Sun Shaomin Has Been on Hunger Strike for More Than 110 Days at Hulan Prison - His Life is in Great Danger

Dafa practitioner Mr. Sun Shaomin from Wuchang City, Heilongjiang Province is being held at Hulan Prison, and has been on a hunger strike for more than 110 days. He has been subjected to brutal persecution while holding the hunger strike, and his life is in great danger.

In 2004 officials at Hulan Prison began attempting to force the so-called "transformation" (1) of more than 100 Dafa practitioners who are imprisoned there by means of torture. They assigned special police details to travel to other cities and provinces to study methods of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their beliefs are brutally persecuted, and practitioners' basic human rights are gravely violated. Practitioners are forced to write the so-called three statements (2) and slander Dafa. The police instigate the convicts to collaborate with them by monitoring the practitioners' words and actions. The practitioners are often beaten, and the guards use many brutal torture methods, including tying the practitioners down and beating and shocking them with electric batons.

According to reliable information, Sun Shaomin, a Dafa practitioner from Wuchang City, instituted a hunger strike on April 22nd 2005, which has lasted for more than 110 days. His life is in great danger. His weight has dropped from 176 pounds to less than 110 pounds. During the hunger strike his persecutors have used handcuffs to secure him while they held him down and force-fed him. During the more than four month long hunger strike, a tube has been inserted into Sun Shaomin's oesophagus, causing serious injury. His pharynx and larynx are also very swollen. A doctor told the prison supervisor and a team leader, "Because the heart is so close to the oesophagus, you can't force-feed him anymore. If you try to insert the feeding tube again, it could easily pierce the oesophagus and penetrate the heart. A medical examination of him conducted at the Second Hospital revealed poor blood flow to his heart muscle. When his family came to visit him, he was removed from the hospital and returned to the prison. Currently, Sun Shaomin is suffering from massive haemorrhages due to injuries he received while being subjected to torture. He is suffering tremendous chest pain and is unable to straighten his waist. His life is in great danger. During the last four months, the persecutors have used many different methods to torture him. They surround him and beat him en masse. They subject him to sleep deprivation. They also torture him with electric batons and by forcing him to sit on the tiger bench (3).

His family has requested that he be released on bail for medical treatment, but the team leader of the prison's fifth section said, "We didn't arrest him. We're just doing our job, we can't release him. If he continues to refuse to eat, we will force-feed him. He is responsible for the consequences of the force-feeding."

Further illustrating the brutality, Dafa practitioner Zhang Xuewen from Fangtai Town, Hulan District was tortured to death on August 8th 2003 in Hulan Prison.

Phone numbers and contact information of those responsible:

Hulan Prison, Heilongjiang Province: 86-451-57304738
Deputy warden of Hulan Prison: 86-451-57304313
First team of the fifth section: 86-451-57307705.
Hulan Prison mailing address: PO Box 803, Yaobao Township, Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Zip code: 150521
Mailing address of Heilongjiang Province Prison Administration Bureau: 79 Hanguang Street, Nangang District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Zip code: 150080. Telephone number: 86-451-6335924.
Reception Date of the Bureau Chief: every Wednesday. Telephone: 86-451-86316442, 86-451-86342238, and 86-451-86342139

Note:

(1) "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

(2) "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the statement, the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

(3) "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.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/8/13/108320.html