(Clearwisdom.net) There are more than 30 male Dafa practitioners currently detained in Chishan Prison in Hunan Province, where they suffer from brutal tortures and abuses. In addition, they are forced to do intensive slave labor. The following is a summary of the persecution they suffer.

1. The Collective Persecution of Imprisoned Falun Gong Practitioners
1. In 2002 and 2003, Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to psychological abuses described as "psychiatric evaluations" in order to deceive people about what was really going on.
2. Falun Gong practitioners were forbidden from talking to each other. When practitioner Huang Yonghui spoke with a practitioner from another prison section, common criminals were ordered by the prison officials to beat him. Falun Gong practitioner Fan Sanfa spoke with another practitioner from the same section; Fan was kept in handcuffs for several days.
3. In 2002, Falun Gong practitioners Cheng Yang, Xiao Huisheng, Xiao Zixiang, Liu Duanrui, Jia Zhefa, and Zhou Pingyang refused to wear prison uniforms, refused to perform forced labor, and insisted on studying Falun Gong teachings and practicing Falun Gong exercises and meditation. As a result they were all viciously beaten, handcuffed, and put into solitary confinement. On several occasions, practitioners Xiao Zixiang and Xiao Huisheng were cuffed to an outdoor basketball backboard frame. They were cuffed there with their four limbs stretched out from morning to night. Practitioner Liu Duanrui and Jia Zhefa had both their hands cuffed together for about five months straight. Furthermore, during that period of time, they were hung up with only their toes touching the ground from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., In addition, Jia Zhefa was continuously shocked all over his body with electric batons. He was also tied up with ropes and chains.
2. Four Falun Gong Practitioners were Severely Tortured During the Second Half of 2002
1. In August, Falun Gong practitioner Zeng Yinhua was cuffed for seven days and then thrown into solitary confinement for refusing to wear a prison uniform. While in solitary confinement, prison guards directed other inmates to brutally torture him. Zeng suffered serious injures all over his body.
2. In September, prison guards forcibly took away practitioner Liu Duanrui's Falun Dafa materials. When practitioner Zhang Peng started a hunger strike he was brutally force-fed and beaten by guards.
3. In November, practitioner Cheng Yang went on a hunger strike for almost a month after his Dafa materials were confiscated. He was brutally force-fed with a bamboo tube.

3. Cases of Extreme Persecution
1. Falun Dafa practitioner Lu Songming, 35, was a history teacher at a middle school in Xiangtan City. In December 2002 prison policeman He Young from the fifth prison section tortured him for consecutive six days and nights. At night, Lu Songming was cuffed to the bed frame with his arms and legs stretched out. Prison guards also encouraged inmates to beat him. One day in January 2003, while Lu was being force-fed, an inmate named Xiong kicked Lu in his back. He also hit Lu's abdomen and even sat on him. As a result, Lu excreted blood for two hours. His stools contained blood for the next several days. Xiong threatened to torment Lu to death on many occasions. One time, he hit Lu's head with a hand full of keys. In late January 2003, Falun Gong practitioners Lu Songming, Xiao Zixiang, and Xiao Huisheng were dragged outside to do hard labor wearing only their underwear for seven days. The head of the fifth prison section, Li Fewen, cuffed Lu Songming and hung him up for twelve hours. [This is a type of torture method with both hands cuffed, both feet off or only toes touching the ground, one is hung from the basketball support or the beam of a building by the handcuffs.?The hands and arms soon become paresthetic and numb.] For two months, Lu Songming had to sleep with his hands cuffed.
2. Falun Dafa practitioner Xiang Xiulin, 57, was a private medical doctor from Changdejing City. He was murdered in Chishan Prison. His youngest son, Xiang Yanzhi, was also detained in Chishan Prison. In January 2003 Xiang Xiulin showed symptoms of having a stroke and became unconscious. He lost the ability to move and speak. He was diagnosed of having a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away a week later in prison. On the surface, it appeared that the provincial "610 Office" officials and prison authorities directed the medical treatment. In fact, the prison authorities did not take any effective measures to treat him. They intentionally kept Xiang at the prison hospital, where there was neither the expertise nor necessary equipment to treat him. They did not even attempt to borrow adequate equipment from the outside. That was the real cause of Xiang's death. His son, Xiang Yanzhi, requested his father to be transferred to another hospital and be temporarily released for medical treatment; but the request was denied. Even a common criminal has the right to seek medical treatment, but that right was deprived from innocent Falun Dafa practitioners.
3. Falun Dafa practitioner Jia Zhefa, 38, is from Hanshou County, Changde City. In February 2003 Jia refused to wear a prison uniform and to perform forced labor. Guards from the fourth prison section, Wang Renshan, Zhu Xinghe, and Cheng Tao cuffed and hung Jia from a metal frame and then viciously beat him while he was hanging. For over a month, Jia was cuffed and hung up during the day and slept with one hand cuffed to the bed at night. Jia went on hunger strike to protest against the beatings and physical punishment. But he was viciously beaten and then put into solitary confinement by the guards.
4. Falun Dafa practitioner Cheng Yang, 31, used to work as a technical official in the provincial medical company. In April 2003 the political head in the third prison section used an electric baton to shock Cheng. The head threatened to torture Cheng daily. On April 11 Cheng was stripped of his clothes and brutally beaten by Gao Pengfei and another four or five inmates. They lashed Cheng with bamboo strips, pinned him against a wall with arms and legs stretched apart, and then punched his head. Cheng sustained injuries all over his body. There were multiple cuts on his face and legs. Prison guard Ye Changzhang witnessed these crimes, but he just watched and did nothing. On May 8 Cheng Yang refused to squat down as he entered the gate to the prisoners' living quarters. Officials He Zhongmo and Liu Xiao from the jail affairs section viciously beat him. On May 9 prison policeman Qiu Biao kicked Cheng Yang to the ground. As a result, Cheng was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and one of his teeth was knocked out.
5. Falun Dafa practitioner Zeng Haixian, 30, is a resident of Zhuzhou City. On May 5 Zeng refused to squat down after he entered the gate to the prisoners' living quarters. He was severely beaten and shocked with electric batons by the deputy prison director, Zi Wei, and others. During the month of May, Zeng was beaten almost every day. One time the prison special team locked Zeng in a room and shocked him with electric batons for an hour. The prisoners beat Zeng on a regular basis too. On June 4, under the instigation of Zi Wei, people from the prison affairs section, education section, and the fifth prison section conspired to brutally persecute Zeng Haixian. Deputy political head Li Wenfei said, "Even if he dies, we will still put a prison uniform on his body before sending it out for cremation." Since that day, Zeng Haixian's hands were tied behind his back with one hand over the shoulder and the other hand against the lower back. He was hung up in the air with his feet off the ground. On June 6 Zeng still refused to wear a prison uniform, and he was again viciously beaten and shocked with electric batons. He was cuffed to a big electric pole with his left hand cuffed to his right foot and his right hand to his left foot for the entire day. Starting the next day, he was cuffed and hung up with his feet off the ground for an entire day. At night, both his hands were cuffed to an iron beam above his bed. Zeng's hands swelled and became infected.
4. Intensive Forced Labor

There are seven detention sections in Chishan Prison in Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province, of which Section No. 3, 5, 6, and 7 are the worst in terms of persecuting Dafa disciples. Practitioners in those detention sections were tortured and forced to do manual craft work, such as making summer sleeping mats by stringing together bamboo strips, making cloth dolls, and making stuffed toy rabbits, horses, and other items for export through a Korean wholesaler. Prisoners were also forced to polish man-made gems. The prison authorities then financially rewarded the police there with revenues from the sale of these goods.

It usually takes 12 to 13 hours to finish the daily assignments. If the work process was slow it could take 15 to 16 hours, or even over night. Any detainee who did not finish in time was hung up and beaten with electric batons, or kicked and punched, forced to stand still for long hours, or forced to do frog jumps and push-ups. Those not meeting the requirements were punished. No. 6 section political head Ren Fei assigned Dafa practitioner Mr. Li Xuexian a daily task of polishing 600 gems with a promise of no extra work. It took Li Xuexian 12 to 13 hours each day to finish the work. However, since October 22, 2003 he was assigned additional work. He worked from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and was too tired to finish the extra assignments. Division head Pang Chifeng saw him taking a break in the workroom. He attempted to force Li to continue with the additional work, but Li Xuexian refused. Li Xuexian also refused to address prison guards in a submissive pose, such as squatting, even when Pang Chifeng tried to force him to do so (prison rules requires a prisoner to squat or single-kneel down when talking with a guard). Then the deputy political head Cheng Weidong, team head Qiu Hui, and team political head Yao Qi ganged up on Li and tried to drag him by his arms and legs, but even then Li Xuexian didn't give in. Then, head Cheng Weidong grabbed a high voltage electric baton to shock his legs, but Li Xuexian still didn't squat. Then four of them tore his clothes off and furiously applied electric shocks all over his body. Li Xuexian called out at the top of his voice, "Falun Dafa is Good! Falun Dafa is the Righteous Way!"

The prisoners were looking on. Guard Cheng Weidong rammed an electric baton into Li Xuexian's mouth and discharged it for about 10 minutes. There were sparks all over his mouth. After the baton was removed, Li Xuexian continued calling, "Falun Dafa is Good! Falun Dafa is the Righteous Way!" The prisoners in the workroom stopped what they were doing, and watched and praised Li Xuexian. Fearing the influence on others, the four perpetrators dragged Li Xuexian outside the workroom. Guard Ren Fei asked him if he would follow orders to put on the prison uniform, and Li Xuexian said "no." They then beat him while verbally abusing him at the same time. Li Xuexian said, "You've broken the law, article 41 of the prison law. You have committed a criminal act." The four guards electrically shocked him again and again. Li Xuexian insisted on not squatting. Qiu Hui then took a long bench to press against Li's calves but Li Xuexian didn't give up. After about an hour, police Ren Fei beat Li Xuexian and hung him up in the air. Mr. Li Xuexian was handcuffed to the workroom window beginning October 24, for 15 to 16 hours each day. He was even handcuffed at night during sleeping hours, and he was not allowed to talk to the inmates. This kind of abuse and gross mistreatment continued until November 11.

In addition, there are many Dafa practitioners detained at Hunan Province Female Prison, Zhuzhou City Baimalong Labor Camp, and Changsha City Xinkaipu Labor Camp.

Based on the above facts, guards in Chishan Prison broke Article 248 of Chinese Criminal Law, committed "beating, physically punishing, and torturing prisoners," "intentionally causing prisoner's death," and also broke the labor protection laws. We hereby raise the lawsuit against guards in Chishan Prison, requesting immediate investigation of the situation, punishment of the criminals responsible, and rescue of the Dafa practitioners.

March 11, 2004