Former Aircraft Engineer Jailed and Tortured for Three Years

(Minghui.org) Mr. Liu Yongsheng, a former flight engineer, was secretly sentenced to a three-year prison term for exposing the death cases of Falun Gong practitioners at the Xinjin Brainwashing Center in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. He was brutally tortured during his imprisonment between 2012 and 2015.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

The following is an account of the torture he endured while in prison.

Mr. Liu Yongsheng

Mr. Liu, 57, graduated from the Aircraft Department at Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University with a major in aircraft design. He worked as a reliability engineer at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute in Sichuan Province. After the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, Mr. Liu was arrested, sent to a labor camp, and subjected to various forms of torture, including sleep deprivation, electric shocks, and being tied up or “baked” in high temperatures.

Torture re-enactment: Shocked with electric batons

Sentenced for Exposing Persecution at Brainwashing Center

At least seven Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death at the Xinjin Brainwashing Center since the persecution of Falun Gong started. Retiree Mr. Xie Deqing died less than one month after she was sent to the brainwashing center on April 29, 2014. Head nurse Ms. Wang Mingrong died within ten days of being sent to the brainwashing center, on September 7, 2011.

Mr. Liu posted two flyers near a gate of the Xinjin Brainwashing Center on July 12, 2012. The flyers exposed two death cases of Falun Gong practitioners at the brainwashing center. Officers from the Huaqiao Police Station arrested him after receiving a tip.

Mr. Liu was sent to Xinjin Detention Center the next day and secretly sentenced to three years on May 9, 2013. He appealed, but the verdict was upheld on September 30. The Xinjin Court issued an order to have him transferred to a prison on October 15. By then, Mr. Liu had already been detained at Xinjin Detention Center for one year, three months, and nine days. He was taken to Wumaping Prison on October 23, 2013.

Tortured in Prison

Sitting on the Cold Ground for Long Periods of Time

Mr. Liu was forced to wear the prisoner uniform, give a blood sample, and have his head shaven and photo taken upon entering the prison.

Days later, a few inmates, under the instigation of guards, tried to force Mr. Liu to write a guarantee statement promising to renounce his faith. When he refused, the inmates forced him to get up at 6 a.m. to sit on the cold ground until 10 p.m. He was forced to sit even when the ground was wet.

The Wumaping Prison was relocated to Leshan City on December 3, 2013 to merge with Shawan Prison and form a new entity named Jiazhou Prison, which became the main prison in the province for holding male Falun Dafa practitioners.

At Jiazhou Prison, Mr. Liu and many other practitioners, including Liu Yongsheng, Yang Xiaoping, Wang Yizheng, Deng Qixing, Zhao Benyong, and Ye Jianguo, continued to be made to sit or stand every day, despite the cold weather. Many practitioners’ buttocks festered after being made to sit every day.

Beaten for Not Writing Guarantee Statements

Mr. Liu refused to write a guarantee statement promising to renounce his faith and was punched twice in his right cheek by an inmate. He got up and shouted that he was beaten. The inmate then stopped the violent act.

However, the punches caused Mr. Liu to be in pain when eating.

Not Allowed to Wear Winter Clothing

The weather was very cold in November 2013. Guard Gong Jinfu ordered an inmate to remove Mr. Liu’s warm clothes. As Mr. Liu was sitting on the cold ground every day and the Wumaping Prison was located on a hill, he shivered when the wind blew.

In January 2014, the inmates at Jiazhou Prison forced Falun Gong practitioners to remove their clothing. They were allowed to wear only two or three thin layers of clothing and had to stand at the door when the wind blew. The cold wind caused pain in Mr. Liu’s lower back. He could not bend down after being forced to stand for a long time.

Forced to Stand Despite Feeling Dizzy

Guards at Jiazhou Prison ordered practitioners to face the high wall from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day in January 2014 for a period of time.

Due to long-time standing and weather changes, Mr. Liu felt discomfort in his stomach one day and suddenly passed out. After he regained his consciousness, other inmates told him that he looked pale. Mr. Liu fainted another time but was still forced to stand after he came to.

The inmates told Mr. Liu that his shoulders were distorted, with one shoulder higher than the other, due to standing for a long time. Another practitioner’s shoulders were also distorted due to the same torture.

Deprived of Sleep for a Long Time

As Mr. Liu refused to write the guarantee statement, he was only allowed to sleep two hours every day, from 10 p.m. to midnight, from January 29 to February 16, 2014. He was once only allowed to sleep for less than two hours. He had to stand for more than 20 hours a day and was monitored by two inmates. If he felt sleepy, the inmates tortured him until he woke up.

An inmate once splashed cold water on the back of his neck when he felt sleepy. The inmates tortured him for 17 days.

Due to a severe lack of sleep, Mr. Liu’s mind became foggy and he almost fainted. Two inmates then supported his body and forced him to continue standing. Despite his weak body, the guards still shocked him with electric batons.

Shocked with Electric Batons

Guard Shao Ling shocked Mr. Liu’s hand on July 10, 2014 and threatened to extend his term. A prison warden named Tang Xiande also punched him twice and told him to do a self-reflection. Self-reflection meant that Mr. Liu had to wear a prison uniform with the word “Self-Reflection” on it.

Mr. Liu was forced to stand properly every day from July 10 to 19, 2014. If not, he would be kicked, made to stand under the hot sun, or stand until 11 p.m. He continuously stood after waking up at 5 a.m. The inmates skimped his meals and did not allow him to shower. He was also forced to do intense labor work. He would be shocked with electric batons if he refused.

Torture re-enactment: Shocked with electric batons

Intense Labor Work

Mr. Liu was moved to the strict-management team on March 28, 2014. For the next ten days, he was forced to work during the day and stand at night until 10 p.m.

Illustration: Labor work in the prison

Mr. Liu had to produce electrical coils. No matter how diligent he worked, he could never finish the heavy workload, and had to do “self-reflection” every day by standing until 10 p.m. The “self-reflection” lasted nearly eight months.

After some time, Mr. Liu was transferred to another team and separated from other practitioners. He still could not finish his assignments every day as he had not recovered physically and mentally. A guard told him to do self-reflection every day after ending his labor work. This lasted more than a month before he was transferred back to the original team.

On December 14, 2014, nine months since Mr. Liu was forced to do self-reflection after finishing labor work every day, he asked guard Zhou Nianping about the excessive amount of labor work. Zhou hit him, causing his mouth to bleed. Mr. Liu then said loudly to Zhou that he should not persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Zhou instructed inmate Hu Shigang to make Mr. Liu stand facing the wall in the workshop until the end of the work day.

Mr. Liu went on a hunger strike that night to protest Zhou’s assault of him. Guard Du Kun ordered several inmates to force-feed him. He then went on another hunger strike for three days, during which time guard Qiu Peng attempted, unsuccessfully, to make him watch videos that slandered Falun Gong.

A typical work day lasted at least 10.5 hours. Tuesday was designated as an off-day, but the guards still made everyone work on that day and then marked Tuesday as off on their time sheets. Inmates were told to sign the time sheets, but Mr. Liu refused. The guards threatened to send him to the strict-management team, but he still refused to sign the time sheets.

Wang Yijun, a deputy instructor, tried on May 14, 2015 to force Mr. Liu to do a self-reflection. Mr. Liu responded by going on a hunger strike for three days. During his hunger strike, Yang Xilin of the prison’s education department attempted to make him sign his time sheets, but he still refused.

Mr. Liu was forced to do labor work for nearly one year and three months (from March 28, 2014 to June 24, 2015). The work caused his vision to decline. The team that he was in was given a new product to manufacture, but Mr. Liu was not familiar with it and could not finish his work. On June 25, 2015, a guard told Mr. Liu to stand and do a self-reflection. He refused and was sent to the strict-management control team that night for refusing to obey the guards.

Strict Management Control

Upon entering the strict-management control team, Mr. Liu was told that he must obey all orders. He was forced to wear the uniform with “strict-management” written on it and also made to memorize the prison rules. Most of the time was spent on sitting on the ground, standing while facing a wall, or being exposed to the scorching sun. He was often deprived of sleep and given only a few seconds to eat his meals. He was not allowed to talk with other practitioners or do any Falun Gong exercises. The strict-management lasted from June 25 to July 12, 2015, the day he was released.

When Mr. Liu’s family went to pick him up, they saw that his face, arms, and legs were very tanned due to being exposed to the hot sun. His family cried upon seeing that he was emaciated and that his hair had turned gray.

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