(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioners detained in the Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai have suffered from long term brutal persecution that continues today. The practitioners there are locked up with prisoners who have received the death penalty, and they receive worse treatment than those given a death sentence. Each one is isolated in a small cell 3.3 square meters, and monitored and tortured by three prisoners. The Chinese Communist Party is using this technique to try to force the practitioners to give up their belief.

Many practitioners there have suffered neurasthenia due to long term torture, and their general health has become extremely poor. Many elderly practitioners have had recurrences of their old illnesses due to the pressure. For instance, practitioners Chen Zhengguo, Huang Zhibao, Chou Shen, and Yao Weihua (now released) all suffer from poor health. Practitioner Zhang Qin was beaten until his whole face was swollen, and he was unrecognizable. I could often hear practitioner Tang Renya in the next cell being beaten and verbally abused (he was sent to a labor camp again after being released). The prison guards even fabricated some materials and placed them on him in order justify an extension of his prison term. Practitioner Tao Xiangwei was forced by thugs to smell the toilet and he was often beaten and verbally abused by them. Later the prison guards sent him to different divisions to be tortured. They gave him only a little bit of rice and deprived him of sleep for a long period of time. This led him to suffer neurasthenia, and his face became paralyzed. He said in his sleep that he wished he hadn't written the Repentance Statement.

Practitioner Mei Jianqi, who was forced to drop out of Shanghai Jiaotong University in October 1999, was illegally arrested and taken to Tilanqiao Prison in March 2002. In the cold winter nights, thug Zhu Jinlong forced him to expose his hands and shoulder to the cold weather without cover, telling him that prison guards had made the rule. Mr. Mei was also forced to endure the "sitting board" and not allowed to move at all. Already weak, he became extremely frail after being tortured.

The prison inmates that became thugs, in order to seek reduction of their sentence terms, used every possible way they could think of to torture practitioners. The prison guards did the same in order to get bonuses. It was said that if someone could force a practitioner to write a statement renouncing his belief, he would get 4000 yuan. If that person could "transform" three or four people, he would be rewarded or promoted to a higher position. Prison guard Ou Ligang was promoted to team leader because of his violent acts against practitioners. Ni Rongbin was also promoted and even given a unit for the same reason. Thug Supervisor Zhang Yong, who took orders from guard Ni Ling, once threatened practitioners after he returned from a meeting that they would send those practitioners who refused to be "transformed" to concentration camps.

Practitioners have suffered great humiliation at the Tilanqiao Prison. They have been beaten and verbally abused. Practitioner Mei Jianyi's head was smashed and cut by inmate Zhang Hongfa with a plank that caused heavy bleeding. His shirt and pants were covered with blood. No one tried to stop the bleeding. Prison inmate Sang Zeyun, who was also sent to watch Mei Jianyi, said that if he were to stop such violence, the guards and criminal inmates would punish him by not reducing his sentence, giving him more work, etc. When Mei Jianqi reported this incident to the prison guards, guard Ni Ling said, "Prison violence is much better these days, I hope you can understand." Such ridiculous talk is not only his thinking. With shameless encouragement from the CCP, the thugs became even more unbridled, and practitioners were tortured unbearably.

Practitioner Qu Yanlai was on a hunger strike for a long period time in order to resist the persecution. He was force-fed. The tube used for force-feeding was always left in his esophagus. In order to trick him into eating, the prison guards allowed him do the Falun Dafa exercises, but as soon as he finished eating, they accused him of breaking the prison rule and used this as an excuse to torture him. Mr. Qu thus started a hunger strike again. Xiong Wenqi was also force-fed because of a hunger strike. In order to make him eat, they promised to stop the "transformation" work (such as forcing him to write a Repentance Statement, a Guilty Statement, etc.) on him. But as soon as he ate something, they again tried to force him to give up his belief. So he started a hunger strike again until he was released. (After returning home, he was monitored by some unemployed people). Du Ting was on hunger strike for a long time. Because he resisted force-feeding, the prison guards handcuffed him and beat him, then dragged him to be force-fed.

At the same time, practitioners were subjected to brainwashing. They forced them to read books edited by the CCP and watch fabricated video programs that defamed Falun Dafa. They also forced them to write their understandings after watching those videos. They were forced to recite the prison rules and regulations and to do work such as wrapping Fenghua Soap, making bags, etc. They were also forced to write Guilty Statements and Repentance Statements and promise not to practice Falun Dafa any more. They were forced to sing songs and perform short plays that defamed Falun Dafa.

The CCP also tried to force practitioner Hua Wei to be their spy. They promised to reduce his sentence by half a year but he didn't cooperate. Practitioner Zhang Lu was from the National Security Bureau. Because he knew what the National Security Bureau could do to force people to be their spies, he became very frightened and nearly suffered a mental breakdown under pressure from the National Security Bureau. He didn't want to spend a day in the prison, so he accepted a deal and was released.

Zheng Jian is a righteous person who does not practice Falun Dafa. He was very unhappy about the CCP's persecution of Falun Dafa, so he made his own materials to clarify the facts of Falun Dafa and distributed them. For this, he was sentenced to four years in prison.