(Minghui.org) Mr. Zeng Zhiyuan had swelling all over his body and was stiff when he was released from prison on June 6, 2024, after serving a five-year term for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Zeng, a resident of Shaodong County, Hunan Province, was arrested on October 6, 2019, and sentenced to five years on May 12, 2020. He was transferred to the Loudi Prison in late September 2020 and moved to the Wangling Prison one month later.
Due to long-time abuse since his arrest, Mr. Zeng had a heart rate of 135 (when a normal range is between 60 and 100 beats per minute) when he was admitted to the Wangling Prison. His legs were weak and he had to lean against the wall while walking. Just a few steps would make him pant and struggle to keep his balance. Despite his precarious conditions, the prison guards and inmates assigned to monitor him still subjected him to various forms of abuse, beatings, and verbal abuse at will. They sometimes only allowed him to sleep for 2 or 3 hours a night, during which time they’d wake him up once every 30 minutes. They also forced him to stand or sit for long hours each day. He was made to watch videos slandering Falun Gong.
This is not the first time that Mr. Zeng has been targeted for his faith. He was previously given three labor camp terms and a prison term totaling eight years and three months.
Mr. Zeng was arrested in January 2001 and given one year of forced labor. At the Xinkaipu Labor Camp, he developed blisters all over his body; his lower body had ulcers; and his skin peeled over and over again. By the time he was released in 2002, he had lost feeling on the soles of his feet and struggled to walk steadily.
Mr. Zeng was arrested again on November 7, 2002, and later sentenced to four years in prison. He again suffered brutal torture in detention, including beatings, electric shocks, and long-term standing. He was released from the Chishan Prison in November 2006.
After yet another arrest in January 2007, Mr. Zeng was given one year and nine months of forced labor. He went on a hunger strike in protest and had his mouth pried open to be force-fed. By the time he was released in August 2007, he had blisters all over his body and he staggered when he walked.
Mr. Zeng moved to Guilin City, Guangdong Province, to make a living, in 2008, only to be arrested there on August 31, 2009, and given another forced labor term of one and a half years. He was released in February 2011.
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