Crimes Committed by Hulan Prison's Training Team

Hulan Prison in Heilongjiang Province is a major detention centre for holding and torturing Falun Gong practitioners. Among its divisions, the Training Team is the most vicious and tortures practitioners the most severely.

The Training Team division is used to brainwash and manage new arrivals. In this division, Falun Gong practitioners are subjected to brainwashing. Some practitioners were detained there for a year before they were transferred. When Harbin City practitioner Li Guanghou refused to give in to the brainwashing, he had his nails ripped off, was beaten by a group of thugs, and was forced to remain standing for long periods of time. His four-year prison term was spent entirely in the Training Team.

For newly arriving practitioners, the Training Team first uses threats and inducements. After that, they force the practitioner to stand for 16 to 17 hours at a time, and sometimes for 24 hours in a row while monitored by two prisoners, one on each side. In 2005, Wu Qingshun, who is over 50 years old, was forced to stand for more than 12 hours a day for two months. Even today he cannot walk normally due to how he was treated in prison. They also subject practitioners to a torture where the practitioner is first pushed down to the ground, face down. They then pull his arms up behind his back and then force them forward. At the same time, they pull his legs apart. Some practitioners' arms were dislocated, and they fainted from the pain. When the practitioner comes to, they continue the torture.

Another method of torture is solitary confinement. The solitary compartment has rings attached to the floor, and the guards fix the practitioners' hands and feet in the rings, immobilizing him on the ground. He is fed and has to relieve himself in that position. This torture is devastating both physically and mentally. Another form of this torture has the practitioner hung up, with each limb held fast by a ring attached to the wall. This torture is even more painful.

Another common torture has the victim sitting on a board, with the back straight and no movement allowed. If the victim moves at all, he is beaten with thick strands of nylon rope. They have to sit from 5 a.m. till past 9 p.m., unable to move except for designated toilet times. The victims often develop calluses on their buttocks after suffering this torture for months. At night, a place designed to hold two people is jammed with five or six. Everyone has to lie on their sides, or there isn't enough room.

Training Team guards Wang Jian and Xu Ruye are notorious for their harsh treatment of practitioners. They also direct criminals Shen Gang, He Yan, Di Zigang, and others to torture practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/5/20/178836.html