Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners in Shandong Province Prison Results in Death, Disability, and Mental Disorder

Shandong Province Prison is one of the major bases the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses to persecute Falun Gong. Guards and incarcerated criminals employ all kinds of brutal means to torture practitioners. Below is an account from one who was held there for five years.

Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Division 11

Much of the persecution since 2001 took place in Division 11. Division head Zhang Leiguang, deputy head Chen Yan, and prison administrator Li Wei have spared no efforts inflicting physical and mental harm on practitioners. During their tenure, at least three practitioners died as a result of torture, and several others became disabled or developed mental disorders. Many more practitioners were tortured nearly to death.

The Discipline Team was composed of criminals who were either well-educated people convicted of economic crimes or those sentenced for political reasons to assist the guards in persecuting practitioners. Prison officials placed them in lead positions to monitor practitioners.

Detainee Han Xiaolei, a military officer, was sentenced to 14 years for leaking state secrets to Taiwan. He wrote articles slandering Falun Gong under instigation from the guards in 2004. In 2006, Division 11 guards made him a prominent member of the Discipline Team. Prisoners Jiang Xuedong, Gao Guanfa, Yu Changliang, and Wu Jiayong were also brought onto this team.

Two special sections of Division 11 were established in 2006 specifically to persecute Falun Gong practitioners: The Reinforcement Ward carried out forced brainwashing, while the Strictly Controlled Ward was used to torture practitioners in order to transform [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] them. Posters and slogans slandering Falun Gong were everywhere. The guards played videos defaming Falun Gong all day long. Anyone who spoke up against the lies was subjected to more abuse and mistreatment.

Once any practitioner was discovered to be in violation of prison rules or still determined to practise Falun Gong, he or she was sent to the Strictly Controlled Ward.

The Strictly Controlled Ward guards often used death-row criminals or those serving 10 years to life to torture practitioners. The guards gave these criminals permission to not wear prison uniforms or name badges, which created great difficulty for practitioners to find out who the perpetrators were. After the torture sessions were over, the guards isolated injured practitioners in confined cells and forbade family visitation.

Three Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted to Death

A group of criminals beat Mr. Qian Dongcai, a practitioner from Qingdao City, to death in 2006 under instigation from the prison guards. Prison head Li Wei, however, falsely claimed that Mr. Qian jumped to his death.

Mr. Wang Xinbo was transferred to a police hospital in 2006 to treat injuries resulted from torture, and no one heard anything about him for months. It was later learned that he died as a result of these injuries.

Mr. Lu Zhen from Mengyin County, Liqi City, Shandong Province, once an excellent college student, was confined in a small cell in mid-May 2009 and given only one small steamed bun daily. He died on June 21st, 2009.

Shao Chengluo's Arm Fractured

Mr. Shao Chengluo, from Chengyang District, Qingdao City, was sent to the prison in 2006. He went on a hunger strike for one and a half months to protest persecution. The guards formed a special team to target him. Despite the non-stop brainwashing sessions and long-term sleep deprivation, Mr. Shao never renounced his belief. The guards transferred him to the Strictly Controlled Ward in September 2007 after spotting him passing Falun Gong articles to other practitioners. Between September and December 2007, he was severely tortured by the guards. They twisted a toothbrush in between his fingers, pricked him with needles, raked his ribs with a toothbrush or a wooden stick, beat him with spiked clubs, poked under his fingernails with a toothpick, hit him with the legs of a chair, slapped him with shoes, twisted his arms and legs and stomped on his abdomen.

Han Xiaolei was the instigator of the torture, and Zhu Qingjiang carried out much of it.

Zhu threatened to beat Mr. Shao to death and tortured him non-stop for many days. Mr. Shao had bruises and injuries everywhere. He had more than a dozen scars on his back.

In March 2009, the guards and criminals fractured one of his arms and then had to send him to the hospital for treatment.

Liu Zhongming Sent to Hospital for Torture-Related Injuries

Mr. Liu Zhongming was in the prison for almost six years, during which he was brutally beaten numerous times to the point of requiring emergency hospital treatment. However, he never gave up his belief in Falun Gong. When his term was about to expire, the guards tortured him again.

Shao Qiang Suffers Brain Injury and Mental Disorder due to Torture

Mr. Shao Qiang, a practitioner from Longkou City and a graduate of Zhejiang University, was arrested in 2000 and sent to the prison in 2001. He suffered a severe brain injury and experienced deteriorating memory as a result of torture. He was still mentally unstable at the time of his release.

Mistreatment of Other Practitioners

Mr. Zhao Weidong was not allowed to sleep for more than 20 days, during which time he was also subjected to continuous torture by the guards.

The guards used all kinds of methods to torture Mr. Shi Zenglei. In June 2005, they publicly denounced him, attempting to intimidate other practitioners into giving up their belief. However, several practitioners issued solemn statements, declaring that they would continue their cultivation of Falun Gong.

At around 11:00 p.m. on May 11th, 2009, a practitioner from Laixi City was taken to a room, where a criminal stepped on his throat and beat him savagely. About one hour later, the practitioner lost consciousness from the beating and was sent to the hospital. After he regained consciousness, he was again subjected to torture.

The following practitioners were also subjected to torture: Huang Min, Dong Chuanyan, Wang Chenglin, Yi Xiangyang, Wang Yubao, Wang Fengyu, Xing Yuefu, Zhuang Shijun, Gao Hongjie, Ge Shuchang, and Li Jingchao.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/4/29/222481.html