(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liu Juhua, from Hubei Province, is suing former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong and taking away her right to freedom of belief as guaranteed by the constitution.

She sent her criminal complaint to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, demanding that an investigation be carried out to bring Jiang to justice for his crimes.

Ms. Liu has been arrested six times since the start of the persecution in July 1999. She served three labor camp terms, totaling five years and two months, followed by a four-year prison term. She was also held three times at brainwashing facilities for varying lengths of time.

Between 1999 and 2012, Ms. Liu was illegally detained for approximately nine and a half years. During that time, she became mentally unstable as a result of brutal torture, and on many occasions she was beaten nearly to death.

Ms. Liu lost her pension and had no means of support. Her daughter was forced to quit school during her third year at a university. Her elderly mother could not bear the tremendous mental pressure and passed away in 2013.

The following is Ms Liu's personal account:

My name is Liu Juhua and I was born in 1948. I live in Huanggang City, Hubei Province. Before I retired, I was a middle school teacher. I published a dozen theses in education journals, and won awards for some of my work.

My daughter became severely ill in March 1997, but we could not afford medical treatment. Both of us took up Falun Gong, and my daughter soon recovered. My health improved, too, and we are both extremely grateful for the benefits that we derived from practicing Falun Gong.

Jiang gave orders to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999. I was arrested, sentenced to forced labor, and tortured for refusing to give up my belief. In the labor camps, guards and inmates came up with many ways to torture me, trying to make me stop practicing Falun Gong. Some of the worst forms of torture I endured were as follows.

Standing Still for 16 Hours

I was initially forced to stand for three or four hours a day, and my legs became swollen. I was then made to stand every day, and my legs were so swollen that I could not fit into my pants. I was later made to stand for 16 hours a day, from 6:00 a.m until 10:00 p.m. I even had to take my meals while standing.

Not Allowed to Use the Toilet

I was only allowed to use the toilet once a day for a period of time, at 11:30 p.m. If I was caught going to the toilet, I was beaten. To minimize the need to relieve myself, I ate only a bun each day, and did not drink anything. This made me very weak.

I once had a terrible stomachache, and desperately needed to go, but the inmates refused to let me go for about two hours.

I wanted to relieve myself in the prison cell, but my tormentors threatened to clean up the mess with my clothes, then stuff them into my mouth. Plus, seven or eight of us were confined in the same room, eating and sleeping together. It would have been very inconsiderate of me to dirty the place. It was a terrible feeling.

Deprived of Sleep

I was not allowed to sleep for a month while being detained in the Shayang Forced Labor Camp in September 2002. I had to stand or kneel all the time. When I was drowsy, prison inmates made me walk up and down the stairs. I got so tired that I kept falling down and bumping into walls.

Whenever I shut my eyes, my watchers either hit or pushed me so that I could not sleep. Later on, I could no longer take the strain. I went into a trance and had hallucinations. I drooled uncontrollably, and stretched out my hands in front of my chest, trying to catch imaginary things.

I was detained in Baimalong Forced Labor Camp in July 2004, and again deprived of sleep. I developed the same symptoms of mental instability after being forced to stay awake for 13-14 days. I was made to walk in the cell constantly, but in my fatigued state, I saw the white walls as wide roads, and walked right into them, hurting myself. My head and body were covered in bruises.

Electric Shock

I was summoned to the guards' office in Shayang Forced Labor Camp around June 2002. An officer handcuffed my hands behind my back and started to shock me with an electric baton. Because my hands were bound, I could not protect myself. After they had tortured me for over an hour, I could no longer bear the pain, and hit my head against the wall.

Background

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 allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.

Related report:Middle School Teacher Ms. Liu Juhua in Hubei Province Taken to Brainwashing Center after Serving a Prison Term