and June of 2003. He was brutally persecuted. Guards Lin Liming and Liu Ping put handcuffs and shackles on Yu Junxiu, connected them from behind with a chain and locked the chain to an iron ring on the ground. They also often beat Mr. Yu with plastic tubing. Policeman Xu Shujun would shock him with electric batons for an hour at a time. When Yu Junxiu's health condition was extremely precarious, they sent him to the hospital. He died several days after he was released from solitary confinement. However, the prison blamed Falun Gong and claimed that he died because he refused medical treatment after he had gotten ill in solitary confinement.

II. Ruthless Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners

1) Electric shocks

As of February 23, 2006, officials at Ward 8 in the Mudanjiang Prison detained practitioner Huang Guodong in solitary confinement for 15 days. Guards Wu Xuejun, Jiang Lei, Zhang Shengli, Song Junpiao, Shen Guang and several others from Ward 8 shocked Huang Guodong with four high-voltage electric batons. Wu Xuejun inserted an electric baton into Falun Gong practitioner Huang Guodong's anus. Wu Xuejun stated he would use "humanized administration" on criminals and "coercive administration" on Falun Gong practitioners. He said Falun Gong practitioners required "daily beating and verbal attacks" and according to him, prison director Chen Shougang had personally made up this policy.

Ward head Mei Jianguo verbally insulted 38-year-old practitioner Li Fengquan from Qitaihe early in the morning on December 8, 2004. He beat Li Fengquan until his lips swelled so much that the insides of his lips protruded. He bled from his gums and inside his mouth. In the afternoon, Zhao Xihe and political head Li approached Li Fengquan holding electric batons. Zhao Xihe struck Mr. Li on the bridge of the nose with his fist and also repeatedly slapped his face. Political head Li kept shocking all parts of Li Fengquan's face and body. Practitioner Li Fengquan was injured everywhere and was blinded from the beatings. Despite his condition, the guards still made him do slave labor. Li Fengquan lost consciousness from exhaustion at the end of his work shift on December 14, 2004. He collapsed on the stairs and rolled down to the third floor. He suffered a head injury and lost an excessive amount of blood. He was taken to the emergency room at the Mudanjiang Police Hospital that evening.

Guard Zhang Qingshan beat practitioner Guan Lianbin, held at Ward 6, around November 10, 2005. He shocked practitioner Guan Lianbin with electric batons for more than three hours. Zhang Qingshan screamed as he tortured practitioner Guan Lianbin, "I am an evil guard! I am an evil guard!"

He shocked Guan Lianbin's genitals and inner thighs and beat him until he had severe skin injuries. Guan Lianbin suffered a heart attack after more than one hour of torture. Zhang Qingshan put the electric baton inside Guan Lianbin's shirt on his skin and shocked his chest saying, "This is a special treatment for heart disease!" Ward head Zhou Yuanping and political head Zhu Zailiang then took Guan Lianbin to solitary confinement and shackled his feet.

2) Force-feeding

Force-feeding is one of the most merciless and painful tortures afflicted on Falun Gong practitioners. Each feeding session is a life-and-death experience for those practitioners who are weak from hunger strikes. First, the officials immobilize the practitioners with handcuffs and shackles; then a prison doctor and/or guards violently cram a thick tube down through the nose into the practitioner's stomach. Sometimes the tube enters the trachea and causes a lung infection. They repeatedly pull the tube out and re-insert it and stir it around inside the practitioner's stomach "for fun," severely damaging the nasal cavities and the gastrointestinal tract. When they have "enjoyed" enough of the practitioners' suffering, they pour a mixture of highly concentrated saline solution and corn porridge into the tube, which results in inflammation of the practitioner's stomach. The practitioner may foam continuously from the mouth. A fluid of digestive enzymes mixed with blood, tears and sweat erupts and sticks to the practitioner's face and body. Over time, the mess turns into a hardened crust. This force-feeding torture causes tremendous pain and sometimes leads to death.

Practitioner Gong Guidong from Hegang City and practitioner Li Baohua from Jixi City went on a hunger strike on May 9, 2005 to protest the abuse and humiliation of the persecution. They were extremely weak, emaciated and dehydrated. The force-feeding severely injured each practitioner's esophagus, and their lives were hanging by a thread.

Practitioner Zhang Hongquan from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province died from persecution. He was transferred from Harbin Prison to Ward 16 of the Mudanjiang Prison in July 2004. He protested the detention and defied the officials' commands, such as not responding to roll call or squatting. Political head Zhen Yuhe locked Zhang Hongquan in solitary confinement for 17 days. To protest, Mr. Zhang held an 11-day hunger strike. The guards overseeing solitary confinement took him to the prison hospital where he was force-fed with salt, causing severe vomiting. Zhang Hongquan was subsequently taken to Ward 3.

The persecution at the Group Drill Ward is even more brutal. The officials order the guards at the solitary confinement section and other parts of the prison to torture Falun Gong practitioners with electric batons, shackle the practitioners to the floor through metal rings and force-feed them concentrated saline solution.

Practitioner Yao Guocai held a 15-day hunger strike while being held in solitary confinement. The guards ordered the inmates to force-feed him. They forced a tube down his throat into the stomach. They purposely pulled the tube back and forth during the feeding to exacerbate the pain. Yao Guocai developed inflammation of the esophagus due to erosion from stomach acid and eventually suffered a high fever.

Officials at the Group Drill Ward launched another round of persecution on September 4, 2004, in an attempt to "reform" Falun Gong practitioners. They locked the practitioners in isolation, separated everyone and deprived them of sleep. Practitioners Liu Jun and Wu Yuerong were held in Room 1 and Room 2, respectively. They had to make their beds early in the morning and were forbidden to sleep at night. Several inmates took turns "talking" to them. Sometimes Liu Jun was forced to stand for a whole night and sometimes he was made to stand on a small stool for five days. The guards said that torture must be administered to every practitioner.

The practitioners commenced a group hunger strike on September 9, 2004. The next day, practitioners Gao Yunxiang, Guan Lianbin and Jin Youfeng were locked in solitary confinement. They each wore a 19-kg [41.8 lbs] shackle as well as chains and a wooden stick that connected and immobilized their hands. A chain connected the wood stick and the shackles. The practitioners were shackled like this for 15 days. On the second day of their solitary confinement, the officials force-fed the practitioners through a very thick tube. They jabbed the practitioners' throat lining with the tubes and kept poking the tubes down, even after the tubes had entered the practitioners' stomachs. They tried to force such a great amount of raw corn meal and pepper powder down that the mixture overflowed, backing out of the practitioners' mouths, almost choking them to death. The practitioners had bouts of diarrhea immediately after the feeding.

The day after this force-feeding, a guard nicknamed "king of all devils" led four inmates to torture practitioner Jin Youfeng. The guard pinched Jin Youfeng's nose and force-fed him water continuously, without letting up. It is not known how many bottles of water were poured into Jin Youfeng.

The solitary confinement cell is cold and damp. Jin Youfeng was wearing thin clothes and requested more clothes but never got anything. He had to sleep on a bare wooden bed without any covers.

3) Hanging by up handcuffs

The officials often handcuff the practitioners and hang them up in the air, so the practitioner's entire body weight rests on the handcuffs. Long-term hanging leads to agonizing pain, severe swelling and sometimes broken wrists.

Practitioner Jin Youfeng was transferred to Group 1, Ward 7 on May 26, 2005. His sentence reduction was denied because of his refusal to "reform," although he performed the forced labor. Afterwards Mr. Jin refused to do any more work as a means to defy the persecution. The next day, group head Luan Yu handcuffed him to some metal grates on a workshop window during working hours. He was handcuffed for an entire morning on May 27, 2005. In the afternoon, Ward head Zhu Zailiang ordered certain people to hang Jin Youfeng by one arm from a wooden beam in a corner of the guards' bathroom for an afternoon, alternating between the left and right arms periodically.

Zhu Zailiang sent criminal inmates Han Baoren, Dai Qingmin, Liu Yong, Su Yuming and others to monitor and "reform" Jin Youfeng on May 28, 2005. Jin Youfeng persisted in his belief. The inmates took him back to the bathroom the next day and beat him. Han Baoren was the main perpetrator. They slapped and kicked his face, hit his back and twisted his arms. Su Yuming did not participate in this beating. Liu Yong was later assigned to keep Jin Youfeng under surveillance. He did not let Jin Youfeng sit down and threatened him many times with electric batons and hanging.

4) "Flying an Airplane"

In this torture, the body is bent at a 90-degree angle, with both arms stretched out behind one's back and pointing upward. This is a torture that doesn't result in bloodshed but is no less cruel. It is difficult for the victim to stay in this position for long. If one relaxes slightly, the guards would beat and kick him. For a reenactment illustration, please go to /emh/articles/2004/9/29/52921.html.

Practitioner Jin Youfeng was a sports teacher at the Mudanjiang Normal Institute. He was sent to the Group Drill Ward at the end of March 2004. Right after his arrival in the prison, the officials made him squat against a wall, with his arms wrapped around his head. They took everything from him, leaving him with only one sweater, one pair of wool pants and underwear. They even took his towels and toothpaste; he could not dry his face or brush his teeth for the first few months. Maintenance worker Zhou Shaokun presided in Room 1, the "Strictly Controlled" room. He is one of the main abusers of Falun Gong practitioners following orders from guard Zhuang.

Falun Gong practitioners toil in the workshop during the day and work overtime after dinner in the dormitory in order to meet an impossible quota. Jin Youfeng could not meet the quota and was tortured with the "Flying an Airplane" method. Guard Si Hongtao pressured Zhou Shaokun to "reform" Jin Youfeng and a practitioner surnamed Wu. Jin Youfeng defied the officials and refused to write a guarantee statement. Zhou Shaokun beat him in front of guard Si Hongtao. Jin Youfeng also refused to put his hands behind his back, bow his head, or squat, and Si Hongtao slapped his face.

5) Freezing

Officials at Ward 1 locked practitioner Wang Hai in solitary confinement on March 15, 2006. They did not let him wear anything for eight days in subzero temperature. They shackled him and immobilized his hands with chains and a wooden stick. They also chained him to a metal ring fastened to the floor. They didn't give him any water, and only gave him a small piece of cornbread each day. They could only wear inmates' cotton-padded shirts and pants. Inmates Liu Lijun, Fan Miao and others deprived Wang Hai of sleep for two weeks and beat and kicked him all day long. Guard Song Junjie often shocked Wang Hai with electric batons. Guard Hou Bo is from the Prison Administration Section, in charge of solitary confinements.

Guard Zhang Shengli shocked practitioner Zhang Shijiang with electric batons on February 24, 2006. He forbade Zhang Shijiang from eating lunch and made him remain outside in the freezing cold. He also hung Zhang Shijiang upside-down.

Political head Zhang Lichun locked practitioner Sun Dianshan in solitary confinement in December 2004 for explaining the facts. There is no heating in the solitary confinement cell, yet Sun Dianshan was allowed to wear only underwear while shackled.

The officials at the Group Drill Ward deprived practitioner Sun Yuerong of sleep for seven days. They dragged him into a bathroom and poured cold water all over him until he lost consciousness.

6) Stabbing with an awl

In the morning of February 24, 2006, guards Wu Xuejun and Liu Boyong shocked practitioner Liu Jun with electric batons and injured his hands. They took practitioner Guan Wenlong to the restroom where they shocked him with electric batons, hit him with rubber clubs and beat and kicked him. After one hour, several inmates carried Guan Wenlong out of the restroom. He could not walk, was bent over and his right leg was disabled. The guards forbade him from eating lunch and savagely beat him again in the restroom at noon. They brought him out after the inmates had finished their meal and left for work. His face was red and swollen.

Guard Wu Xuejun stabbed Guan Wenlong with an awl on February 25, 2006 right after he came to work. He dragged Guan Wenlong into the restroom and tortured him for nearly 30 minutes.

7) Encouraging inmates to persecute practitioners

At the Group Drill Ward, deputy prison director Luan Jing and political head Zhuang Yixin threatened the practitioners, "We will not let you go to your cell if you do not 'reform'." Zhuang Yixin followed instructions from his superiors and ordered inmate Zhou Zhaokun to brutally torture practitioners. If the practitioners refused to write guarantee statements they would be deprived of sleep. When they dosed off, the perpetrators would flick their eyeballs, savagely beat and kick them, and/or force them to stand or bend over in humiliating postures. Inmate Zhou Zhaokun also told new prisoners to persecute practitioners by forcing the practitioners to work. They beat the practitioners if they could not complete the assigned workload. Determined practitioners Jin Yongfeng, Guan Lianbin and Gao Yunxiang refused to "reform" and were locked in solitary confinement. They were handcuffed, shackled and affixed to a metal ring on the floor so they could only sit while bending forward. The handcuffs cut into their wrists, which caused excruciating pain. Each detention in solitary confinement lasts at least 15 days.

Yang Xiaoguang was held in solitary confinement in early November 2004 and was brutally abused. Guard Song Junlin would beat Yang Xiaoguang every time he came on duty. Once, Song Junlin beat Yang Xiaoguang three times in one evening until Yang Xiaoguang's face became deformed and swollen. He could not see anything after the beating, and his chest and back were black and blue.

Political heads Li Jiezhi and Li Yuhong assigned 30 inmates to "reform" four practitioners in early December 2004. If the inmates did not persecute the practitioners, the guards would threaten them with removing points for sentence reductions. Several inmates attacked one practitioner and monitored him around the clock. They forced the practitioners to sit upright on a bare wooden board, with their legs crossed in the full lotus position. They forbade the practitioners from sleeping and beat and kicked them in an attempt to make them write guarantee statements. Group head Dong Yujiang said to the inmates, "No matter what you do, it's all good, as long as you make them write the guarantee statements!" Political head Li Yuhong said, "This work is directly associated with your sentence reduction and appraisal." Inmate Liu Lijun, a convicted robber and murderer, viciously beat and tortured Falun Gong practitioners Yang Xiaoguang, Sun Rongxiao and Liu Guolai.

Liu Lijun beat practitioner Yang Xiaoguang until he bled profusely from his nose and mouth. His face was swollen, and the inside of his mouth was lacerated in numerous places; as a result, he could not eat anything. Liu Lijun beat practitioner Liu Guolai until his eye sockets were black, three of his ribs were broken and he could not get up. Practitioner Sun Rongxiao was beaten barbarically twice within four days. After the first beating his face was bleeding severely and had become severely deformed. Mr. Sun, in his 50s, rolled on the floor in pain.

The guards ordered inmates Mao Jianbo from Ward 2 and Liu Lijun to beat practitioner Liu Guolai in the evening on February 28, 2005, which made him lose consciousness several times. Liu Guolai's head swelled; his left eye was black and the eyeball was bloodshot. His chest and sides hurt so terribly that he could not breathe without suffering great pain. Inmate Mao Jianbo remarked, "It's useless for you to tell the officials! Beating you is nothing!"

8) Solitary Confinement

Solitary confinement: Falun Gong practitioners are held in small, dark and damp rooms. They are handcuffed with their arms behind their backs to the cell door 24 hours a day. They have to relieve themselves in this tiny room. It is called a "prison within a prison." At times, the practitioners are held in solitary confinement for days and even months. When they come out of solitary confinement they are covered in huge blisters, possibly from bug bites or infection, which causes excruciatingly painful itching and suffering.

Ward head Tang Xiaohui and political head Chen Zhanfeng started persecuting practitioners after they came to Ward 8. They began to beat practitioner Guan Wenlong during roll call on November 4, 2005 in front of 300 inmates and 14 guards. They locked Guan Wenlong in solitary confinement on November 17, 2005 and told the inmates to beat him. Guard Wu Xuejun often bribed inmate Guan Zhenli with liquor and food to get him to beat practitioner Guan Wenlong.

Guard Wu Xuejun and inmate Wang Lijun severely abused practitioner Huang Guodong on April 18, 2006. Huang Guodong could not endure the torture any more. He threw himself against a heating pipe to protest the persecution and immediately lost consciousness [Note: the teachings of Falun Gong do not condone personal injury of any form]. His blood was all over the floor. Still, he was locked in solitary confinement for 15 days, where he was handcuffed and shackled. At the same time the guards also beat practitioner Guan Wenlong.

9) Slave labor results in severe injury and disability

Practitioner Yu Zonghai accidentally hit his left eye against a hard object during work at the end of August 2006. The injury severed his tear gland. The prison doctor told him to get treatment at an outside hospital. The guards at Ward 6 told his family to pay or they would not let him leave prison. Yu Zonghai's wife and sister were held at Harbin Women's Prison for practicing Falun Gong. His family did not have any money for medical treatment. The guards said, "If his family doesn't pay us, we don't care if he goes blind." Yu Zonghai's brother paid the prison officials. Mr. Yu was eventually taken to the Ophthalmic Department at the Hongqi Hospital in Mudanjiang City, but it was already too late for reconstructive surgery.

10) Staged show during official inspections

The minister of justice came to inspect the prison in 2004. The prison started to provide decent food for the detainees almost one month before the official visit. The prison authorities did not know the exact date of the visit, so they wanted to make sure they were "covered" when the minister arrived. Some inmates mistakenly thought the Communist Party was starting to treat them nicely, as the food quality improved and the work hours were shortened. Most inmates saw through the facade, however. The minister of justice left after a quick tour of the prison. The food immediately reverted to pig feed, like ground corn. The same long work hours were restored.

The entire prison went into heightened mode while the minister was there. The prison directors issued a notice stipulating that the ward heads would be fired if any ward let out hints of the staged cover-up. The prison rented lots of bonsais and potted flowers, each one costing 10 to 80 yuan, and decorated the whole prison until it looked like a flower market. Thirty detainees had previously slept in one room; now only four beds were left in the room. All abused detainees were put into hiding to prevent them from shouting "inappropriate" things during the visit. Falun Gong practitioners and the abused inmates were locked in a gigantic vegetable vault in the basement. Designated head inmates and guards watched the entrance to the vault. Such deceptive practice is commonplace at this, and other prisons.

A group of people from Taiwan and Hong Kong arrived at the prison in 2005. The next day, the prison news broadcast touted, "The guests from Taiwan and Hong Kong were surprised to see a large pot of roast meat in the prisoner's cafeteria." In fact, each time someone important came to visit, the prison always came up with ways to mislead people. The prison food is terrible, and most prisoners work more than 11 hours a day. They are compelled to operate like robots on a daily basis and are extremely weak from exhaustive labor and malnutrition.

III. Prison officials exploit detainees' wages and divide the profit

Mudanjiang Prison is also called a "death camp." More than 4,800 people are held in a space of less than 35,000 square meters [376,737 sq. ft.]. The prison is atrociously filthy and medical facilities are stunningly inadequate. The guards force the detainees to work more than 11 hours a day without any holiday or break. To achieve its financial goals, the prison directors issue orders for the ward heads to turn a certain amount of profit each year. The ward heads in turn exploit the detainees to the maximum extent to meet the requirements and also keep some money for themselves. The Party contracted the prisoners' cafeteria to the guards to run and ordered the guards to turn in 1.5 million yuan each year.

The chopsticks made at Mudanjiang Prison not only supply the city but are also exported to Japan. They carry infectious bacteria, viruses and microscopic mites. The inmates who produce these chopsticks often do not wash their faces for 20 days and they work 12 hours a day. Those who do not meet their daily quota are forced to sit still on the floor when they return to their room. They frequently miss the allotted time to wash themselves, and those in poor health have to endure beating and verbal abuse from the guards. The prison strictly blocks information and whoever leaks the facts is savagely beaten by the guards and inmates.

In 2004, one inmate wrote down that the chopsticks are contaminated with viruses and bacteria on a slip of paper and tried to conceal it in the product to be exported to Japan. He wanted the buyer to know the truth. Prison inspectors found the paper, and the guards tortured him with electric batons and wooden sticks. They took him to a hospital but did not give him any treatment. He died several days later. When his family came to visit him, the authorities did not grant them entry and did not tell them about his death.

Currently, Falun Gong practitioner Kang Yuncheng is unconscious from torture. He was a volunteer assistant at a Falun Gong practice site in Mudanjiang City. He worked as the manager at Mudanjiang City Real Estate Company. After the persecution began in 1999, Mr. Kang was arrested many times for persisting in his belief. He was sentenced to prison and brutally persecuted. After his release, he returned to work at the real estate company. He was arrested again by the Mudanjiang City 610 Office at the end of October 2003. The main officials in charge at his company attested to his outstanding integrity and work performance, but the guards ignored them. He was sentenced to prison and held at Ward 5 of Mudanjiang Prison. Prior to this time, Mr. Kang had developed severe high blood pressure and other conditions due to the persecution, and he was taken to the prison hospital. His family requested medical parole but were denied. He was locked in solitary confinement on January 18, 2006. On January 13, 2007, Kang Yuncheng again showed symptoms of critical illness and the prison authorities transferred him to a local hospital, where he underwent two surgeries. He is currently unconscious and was recently taken home on medical parole.

Falun Gong practitioner Kong Xiangzhu has been diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis in June 2006. It has been 11 months but the prison officials refuse to release him, using various excuses. Mr. Kong was diagnosed with a brain injury and he cannot take care of himself. His condition is quite precarious. The prison decided to release Mr. Kong on medical parole but demanded 5,000 yuan from his family. Kong Xiangzhu's parents are maintenance workers at a supermarket, and they earn a total of 400 yuan per month, barely enough to get by. There is no way for them to come up with 5,000 yuan.

When prison director Chen Shougang and Luan Jing, deputy prison director, were in office, seven Falun Gong practitioners died from persecution and many more practitioners were held in solitary confinement and brutally tortured.

The information above lists just some of the crimes committed at Mudanjiang Prison. These crimes constitute a violation of Article 234 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates, "Whoever intentionally injures another is to be sentenced to up to three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or control;" Article 247 of the Criminal Law stipulates, "Judicial workers who extort a confession from criminal suspects or defendants by torture, or who use force to extract testimony from witnesses, are to be sentenced to three years or fewer in prison or put under criminal detention;" Article 397 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates "State personnel who abuse their power or neglect their duties, causing great losses to public property and the state's and people's interests, shall be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention; and when the circumstances are exceptionally serious, not less than three years and not more than seven years of fixed-term imprisonment." The prison administration has also violated the Labor Law and the Prison Law.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/4/18/153000.html

In May 2004, while Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xiang Hairong was shopping at a roadside stall, a police car stopped beside her, and several policemen jumped out and grabbed her. Policeman Zhou Jiang handcuffed her hands behind her back, and she was then pushed into the car.

On May 26, 2004, Ms. Xiang was sentenced to two years at Baimalong Forced Labor Camp by the police branch chief Zhou Jiang. She had her hands cuffed behind her back and was sent to the labor camp, even though at the time she was suffering from severe muscle spasms in both her hands and right foot.

In order to send Ms. Xiang to the labor camp, the police at Dahualing Police Station of Xiangtan City coerced several people to make charges against her. Ms Cheng Ling, a non-practitioner, was threatened with arrest if she did not report that Ms. Xiang had tried to give her Falun Gong materials, and Ms. Xiang's husband was forced to testify that she teaches her three-year-old son Falun Gong. They also got one of her neighbors, who is mentally handicapped, to make a statement against her.

Ms. Xiang was thus sentenced to two years of forced labor. When the police were asked about the evidence, the reply was, "Three people reported you. That's enough to send you to labor camp." When Ms. Xiang's mother Shen Qiaoxu went to the detention center to visit her, she learned that her daughter had already been sent to the labor camp, without any notice to the family. Ms. Shen went to the police station and was handed a sheet of paper with the words: "Xiang Hairong has been sent to a labor camp." Ms. Xiang's father was going to use the document to seek legal recourse, but the police told them, "She will be released if you return the paper to us." They did, but Ms. Xiang was not released as promised.

Parents Arrested While Visiting Their Daughter

In July 2005, Ms. Shen Qiaoxu and her husband brought their grandson to the labor camp to visit their daughter Ms. Xiang Hairong, and to give her Master Li's articles. But Shen Qiaoxu was arrested by a prison guard named Auyang Xu and a policeman whose surname is Zhao. The labor camp notified the Shifeng Police Branch of Zhuzhou City. Policeman Tan Wen was directly involved in torturing Shen Qiaoxu at the labor camp. They handcuffed her to a window frame and demanded to know where Master Li's article had come from. Policeman Tan Wen hit Ms. Shen in the head and face, saying, "If you do not tell me here, I will force you tell me when you come to the police station."

Later Ms. Shen Qiaoxu was taken to the Shifeng Police Branch of Zhuzhou City. They did not get any information from her, but they fabricated the affidavits, and policeman Tan Wen signed for Shen Qiaoxu. They used this to arrest both Shen Qiaoxu and her husband, and held them for fifteen days in the Xiangtan City Detention Center.

Policeman Dai Qunxing, Zhou Jang from Jiangbin Machinery Factory, and the Jiangbin Police Station have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners since the persecution started on July 20, 1999. Several Falun Gong practitioners from Jiangbin Machinery Factory have been arrested and sent to labor camp.

In mid-April 2000, practitioner Ms. Shen Qiaoxu went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. She was detained for fifteen days. While there, the police took away her money and spent it. They also stopped her pension for nine months.

On February 20, 2006 police sent Cao Lijiao and Ms. Shen Qiaoxu to Baimalong Forced Labor Camp for a one-year term. The labor camp refused to accept Shen Qiaoxu, because her blood pressure was too high at 210. A second physical checkup showed the same result. Policeman Da Qunxing said, "You have to take this person. I have already talked with our boss."

Policemen Dai Qunxing, Zhou Jian and their cohorts at the Police Station of the Jiangbin Machinery Factory have followed Jiang Zemin's regime since July 20, 1999 and have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners repeatedly. As a result of their actions, several Falun Gong practitioners at the factory were detained and later sent to forced labor camps.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Quan Huiping has not given up her belief, in spite of arrest, detention and two labor camp sentences. Her home has been ransacked over ten times, and her husband died as a result of persecution.

The following practitioners from this area have suffered from persecution: Li Tiejun, Quan Huiping, Xiang Hairong, Cao Lijiao, Kan Guinian, Ran Dazheng, Zhao Yaping, Li Wenming and Hu Guohua. Out of these practitioners, Zhao Yaping, Li Wenming and Hu Guohua have died as a result of the persecution. In addition, the police have turned many non-practitioners and new practitioners against Falun Gong with their smear campaigns.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/5/1/153906.html

Gansu Province Women's Prison was established in 2001 and incarcerates over 1000 people. The women inmates were transferred from Pingliang Prison and Lanzhou Prison. Since July 1999, when the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong, CCP officials have sentenced and illegally imprisoned practitioners in Gansu Women's Prison. Ms. Ma Yun from Lanzhou was the first practitioner imprisoned and persecuted in Gansu Prison. She was held in the 2^nd Ward. She defied the prison authorities by refusing to do the forced labor and continuing to practice Falun Gong. She was often handcuffed to a bed frame and forbidden to sleep. Other practitioners were eventually sent to the prison. In the beginning of 2005, to facilitate the persecution, prison officials set up a special section just to "reform" all the Falun Gong practitioners and eventually sent them to the wards for forced labor. Since its inception in 2005 until today, this section has never ceased committing crimes against Falun Gong practitioners.

Those in charge of this section include head Zhu Hong, deputy head Gan Yumei (about 40 years old), political head Ding Yuping, education section head Zhu Xianzhong, and others such as Meng Xianhui, Cao Meng, Sun Liwei, and a person surnamed Li. The other sections of the women's prison have assisted them in carrying out the persecution of practitioners.

Gansu Women's Prison officials supported a group of criminal inmates who brutally beat and closely monitored practitioners. These criminal inmates include Ren Li, Xian Deying (very wicked), Zhang Yujie, Jia Li, Huang Yaqin, Ma Rong, He Juping, Liang Jufang ,and others. Their daily task was to try to force practitioners to write the "four statements" and the so-called "thought report." If the practitioners refused to cooperate, the other inmates would slander Master Li and Falun Gong and ruthlessly abuse practitioners with beatings and curses. They would also spit at them, shock them with electric batons, handcuff and hang them, and deprive them of sleep. Practitioners would also be forced to stand against a wall with their heads down, backs against a wall, and with hands up, or they would be hung upside down.

This special section is in a separate three-story building inside the women's prison. On the first floor are the confinement cells, on the second floor are the prison police offices and cells detaining practitioners, and on the third floor is the in-patient department. There are three confinement cells of about eight square yards. It contains nothing but a built-in, long, narrow, metal bench, about five inches high and five inches wide. The practitioner is forced to sit astride the metal bench, both hands in handcuffs, embracing the bench in a position that does not allow the person to straighten her back. Ms. Zhang Wenjuan from Lanzhou City was tortured the longest. She defied those who tormented her in various ways for three months. Practitioners Ms. Wang Zefang, Ms. Tai Meihua, Ms. Zhou Xiuying, Ms. Zhang Ping, and others all suffered from abuse of this sort to varying degrees.

The women's prison has a total of six wards, three wards in each building. Each ward holds 100 to 200+ inmates, and some up to 300 inmates. Each cell holds about two-dozen inmates. Approximately seven practitioners are in each of the wards. At present there are about 50 practitioners in the prison. Each practitioner is monitored by several criminal inmates, even when she goes to the bathroom, eats, or sleeps. Whoever she talks to and what she says must be reported to the prison guards; the mental pressure is devastating.

In the beginning of 2005, when the special section had just been established, the practitioners in all six wards were abused. Official personnel isolated the practitioners in each of the wards and locked them separately in the dark cells (about 10 square meters). These dark cells were located on each floor. The windows and doors of the dark cells are covered and sealed with paper and black fabric. The heating radiators are wrapped with black fabric and plastic foam. Some of the cells had a bed and blankets, but others cells had nothing except a bed board on the floor. Each of the cells has two to three prison guards and four criminal inmates assisting the guards. They take turns reading slanderous books that the practitioners must listen to and force them to watch slanderous VCDs for many hours daily. They even forbid the practitioner from drinking water, sleeping, or using the toilet for several hours. Practitioners in these cells cannot wash their face, hair or feet. This abuse usually last over 40 days. A prison guard named Liu Ying has told the criminal inmates, "I don't care about what tactics you use to make the practitioners compromise. I only want results."

The practitioners are required to do high-intensity labor for long stretches of time daily. Every inmate has a 6,000 yuan production quota each month. The quota for each ward amounts to over one million yuan. The prison guards will try anything to get money for themselves and don't care whether the inmates live or die. They even refuse the inmates any access to a doctor when they are sick. The factory is located in a five-story building. On the fifth floor they embroider Hui nationality style hats. These hats are exported to Mecca. On the third and fourth floors they make clothing for the Lanzhou 3512 Factory. Many inmates have eye infections and are not treated. On the second floor they make rugs; the working conditions are really bad. Many inmates have caught tuberculosis. The inmates work from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. with a mere half hour break midway through for eating. People who eat slowly have to stop eating and return to work before they finish their food.

The practitioners imprisoned in the 1^st Ward have included Wang Ailan (Lanzhou), Yang Xiuqin (Xigu, Lanzhou), Yin Xiaolan (Tianshui, Gansu), Shu Jinxiu (Haishiwan, Lanzhou), Ma Yuling, Kong Jie (Lanzhou Normal University professor), and He Xuehua (who was tortured to death). Practitioners who defy the guards and don't write "the four statements" and the so-called "thought report" are deprived of sleep. A load of garlic once arrived from the 6^th Ward and the practitioners had to peel it. The skin on their hands peeled off, seeping runny, bloody fluid. In July 2003 guards found that Shu Jinxiu had hand-copied a Falun Gong article. They hung her by her handcuffs from a door frame for seven days. The prison guards responsible were Wang Wenhui, the head guard of the ward; Yang Ailan, political head; and Chen Xiaotong, Liu Yuanyuan, and other guards.

The practitioners in the 2^nd Ward have included Wu Xiaojing (Sichuan), Li Minna (Lanzhou), Tang Qiong (Tianshui, Gansu Province), Tian Juhong (Lanzhou), Wang Anlin (Jinchang, Gansu Province), Fu Guiqin (Jinchang, Gansu Province), and Zhao Fenglian (Jinchang, Gansu Province, who died of persecution). Guards are still trying to get Ms. Tang Qiong to write the so-called "thought report." The "thought reports" are examined by officials in the prison's special section and by agents from the 610 Office of the city police department. The practitioner has to keep redoing the report if the report is not to their satisfaction. In July 2004, Ms. Tang was beaten by guard Liu Ying and locked in the confinement cell several times. Under the extreme torture, Tan Qiong injured herself to protest the persecution and was sent to the labor camp's hospital in Lanzhou. Guard Ding Yuping of the special section was responsible for persecuting practitioners in the 2^nd Ward. Other prison guards have included Liu Ying (political instructor, the most vicious), Gu Hongying (ward head), Zhang Lirong (team leader), Zhu Hong, Lan Haiqing, Wei Xuemei, and Lu Chunmei.

The practitioners detained in the 3^rd Ward have included Jiao Lili (Xifeng), Dan Siyuan (Jinchang), Zhang Wenjuan (Wuwei), Zhou Yuelian (Lanzhou), and others, six or seven in all. They have suffered the most serious persecution. From 2001 to the end of 2006 they were in the prison yard making nets used for loading cargo onto trains and trucks. No matter how scorching the sun was in summer or how heavy the snow was in winter, these practitioners, as well as the inmates of the 3^rd Ward, were forced to work without stopping. In the summer, every one of them had a sunburn and in winter they had frostbite on their face, hands and feet. Jiao Lili defied her captors and was frequently beaten and locked in the confinement cells. The prison guards included Ma Hongmei (political head), Ma Meiying, Hou Pei, and Shan Shuli.

The practitioners in the 4^th Ward have included Zhang Zhenmin (Lanzhou), Chen Jie (Huining), Zhou Xiuying, Wang Yuhong (Jinchang), Liu Lanying (Lanzhou), He Biying, and others. In July 2004, for erasing blackboard articles that slandered Falun Gong, prison guards savagely beat Zhang Zhenmin. Ms. Zhang's cries could be heard in all the wards. She was then locked up and hung by her handcuffs while wearing a torture instrument in the washroom of the ward. She was tortured for eight days.

In March 2007, prison personnel had Ms. Zhang Zhenmin's husband brought to the women's prison. Practitioner Mr. Niu Wanjiang had been imprisoned in Lanzhou Prison. He was then taken to Lanzhou Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center. With so-called "education with help," they tried to force the practitioner couple to yield. The prison guards involved in this included Wen Yaqin (the head guard of the ward), a person with the last name Zhang (former political head), Hou Junhong (political head), Yang Xiaofang, An Dongbing, and a person with the last name of Xue.

The practitioners imprisoned in the 5^th Ward have included Zhang Jinmei (Lanzhou), Li Kuangfeng (Lanzhou), Liu Xiuying (Lanzhou), Guo Wenying (Lanzhou), Gao Lijun (Xifeng) and others whose names are not known. The prison guards included Yuan Jinping and Ma Meiying.

The practitioners in the 6^th Ward have included Li Dexiang (Jinchang), Qi Lijun (Lanzhou), Zhang Haiming (Lanzhou), and others whose names are not known. One of the guards was Zhu Hong.

In the newly arrived team, practitioner Zong Jingxia (Jinchang) was abused by means of sleep deprivation. Those in charge have not yet sent her to a ward and are keeping her in the team for new arrivals to help organize entertainment activities. The circumstances surrounding her are not good.

Yang Qingru from the special section is a former practitioner who deviated from Falun Gong due to persecution. She let herself be "reformed" at the beginning of 2004. She has cooperated to persecute practitioners and written articles on blackboards to slander Falun Gong and Master Li. She has aided and abetted the perpetrators. She was working in the 2^nd Ward between 2004 and 2006.

At one time Wang Zhijun helped Yuan Jiang, who was eventually tortured to death. Wang was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for offering this assistance. Wang Zhijun then wrote the so-called "authentication material" on behalf of the guards of the women's prison, claiming that Yuan Jiang was not persecuted, seeking to excuse the CCP from responsibility for persecuting Yuan Jiang. She played a very bad role in the persecution.

There are many practitioners still being persecuted in this prison. Their names and circumstances are unclear.

Back to a previous era, on the afternoon of July 14, 2003, six practitioners were sent to the prison: He Xuehua, Ma Yuling, and Guo Wenying (Lanzhou) were among them. The personnel stripped their clothes off and had them naked for a body search, searching for dangerous and banned things as well as monetary items. The methods used were extremely base and despicable. In the process the officials found some Falun Gong books, and the practitioners shouted, "Falun Dafa is Good!" to safeguard Falun Gong. They were beaten and hung in the washroom on the first floor of the new arrivals' team. They were tortured with electric batons and had their mouths taped shut with wide transparent tape. Those involved included prison guards Xu Shaowen (political head), Hua Xin, Lai Yidan, and Zhang Meilan, as well as criminal inmate Xian Deying. Prison guards from the Security Section, the Prison Administration Section, the Education Section and several other sections also took part. The practitioners were sent to different wards or confinement cells that same day. He Xuehua was sent to the 1^st Ward and Guo Wenying was sent to the 2^nd Ward. The other practitioners' fate is unknown.

He Xuehua and Guo Wenying were tortured the most. On the morning of July 17, 2003, after they were sent to the wards, the chief of the prison, Duan Shengcheng (male, about 60 years old), led five prison guards, including Liu and Dong to each of the wards to beat practitioners ruthlessly. They smashed Guo Wenying's head against a wall and beat He Xuehua to death. On July 20, 2003, chief Duan Shengcheng personally organized a meeting to slander Falun Gong and openly slandered practitioner He Xuehua in the meeting, saying that Ms. He, to avoid being "reformed", had committed suicide out of fear of punishment. He also said outright that they would not be afraid if more people died. He said that the confinement cells were "heaven" and since "heaven" had been built, all practitioners would be locked in the cells if they would not "reform." The prison has continued to persecute practitioners till today. Practitioner Zhang Ping was locked in the confinement cells as soon as she arrived at the prison and has suffered inhuman treatment since the end of 2006.

After Guo Wenying was sent to Ward 2, Gu Hongying (team head) and Liu Ying (political head) assigned four criminal inmates to closely monitor her and force her to read slanderous material for as long as four months. Ms. Guo refused to take a political test and was locked in the confinement cell for as long as three months. She was later transferred to the 6^th Ward and was again locked in the confinement cell for defying orders. After 2005 she was transferred to the 5^th Ward and was again locked in the confinement cell for more than three months because she refused to write the "four statement" and a "thought report." She was locked in the cell until she was on the verge of death.

In August 2005, a touring speaker, Chen Bin (from Shaanxi Province), arrived. He led over 30 people, including the most vile police officers and people from the Political and Judiciary Committee. Each of them wore a small red badge. They toured all over different areas, visiting prisons to introduce their diabolical experiences of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. They slandered Falun Gong and Master Li in Gansu Prison. The practitioners defended Falun Gong and questioned these people, who could not answer their questions. The prison guards then locked the practitioners into the confinement cells and strictly monitored them. Since then the prison has built dark rooms and kept them secret from others. 

Gansu Women's Prison not only brutally persecutes practitioners, it also persecutes other inmates with various tactics. In 2003 the inmates were forced to do intense labor from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. and then before dawn they had to do rehearsal dances until two to three o'clock in the morning; all this for a performance report. Their miserable suffering was beyond description. The prison also forces the inmates to write fabricated articles to praise the CCP and sends the articles to the "Gansu Jiaozhi Bao (Gansu Correction Administration Report)."

The work-load is especially heavy for the inmates [non practitioners] in the 6^th Ward, beyond what an average person can take. Their suffering is indescribable. They feel that living is worse than death. The high intensity, overload, and overtime slave labor has caused the deaths of three inmates between 2003 and January 2007. Two of them committed suicide by hanging themselves in the bathrooms, and one jumped from an upper story of the building. The one that jumped was Zang Peihuan (Tianshui). She had served 12 years of her sentence and did not have too much time left. Because she could not bear the guards' persecution in the 6^th Ward anymore, she jumped from an upper story of the building in July 2004, committing suicide. The two who hung themselves were inmates from the 6^th Ward. One was Zhang Lianlian from Wushan and another was from Baiyin. They committed suicide because the work-load was too heavy, they could not finish their quotas, and because of the savage beatings from the guards with electric batons.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/4/14/152758.html

By a Falun Gong practitioner from Tangshan City, Hebei Province

I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on October 1, 2000. I was arrested and held in the 2nd Detention Center of Tangshan City. Two months later I was sentenced to three years in a labor camp and transferred to Tangshan Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp. I suffered all sorts of inhumane torture there.

1. Sitting Board

I was sent to No. 6 Group, which is known as the "strictly monitored" class. I was forced to sit on a board every day. The small bench is 20 centimeters high, 30 centimeters long and less than 10 centimeters wide. I was forced to sit with my back straight, with both legs at the same distance apart as my shoulders, and with my hands on top of my legs with palms up. If at anytime I did not sit as they instructed, they hit me with a board. I only had 10 minutes for breakfast, lunch and supper each day and a five-minute bathroom break in the morning and afternoon. For over one month, I was forced to sit. My buttocks became very sore by the end of the month.

The perpetrator during that time was named Li Weiping. He was the group leader (Police ID#: 1350097). He began persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in 2000 and formed the so-called strictly monitored class in June 2001.

They used several methods to torture Falun Gong practitioners, including high voltage electric batons (30,000 volts) and "tightening ropes". Practitioner Han Yuechun was once tortured with these methods. Three practitioners were tortured to death, Li Shuli from Changlu among them. Many practitioners were disabled, such as Zhao Huanzhen and Sun Zhangzhu from Qinghuangdao.

The 6th Group: 86-315-5931139; Group leader: 86-315-5931157; Li Weiping: 86-315-2990926. 

2. Slave Labor

I was sent to the 5th Group after one month and began slave labor. I was forced to wrap sanitary chopsticks. Each person had to finish a box each day If anyone could not finish by the end of regular work hours, he would be forced to work until 9 or 10 p.m. The slave labor lasted from January 2001 to June 2001. Wang Yong was the leader the 5th Group and later became the warden of the labor camp.

3. Tightening Rope

In May of 2001, some guards and inmates used the "tightening rope" torture on me because I asked to do Falun Gong exercises. It is one of the most brutal tortures. The guard named Wang and several inmates worked together to apply this torture. The rope came down from my neck and wrapped around my arms. When the rope reached my wrists, it was tightened. They pulled my hands behind my back and pulled upward to my head. The rope cut into my skin and caused excruciating pain. In order to add to my misery, they used a wooden club to tighten the rope to its limit. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., they tortured me nine times with this method, each time asking me whether I would practice again. Each time I replied, "yes." After the tightening rope, they tortured me with sitting boards again.

4. Electric Baton Shock

In June of 2001, the labor camp set up a special class where intensified persecution was in place to reform Falun Gong practitioners. They forced practitioners to watch videos slandering Falun Gong and held them in a white building at night. This building was far away from the dormitory; it was used exclusively for torturing practitioners. Initially, they would attempt to "talk" to you. If it did not work, they would apply electric shock baton torture. The guard from the 4th Group, Zhang Xiaofeng, shocked me on my head, chest and neck for over 15 minutes. One hour later, I was covered with huge blisters. It took two weeks for the swelling to subside and left burn scars. I was tortured for one month in the special class.

Several years of persecution also caused tremendous trauma to my family members.

I abide by the principles of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" and want to be a better person, but was brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. Most of the practitioners held in the labor camp experienced the same as me.


Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/4/30/153824.html

Mr. Mou Qiang, 35 years old, was born in Yili City, Xinjiang Autonomous Region. He was a college graduate living in Chengdu City and started to practice Falun Gong around 1998.

He was illegally arrested by police in June 2000. Immediately after his arrest, the police beat him severely until midnight in an attempt to force him to reveal information about other practitioners and the source of the local truth-clarification materials. The whole neighborhood around the police station could hear the police punching and kicking him. Also, the police illegally called in some practitioners as so-called "witnesses" to identify Mr. Mou. Then the police transferred Mou Qiang to the detention center. There were wounds all over his body, his head and body were still bleeding and his mouth was deformed.

In October 2000, Mr. Mou Qiang was illegally sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and sent to Yaan Prison. There, prison guard Wu Yun tortured Mr. Mou in a solitary cell because he tore down signs that slandered Falun Gong and he refused to wear the prison uniform. Mou Qiang then went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. As a result, he was violently force-fed.

On May 8, 2006, in an attempt to "transform" Mr. Mou, Yaan prison instructor Wu Yun instigated several criminal inmates to bring him to an empty room on the top floor of the prison where no one could hear or see anything from the outside. Six inmates were divided into two teams of three and took turns torturing Mr. Mou, while four other inmates stood by if replacements were needed. Two inmates held onto Mr. Mou's arms while the third loudly read anti-Falun Gong materials next to his ear. Mr. Mou was not allowed to lower his head, close his eyes, or say anything. Any indication of non-cooperation would trigger a violent "reprisal." Any struggle and resistance from him triggered even more vicious torture from the inmates. From 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., he was constantly tortured this way except when he was allowed a few minutes to wash his face in the morning, to eat his meals or to use the restroom. However, he was still closely monitored when doing these things.

The prison guards at Yaan prison not only tortured Mr. Mou Qiang physically, but also abused him mentally. They took advantage of their authority and instigated the criminal inmates to torture practitioners. The inmates are rated by their performance in "transforming" practitioners. The inmates said to Mr. Mou, "Either you go crazy or you write a guarantee statement and keep silent. If you go crazy, that's not our fault and we'll just say it was caused by your practicing Falun Gong."

After suffering a month of physical and mental torture, Mr. Mou Qiang's movements have become slow, his face is pale and full of deep wrinkles, and his hair is completely gray even though he is only 35 years old.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/5/9/154370.html

Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net).

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Tian Biying from Suining City, Sichuan Province made a living repairing shoes in Xizangjidi in Chongzhou City, Sichuan Province. Officers Liu Zengjie, Wang Xiang and others from Chengdong Police Station in Chongzhou City beat her in February 2005 until she lost consciousness. They illegally arrested her and took her to the Chongzhou City Detention Center.

Li Maoxiang, head of the Legal Section at Chongzhou City Police Department arrested her in March 2005 and sent her to a detention center where she was physically and verbally abused.

Some practitioners delivered clothes to Tian Biying in November 2006, but the detention center authorities said she had left and her whereabouts are unknown.