(Minghui.org) Mr. Chen Mingan, 58, from Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, was illegally arrested last year for practicing Falun Gong, and sentenced to three years in prison. He was detained at Weinan Prison in Shaanxi Province, where he has been brutally tortured.

Mr. Chen was incarcerated at Weinan Prison on March 10, 2017. He wrote a letter to the court requesting an appeal of his sentence. He gave the letter to a prison guard to send off. Over a month passed, and the prison guard had not mailed the request letter, insisting that Mr. Chen must first finish the scheduled brainwashing sessions.

Mr. Chen's family visited him in prison on June 22. They discovered that, after just three months in prison, Mr. Chen had developed chronic chest pain, a bad cough, and a serious hernia. 

Zhang Zhongqiu, the guard in charge of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, would not let him get medical treatment. Zhang had told Mr. Chen that he would instead be transferred to a special cell designated for “transformation.” The “transformation” cell is where detained Falun Gong practitioners are tortured in attempts to force them to give up their belief in the practice..

Mr. Chen's family saw him again on July 24. His condition had worsened. He walked very slowly, and he had developed several problematic symptoms. He was under close surveillance by both guards and prisoners, so he was unwilling to speak freely. He just repeatedly emphasized that his condition was severe and that he needed to go to a hospital. 

His family requested that the prison release Mr. Chen on bail for medical treatment, but they were turned down. At one point, prison personnel said they would send Mr. Chen to a hospital as long as his family would cover the expenses.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chen was frequently detained in the “transformation” cell, where he was continually tortured by guards, suffering intense physical and mental harm. The leader of this torture was Zhang Zhongqiu.

Mr. Chen's family returned a month later on August 22. Mr. Chen had still not received treatment or been hospitalized. The prison staff claimed they were waiting for approval from the authorities.

Mr. Chen was finally hospitalized at Xin'an Hospital on September 15. He was held in a special unit controlled by Qujiang Prison. They diagnosed him with heart disease, which they could not treat. Mr. Chen was in critical condition, and his family insisted that he be released on bail for adequate medical treatment. The prison again rejected their request.

When they visited Mr. Chen in the hospital on October 18, his condition had not improved. Mr. Chen himself repeatedly requested that he be released to get proper medical treatment but to no avail. Qujiang Prison eventually released Mr. Chen, in critical condition, back to Weinan Prison on November 1.

His family was able to visit him most recently on March 23, 2018. He was very thin and weak, and still in critical condition. He was being monitored by prisoners day and night. Mr. Chen told his family that he had been brutally tortured just the week before. His entire body was covered in injuries, except for his face. The ongoing torture is focused entirely on forcing him to give up his belief in Falun Dafa.

Weinan Prison in Shaanxi Province specializes in detaining, persecuting, and brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners. Prison guard Zhang Zhongqiu is the head of persecution and torture, and he leads a group of prisoners to monitor and persecute detained Falun Gong practitioners.

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