(Minghui.org) Since the communist regime in China began its persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested, imprisoned, sent to forced labor camps, or tortured to death. Many of their residences were ransacked and their families broken up. Some have disappeared and are suspected to have been killed for their organs.
While being incarcerated in Shandong Province Women’s Prison, I witnessed how the prison, from the administration team to the guards, used all possible means, including physical torture and coercion, to “transform” practitioners into renouncing their faith. Prison officials incentivized prisoners with early release in exchange for torturing practitioners.
Some prisoners obeyed the guards’ orders because they controlled their fate and life.
The 11th ward in Shandong Province Women’s Prison is used solely for the imprisonment of practitioners. The leadership team assigned prisoners and former practitioners who had been “transformed” to torture practitioners.
Practitioners were locked in solitary confinement if they refused to be transformed. One guard claimed that whether or not the practitioners were transformed, the guards would make them write statements renouncing their faith.
Li Ying, a former county head, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption. To have his term reduced, he collaborated with guards. When a young practitioner refused to write the statements, she was locked in a small confinement cell, where two large prisoners, including one with a 19-year sentence, twisted her arms. A drug dealer who had been sentenced to a dozen years did not hesitate to carry out torture.
The most vicious and those using the worst deceptive methods were former practitioners. Some of them even went on stage to publicly “criticize” Falun Gong and its founder. Some became instructors in how to brainwash and torture practitioners.
To force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong and write statements, guards poked their fingers with tips of ballpoint pens. Some practitioners were forced to stand for extended periods of time, causing their ankles to swell. The techniques also include psychological torture and sleep deprivation. Guards assigned prisoners to take turns to brainwash practitioners.
Unable to endure the suffering, some practitioners wrote the statements against their will. But after that, they were forced to write personal reflections every day and report their thoughts to the guards. If their reports did not meet the prison requirements, they had to make changes until all the requirements were met. Some practitioners were not allowed to sleep until this was accomplished. In addition, practitioners were forced to watch and listen to propaganda defaming Falun Gong.
Guards forced practitioners to sit on “small stools” for extended periods of time. These stools had small squares carved or molded into the surface. The victims are tied to the chair and forced to sit immobile with their backs upright, heels parallel, hands on their knees, and looking straight ahead. After sitting on the stool for a while, the small squares cut into their flesh, causing their buttocks to bleed and fester.
Practitioners must provide their own basic necessities, including toilet paper. Those who refused to be transformed were deprived the use of toilet paper and other grooming items.
Some practitioners’ toilet paper was confiscated as they entered the prison. As a result, they were forced to use the water inside the stall, strips torn from their clothes, or even used toilet paper, which the guards tried to prevent.
Practitioners must also ask for permission to use the toilet. Some of them developed incontinence and other related problems.