(Clearwisdom.Net) In the summer of 2003, the local 610 Office sentenced Mr. Li Shiwen, a worker in the Fengcheng City Oil Factory, to a four-year prison term for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. He was detained in Benxi Prison, where all kinds of methods were used to try and force him to give up his belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. They adopted all kinds of crooked tactics, such as forcing criminals to persecute him. Here are three examples:

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, because Mr. Li Shiwen refused to be "transformed," Warden Tian Yong ordered a criminal to search Mr. Li. When the criminals did not find anything, Tian Yong then instigated the criminals to beat Mr. Li while he watched on the side. On the second day, the criminals apologized to Li Shiwen.

On July 15, 2004, the Laogai Bureau of the province came to investigate the prison. Because Li Shiwen refused to be "transformed," the prison authorities forced criminals Guan Fengyun and Lin Haitao, one of them a convicted rapist, to watch him 24 hours a day. Li Shiwen explained the situation to the officials who came to investigate, but the officials did not listen to him. The chief of the prison threatened Mr. Li, and the next day Li Shiwen was punished with "zuo ban" (sitting in a cross-legged position without movement) until lunchtime. When he stood up to go to the washroom, the criminals who were watching him beat him for a long time. In the afternoon, the prison not only forbid him treatment, but also threw him into a small cell. Later, warden Zhang Chunye said that the reason the criminals beat Li Shiwen was because he reported them to the officials.

At the end of September 2004, the criminals Lin Haitao and Guan Fengyun beat Mr. Li again under orders from the warden, who watched. Mr. Li's ribs were severely injured as a result of that beating and still pain him.

Because the criminals want to reduce their terms, the guards use this leverage to force them to persecute practitioners. The guards award decreased terms to criminals who persecute practitioners. If the practitioners are injured, the guards say, "This is a fight between criminals" to avoid responsibility, while related government departments do not respond to practitioners' appeals. For example, the criminals who monitor Mr. Li Shiwen bribed policemen with over 10,000 yuan in order to decrease their terms. This is what the criminals told Mr. Li personally.

Mr. Li Shiwen's ribs continue to give him great pain, and he has now been detained for two years. Practitioner Yu Fenghua, an excellent teacher in Benxi City, was tortured to death this way. We therefore appeal to kindhearted people who can clearly see that this is a miscarriage of justice. Please resist the persecution of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance with your thoughts and actions and return justice to the world!

Relevant phone numbers of the prison staff:
Prison Chief Office: 86-414-5538903
Police Chief Tian Yong: 86-13941419912
Head of the Education Office Zhao Xuezeng: 86-414-5538887
Gate One phone number: 86-414-5538885