(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhao Shuyuan from Karamay, Xinjiang Province was sentenced to nine years in 2002 for practicing Falun Gong. She stayed on a hunger strike for more than three years to protest her illegal detention.
In response, the guards ordered inmates to brutally force-feed Ms. Zhao on a regular basis. They once poured a whole bowl of boiling water into her mouth, searing her flesh.
The former engineer at the Karamay Petroleum Bureau recently filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong that led to her imprisonment and torture. She, however, was arrested again and now faces prosecution.
Ms. Zhao was home on November 3, 2015 when she heard a knock on the door. Two police officers had shown up uninvited. One of them flashed a flyer at her. “This is a list of anti-theft techniques you may use to protect your home.” Ms. Zhao was perplexed as she didn't think such a door-to-door visit was a normal part of a policeman's job.
She became alarmed when the second officer began taking pictures of her. She warned him, “Citizens have the right of not being photographed. By doing so without my permission, you are violating the law.” He mumbled something and they both left.
Two days later, a dozen police and community security staff ransacked Ms. Zhao’s home. It became clear to her that the strange police visit earlier was to verify her identity.
They sent Ms. Zhao to the Karamay City Detention Center. At the time of writing, her arrest has been approved by the Karamay City Procuratorate, which paved the way for her trial.
The following is a personal account of an inmate who was once ordered to force-feed Ms. Zhao at the prison.
I was admitted to Xinjiang Women's Prison in January 2007 and was detained in the “disciplinary unit.” I saw a Falun Gong practitioner who was tied to a bed all day and all night. Her name was Ms. Zhao Shuyuan. She had been shackled there for three to four years and had been on hunger strike.
One afternoon, ten of us were ordered to force-feed Ms. Zhao Shuyuan, led by Li Aihua.
Li Aihua prepared a 70-ml tube and a long rectangular rubber belt made from a bicycle tire, with a hole in the middle that she could poke the tube in.
We pushed Ms. Zhao down to a bench right next to the headboard of the bed. She was half lying down. Her head was on the bed rail. One person sat on a stool on the bed, holding Zhao’s head in between her legs to prevent her from moving. In the meantime, this inmate also held her nose and covered her mouth. Ms. Zhao’s arms were handcuffed to the bed rails. Two inmates held her arms. Another two inmates covered her mouth with the rubber belt. Another person sat on her legs. One inmate pressed down on her feet. There was no way for her to move.
Li Aihua used the tube and injected food into Ms. Zhao’s mouth. Several of Ms. Zhao’s front teeth were wrenched out (Li Aihua told us that she was responsible), so food still could go into her mouth. I saw that she was still trying to spit out the food.
Ms. Zhao’s nose was held tightly and mouth was covered by the rubber belt. Several times, I saw that she had almost suffocated and passed out.
After each forced-feeding, Ms. Zhao was so exhausted that she could not sit up.
We were afraid of her suffocating to death, so some inmates asked the guards about it. The head of the prison ward with the last name of Li told us, “It was approved by management of the prison. Even if she dies, it has nothing to do with you.” I was surprised by how cruel they were.
Related articles:Guards in Xinjiang Province Women's Prison Brutally Torture Ms. Zhao Shuyuan and Ms. Wang XiMs. Zhao Shuyuan, an Engineer at the Karamay Petroleum Bureau, is Detained and Tortured in Xinjiang Women's PrisonSeveral Falun Gong Practitioners in Xinjiang Repeatedly Arrested and Sentenced
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the 610 Office, on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law now allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.