Hubei Man Sentenced to Six Years for His Faith, Tortured in Prison

(Minghui.org) A Xiangyang City, Hubei Province resident has been subjected to torture and forced labor while serving a six-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Li Ming, 52, was arrested on February 7, 2017. The police confiscated 3,000 yuan in cash and two printers from him. The arrest came seven months after an earlier home raid on July 21, 2016, when the police seized a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, a laptop, 8,600 yuan in cash and some Falun Gong informational materials.

Mr. Li was indicted around December 2018 and sentenced to six years and fined 15,000 yuan by the Gucheng County Court in early 2018. He was transferred from the Gucheng Detention Center to the Fanjiatai Prison around March 2018.

For the past four years, he has been held at the eighth ward. In addition to physically torturing him, the guards often forced him to do unpaid labor for extended hours. Another practitioner, Mr. Zhang Jie, an elementary school teacher, is also serving time in the same ward.

Previous Seven-year Prison Term

Mr. Li took up Falun Gong in November 1997. He credits the practice for curing his severe stomach problem. With better health, he designed better products at work and attracted many new customers for his company.

Prior to his latest sentencing, Mr. Li was arrested on May 1, 2001, after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police confiscated 28 Falun Gong books and a printer from him.

While in custody, the police put a pair of 30-lbs shackles on him and ordered the inmates to drag him back and forth under the scorching sun. His ankles were severely injured. The police also held him against the ground and beat his buttocks with thick wood planks. The injuries rendered him unable to sit and he could only sleep on his stomach. The authorities also took him for a public parade and denounced him before over 1,000 middle school students.

Mr. Li was later sentenced to seven years. As soon as he was taken to the Qinduankou Prison in 2002, the guards ordered the inmates to take him to a solitary confinement cell and beat him all over his body with a wooden stick. He was covered with bruises.

Later on, the guards forced him to do unpaid labor, especially working in the brick kiln. His hands and feet were often burnt. During the peak time of production, he had to work from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Torture illustration: beating

As Mr. Li refused to slander Falun Gong during a meeting in September 2003, the guards carried him to the solitary confinement cell, stripped his clothes and beat him. He was locked there for over three weeks.

Mr. Li wrote a complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese communist regime who ordered the persecution, in June 2004. In retaliation, the guards denied him family visits. He appealed with a ward director, who ordered the inmates to beat him again in solitary confinement. After the beating, they shackled him and handcuffed him behind his back. He was held in solitary confinement for 37 days.

Torture illustration: shackled and handcuffed

Mr. Li and many other practitioners were transferred to the Fanjiatai Prison in late 2006. The guards there arranged three inmates to monitor each practitioner. The inmates often physically and verbally abused the practitioners, including forcing them to sit on a small stool for long hours without moving.

They also administered toxic drugs onto the practitioners’ articles for daily use or gave them toxic shots. As a result of the drug administration, Mr. Li suffered enormous pain in his internal organs and couldn’t turn his body while sleeping.

While Mr. Li was serving time, his mother suffered a severe ailment and couldn’t afford the medical treatment. She eventually became incapacitated.

His father also developed severe stomach and heart conditions due to constant police harassment and mental distress from worrying about him. As the police continued to harass Mr. Li after he was released from prison, his father continued to live in fear, which further aggravated his condition. He passed away in 2014.

Related reports:

Methods of Torture Used on Falun Gong Practitioners in Fanjiatai Prison

Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured with Forced Administration of Drugs at Fanjiatai Prison

Cruelties Committed in Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang City, Hubei Province

Practitioners Brutally Tortured at Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang County, Hubei Province

Persecution of Practitioners in Fanjiatai Prison, Shayang City, Hubei Province