Jilin Prison Torture Method: Extended Torture on the "Fixed-Bed"; Excessive Stretching Causes Skin to Rip (Illustration)

(Notice: The following pages were written by a Falun Gong practitioner who was detained in Jilin Prison in a very inhumane way. This story describes the brutal tortures that he experienced and witnessed while in Jilin Prison.)

On October 27, 2003, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Juncheng went on a hunger strike and wrote a letter to the Prison Party Committee requesting that Falun Gong practitioners be treated with justice. Because of this plea, he was sent to solitary confinement and tortured on the "Fixed-Bed," a cruel torture method (see picture below). He was taken off the torture bed in the beginning of December, after he had been tied up for more than 30 days, suffering intolerable pain. On December 18, 2003, Mr. Wang was released from solitary confinement.

The "Fixed-Bed" torture is conducted in 3 steps:

Step 1: The person's four limbs are bound to the 4 corners of a hard bed;

Step 2: Once the limbs are bound to the bed, the body is lifted high in the air and is stretched in all four directions, causing severe pain;

Step 3: After the body is lifted and stretched, a rolled-up quilt is forced under the body to hold the stretching position. The body is then continuously stretched in four directions and then the body is pressed down to cause maximum pain. (This torture method has been covered in the article at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/6/43851.html)

The following are accounts of the torture of individual practitioners at Jilin Prison.

Mr. Cao Hongyan: Mr. Cao went on a hunger strike for six days, and was detained in solitary confinement along with Wang Juncheng. Mr. Cao's arm was injured from the extensive stretching. Later, after he was taken off the "Fixed-Bed," he often woke up at night from the pain.

Wang Hongliang: On October 20, because of a hunger strike, Mr. Wang was placed under tight surveillance. After two weeks he was sent to solitary confinement and was stretched for four hours. Two weeks later, he was released.

Tang Qiucheng: On October 20, Mr. Tang wrote a statement asking for the return and nullification of the "four statements" that he had written under torture [these statements are written to renounce Falun Dafa] and requesting the release of practitioners who were being tortured in the "strict cells" and "solitary confinement." A brainwashing department worker named Li tried to force Tang Qiucheng to rewrite the "four statements," but Mr. Tang refused. Three days later, Mr. Tang was sent to a "strict cell" to be "fixed" and stretched. After being "fixed" and stretched for 37 days, Mr. Tang was transferred to solitary confinement for an additional 10 days of torture. In the "strict cell," he lost control of his bodily functions, and the skin on his wrists ripped apart. He became very skinny, and his hands and legs were injured due to being exposed to freezing temperatures. Mr. Tang was released from solitary confinement on December 10.

Tang Yuqiang: Because of writing a letter exposing the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in prison, Mr. Tang was also sent to solitary confinement to be "fixed" and stretched. While being tortured in this way, his lungs filled with fluid and he contracted tuberculosis. Later, after eating, he vomited for three days. After he was forced to agree to speak at the prison criticizing conference, he was sent to a hospital.

Zhang Wen: Because he wrote a statement in support of Falun Dafa, on November 27 Mr. Zhang was sent to a "strict cell," where he was tortured on the "Fixed-Bed." Because he had been forced to sit on a bench for long periods of time, several bedsores had formed on his buttocks. After suffering the "Fixed-Bed" torture, Mr. Zhang attempted to clarify the truth to the detention center head and the prison vice head, Yang Xiaotian. This resulted in him suffering an additional 2 hours of torture with the rolled-up quilt placed under his back. His body was forced to bend painfully, which caused him to lose control of his bowels and soil his clothes. Mr. Zhang was released on December 18.

Liu Zhaojian: Mr. Liu was the first one to go on the hunger strike and last one to begin eating again. On November 27, Mr. Liu was transferred to solitary confinement from a "strict cell." He went on a hunger strike, but ended up contracting severe tuberculosis. He was force-fed with drugs, which injured his oesophagus, and he coughed up blood. Every day, the whole day's drug dose was force-fed all at one time. Mr. Liu repeatedly told his fellow-practitioners, "No matter if the sky falls or the earth sinks, it cannot stop your steps on the path of cultivation." He was sent to the hospital on December 18. The prison's No. 3 Section leader, Wang, and the brainwashing department have often requested that Mr. Liu return to the prison, but he has refused.

Zhang Chunyu: On October 28, the 6th day of Mr. Zhang's hunger strike, he was sent to solitary confinement to be tortured for 34 days on the "Fixed-Bed." His feet swelled up, and his spine became so swollen that he cannot sit up. To this day, he has not yet recovered. Mr. Zhang was released from solitary confinement on December 10.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/17/65078.html