Violence in Minxi Prison: Dafa Practitioner Hung by Thumbs and Given Unknown Drugs

I am a Falun Gong practitioner. Because I exposed crimes committed by Jiang Zemin's regime in their persecution of Falun Gong, I was sentenced to 18 months in jail and incarcerated at the Minxi Prison in Longyan, suffering many abuses that no kind-hearted person would think was bearable. At that prison, the authorities subjected me to torture which they called the "Three-All" treatment. I was also forced to perform hard labour at the prison's Plastic Factory. During this period, because of my resistance to their persecution, the chief of the workshop force-fed me with an unknown drug. The effects of this drug included sluggish body movement, shock, and an irregular heartbeat.

In early October of 1999, I was reported by some people when I was posting literature about Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong. On October 10, the police detained me for 15 days. Afterward, they sent me to the Metropolitan Detention Centre for 6 months without any legal procedure. During this period, I was beaten many times by the "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] personnel, police of the Public Safety Bureau, detectives, and inmates at the detention centre. A detective threatened that I would be tortured in all of the jail cells.

The perpetrators sentenced me to 18 months of jail and then tranferred me to Minxi Prison in Longyan. I was forced to do heavy labour, undergo brainwashing, and suffer mental and physical torture. At the beginning, the perpetrators attacked Falun Dafa and forced newcomers to recite prison rules. I did not obey and was forced to do hard labour. After one month in the prison, I was found talking with other Falun Gong practitioners. With this excuse, the prison police physically tortured me. When I was found practising Falun Gong exercises in the evening, I was hung up by my thumbs for an entire day. I was not allowed to sleep or use the toilet. I was shackled outside under the scorching sun and was badly bitten by swarms of mosquitoes. The police also separated us into different sections and monitored us closely.

I was sent to the No. 4 Workshop of the Prison's Plastic Factory. At times, the police tortured me both physically and mentally. They staged the "Three-All" torture programme many times in order to try to force me to give up practising. The "Three-All" consisted of first depriving me of sleep and forcing me to stand for extended periods which was enforced by a group of eight policemen taking shifts. During this part, I was also randomly beaten and verbally abused by the police who were monitoring me. In addition, every area of my body was physically tortured. In the last part, I was also forced to watch videos or movies that defamed Falun Dafa and finally locked up with other practitioners in a small room, totally secluded from everyone else.

The duration of this torture programme is normally 7 days, but sometimes it extends to 9 days. In June 2001, I was hung from the window rail by my handcuffs. My feet barely touched the ground. My body was also pressed against the wall by a wooden stool. I was beaten up by Xu, Vice Political Director of No.3 Workshop. For three days and nights, I was not allowed to sleep or sit down. At the same time, I was forced to watch videos, movies, and articles that defamed and attacked Dafa. I was pressured into saying things against my will to be videotaped and write the "Three Statements." [The Three Statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practise Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.] By achieving this under torture, the police compiled a false "transformation rate" to report to the "610 Office" and receive bonuses.

In the cell of the No.4 Workshop, I was tortured and not allowed to sleep for two days. Then Chen Weimin, head of the workshop, force-fed me with an unknown drug that caused me to go into shock, and my heart stopped briefly. When I became conscious, the inmate who was montoring me became so scared that he ran away because he thought that I had died. When I got up, I discovered a 15-20 cm (5.9 to 7.8 inch) bruise on my chest all the way to my heart. Afterward, I constantly had an acute pain in my chest and, for a period of time, my mind was not very clear. Some inmates said that after the poisoning, Chen gave me some type of sleeping drug.

I refused to perform the hard labour, refused to give in to their brainwashing, and refused to write the "self examination." The police then cuffed my arms and hung me up every day from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm for an entire week. I was not allowed to use the toilet during that time.

Once I refused to acknowledge that I committed a crime, which is required for inmates to shout out while lining up before work. Gao Zhipeng, the Political Director of the No.4 Workshop, slapped me across the face so hard that my eardrum was ruptured. My infected ear oozed pus and blood incessantly for almost one month.

I was also forced to work in heavily contaminated environments while polishing metal suitcases. There was no safety measure or protection for prison workers.

After 16 months, I was released from the jail. After I returned back home, I was often monitored and harassed by local police.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/6/64150.html