Mr. Zhen Lijie Subjected to the Stretching Torture in Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

Mr. Zhen Lijie was one of the 13 Falun Gong practitioners from Xinbing Township, Xinbing County, Fushen City, Liaoning Province, that were arrested on April 15th, 2012, by officers from the Domestic Security Division and Criminal Brigade of Fushen City Police Department.

Mr. Zhen was detained in the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp for a year and half, where he was subjected to the stretching torture to force him sign the three statements to renounce practising Falun Gong.

His arrest was planned and organized by the Fushen City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). An agent with the City Domestic Security Division was in charge of the arrest and the Dozhou Criminal Brigade was charged with arresting Mr. Zhen.

Arrested, Interrogated, and Tortured

Mr. Zhen was on his way to his garage at around 6:30 a.m. on April 15th, 2012, when about six officers tried to arrest him. He resisted while asking what was going on. They held him down, handcuffed himm and put a black hood over his head. Then they carried him to a car and took him to the branch office of the Criminal Brigade of the Dongzhou Police Department.

The police put him in an interrogation room, cuffed his right hand and right foot to a tiger bench¹, and began to interrogate him. He refused to say anything. The police took him to the Nangou Detention Centre in Fushen City at around 4:00 p.m.

The police also detained his non-practitioner wife for six hours for interrogation. They then proceeded to ransack his home and confiscated his car, two computers, seven mobile phones, a printer, three Falun Gong books, and an e-book reader.

He was held in the Nangou Detention centre for 37 days. Officers from the Zhangdang Police Station held him in a room in the station on May 22nd. Practitioner Mr. Luo Xiulie was held in that location at the same time.

Transferred to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

The next day, the police took both practitioners to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp, which refused to admit them because they had not had a physical. They were taken back to the police station and held for another day.

They were taken to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp again on May 24th. Mr. Zhen was accepted and given a one-and-a-half-year sentence, while Mr. Luo was rejected because he failed the physical.

The Stretching Torture

Mr. Zhen was taken to Squadron No. 3, the squadron assigned to persecute practitioners. Deputy captain Li Zhen met with him and told him to sign the three statements, claiming that it was just a formality. Mr. Zhen refused.

Li summoned guards, captain Jing Hongbo, Yu Xiuchuan, and Zheng Lichun. They took Mr. Zhen to the luggage room, cuffed his hands to the bed frame, and tied his legs and arms with ropes to torture him by stretching him.

They told him to sign the statements and tightened the ropes more if he said he would not. They pulled his arms and legs apart so hard that they dislocated them. In spite of his painful moans, the guards continued to torture him and blew cigarette smoke in his face. The pain was indescribable and he finally agreed to sign the papers. But his legs and arms were so swollen that he could not walk for a long time.

Specific Area for the Torture of Practitioners

Squadron No. 3 was combined with Squadron No. 1 in 2012. By the end of the year, only 10 male practitioners were held there. The camp was doing a survey on practitioners at the year's end and wanted them to give specific answer on a questionnaire.

Deputy captain in charge Wang Hanyu talked to the practitioners individually, but five of them refused to take the survey. Wang set up a group with young guards and inmates. The inmates were assigned to monitor the practitioners around the clock, and were promised that their terms would be reduced if they were successful in “transforming” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] the practitioners.

Unbearable Torture

The guards and inmates tortured practitioners Mr. Zhen Lijie, Mr. Liu Jingyu, Mr. Liu Yue, and Mr. Cheng Xiuchang beginning in November 2012. They beat them, shocked them with electric batons, and deprived them of sleep.

Mr. Liu Yue and Mr. Cheng Xiuchang were tortured especially severely because they refused to answer the questionnaire. The police ordered practitioner Mr. Zhang Guohai curse the founder of Falun Gong.

Mr. Liu Jingyu vomited and had diarrhea during the night of April 21st, 2013. He was given pills, which didn't help. He was taken to a hospital in the morning. The doctor said he had acute gastritis, and, because he had not been treated on time, his stomach had perforated and it was life-threatening. After the doctor operated on him, the camp released him for medical reasons to avoid being held responsible.

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.