(Minghui.org) Ms. He Fengbo, a former employee of the No. 1 Oil Extraction Manufacturer in Songyuan City, was tortured on the “Stretching Bed” in Heizuizi Woman's Prison in Changchun in 2006. She has since suffered from chronic depression and lives in fear of constant threats by the authorities.
Ms. He started practicing Falun Gong in June 1998. The practice improved her health and family relationships. When Jiang Zemin initiated the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, she went to Beijing to appeal for her right to freedom of belief.
The police intercepted Ms. He at a train station in Changchun in 2001. She was on her way to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was taken to Songyuan City Detention Center and later released after her family paid extortion money to the police.
Ms. He was followed on her motorcycle in 2005. The police arrested her and seized her motorcycle. They took her house key and ransacked her home, taking a computer, printer, bankbook, and other belongings. She was interrogated and taken to Songyuan Detention Center.
Ma Hongzhe, head of the domestic security division, interrogated her every day. This caused her such acute stress that she could not eat.
When the guards in the detention center force-fed her, she nearly choked to death. She was sentenced to prison after she had been detained in the detention center for over half a year. She was also tied onto the tiger bench.
Torture Illustration: Force-Feeding
Ms. He was sent to Heizuizi Woman's Prison in Changchun on January 26, 2006. All Falun Gong practitioners in the prison were detained in a special wing called the “Education Ward.” Under the watch of inmates, several so-called “education helpers” carried out the job of trying to brainwash her. They slandered Falun Gong and forced her to watch propaganda videos. She had to get up at 5 a.m. and then sit on a small bench until midnight.
All the prisoners were required to attend a daily session in which the “education helpers” Zhao Guifeng, Ma Yechi, and Liu Jingli would defame Falun Gong and force everyone to express their opinions about the practice. Zhao Guifeng would deliberately misinterpret passages from the book Zhuan Falun to mislead practitioners to enlighten down an evil path.
Someone reported to the guards that Master Li's articles were being circulated among the practitioners. Cao Hong, head of the guards, got very angry and ordered that all the practitioners be put under strict control.
The practitioners were forced to sit on small stools until midnight every day. No one was permitted to talk. Some practitioners suffered from heart issues. Some were forced to stand against the wall from morning until night and their legs became swollen and numb.
Torture Illustration: “Stretching Bed”
Several practitioners including Ms. He were regarded as leaders in distributing the articles and were tortured more severely. They were detained in separate cells and put on the “Stretching Bed.” Their hands and feet were tied up and stretched out until their bodies hung above the metal bed frame.
Due to the extreme pain, Ms. He nearly bit her tongue off. She was not released from the torture device to eat or to use the restroom. She was force-fed each day and made to watch slanderous videos about Falun Dafa while tied up and suspended. She was forced to listen to a so-called “ordained monk” preach to her as well.
Ms. He was on the Stretching Bed for over two months. She had difficulty walking afterward, and it took some time for her to be able to walk normally.
The “education helpers” including Zhao Guifeng and Hu Jie then started a “self-criticism” routine, forcing the practitioners to defame themselves.
This unrelenting torture caused some practitioners to lose their mental clarity and speak gibberish.
