Mr. Yi Fuquan Dies as Result of Torture in Tailai Prison, Heilongjiang Province

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yi Fuquan lived in Yanhe Village, Jincheng Township, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. He was sentenced to one year of forced labour because he went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong after July 20th, 1999, the start of the persecution. On August 19th, 2001, Mr. Yi was arrested at the bus station when police found a Falun Gong book and flyer on him. He was sentenced to six years in prison by the Shuangcheng City Court. His fifteen-year-old daughter had to quit school because the family's source of income was gone. She had to work out of town to make a living.

Mr. Yi Fuquan was first detained in the Harbin City Third Prison then transferred to the Tailai Prison on July 1st, 2004. On July 10th, 2004, the Reform Office Chair Jiang Haitao and officer Liu (given name unknown) spoke with Mr. Yi and tried to force him give up practising Falun Gong. Mr. Yi absolutely refused. They saw that he refused to accept the brainwashing, so they had prisoners put 35-pound ankle shackles on Mr. Yi and forced him to stand under the burning sun. Guard Yu Hongtao directed prisoners Zhang Liantao and Wang Wenzhong to force Mr. Yi to walk rapidly with the shackles. If Mr. Yi did not walk fast enough, Zhang Liantao would kick him very hard. Mr. Yi was out of breath, and his ankles were bleeding. These evildoers also tortured him with the "big hang up¹," which caused his arms to lose sensation.

The Tailai Prison guards created a new way to torture prisoners. They forced Mr. Yi sit on the floor, cuffed his four limbs stretched apart onto a metal structure under the baking sun, and did not allow him to drink water. After a while, they released his feet and put three bricks under each foot, elevating his legs over his head for a long while. When the guards saw he could not take it any more, they left him cuffed by his hands to a bar.

The guards tried to force Mr. Yi write the "guarantee letter²", but he refused. Guard Yu Hongtao then hit his head with a rubber baton. Prisoner Qu Hongyu and Yu Hongtao twisted Mr. Yi's arms behind his back. Another guard Li Yongzhe punched Mr. Yi's face, causing his nose and mouth to bleed.

Due to long-term brutal mistreatment, Mr. Yi suffered muscle atrophy in his left hand, and his health condition deteriorated. He could not take care of himself, and he was paralysed and bedridden. He had to wait until other prisoners finished eating so they could bring him some water and food. He was starving. His family requested Mr. Yi's release on bail for medical treatment, but the prison administration did not grant the request for a long time. Not until he was in critical condition did the prison agree to let him be picked up by his family on August 8th, 2007. He suffered six more months in pain, and died on February 13th, 2008 at age 45.

Note

1. There are several forms of this torture: 1. With both hands cuffed behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to a metal window frame; 2. One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. One feels extreme pain as the body is pulled. For examples of this torture, see illustrations on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html

2. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/2/18/172659.html