(Minghui.org) The 11th Division of Shandong Province Prison, under director Zheng Jie, was specifically set up as a brainwashing center to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their faith. Over 100 practitioners are currently detained there and subjected to various torture methods for upholding their faith. The average age of these practitioners is 72, including more than 20 who are 80 or older.
Newly-admitted regular inmates are assigned to the prison’s Training Team. Falun Gong practitioners, however, are directly sent to the 11th Division, where they are divided into groups of four or five, with each group held in one cell and monitored by two inmates. More than 40 inmates are tasked with monitoring and “transforming” practitioners. The prison guards generally do not torture the practitioners themselves, but instigate the inmates to do so.
Practitioners 60 or younger who are forced to give up Falun Gong against their will are moved to the regular divisions and forced to work in the sweatshop (mostly making clothes) without pay. Even if some practitioners are compelled to write a renunciation statement, the guards may still deem their “transformation” “not genuine” and continue to keep them in the 11th Division.
The most common torture methods inflicted on Falun Gong practitioners include beatings— punching, kicking, slapping—shocking with electric batons, being restrained in metal chairs, being tied up with ropes, suspending by handcuffed wrists, sleep deprivation, and being forced to stand for long periods of time or to sit on a small, hard stool all day long.
In the sitting torture, practitioners are not allowed to get up to move around, except when they use the restroom or have meals. After long hours of sitting motionless, the victim experiences severe overall body pain. He is exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. Large, extremely painful bruises develop on the buttocks.
Torture reenactment: Sitting on a small stool
In June and July 2025, at least three practitioners over 80 years old were admitted to the prison, including Mr. Wang Zhigeng, 84, Mr. Guo Liangtai, 87, and Mr. Liu Xuesen, 90. Mr. Liu was isolated in a room on the sixth floor. He wasn’t allowed to go to bed until 2 a.m., and then the guards would wake him up again at 5:50 a.m. For the over 20 hours in between, Mr. Liu was forced to sit on a small stool while having to watch videos smearing Falun Gong.
Mr. Gao Baoliang, in his 50s, couldn’t remain seated due to femur necrosis. Inmate Hao Chenglong forced him to lean against the wall while sitting on the small stool.
Mr. Wang Zhongshi, of Zibo City, was admitted to the 11th Division in November 2021, to serve an eight-year term. He was tortured to death on July 22, 2024. Mr. Wang was 71 years old.
Copyright © 1999-2025 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
