Mr. Ji Xinhai Became Bedridden Due to Torture During Imprisonment

Mr. Ji Xinhai, 36, from Liangzhuang Village, Xibali Town, Huailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, was arrested on July 10th, 2008, during the Beijing Olympic Games. He was sentenced to four years in prison and severely tortured, as a result of which he became bedridden and could no longer take care of himself.

While in police custody on the evening of July 11th, 2008, an officer from the Beixinbao Police Station struck and kicked Mr. Ji. Mr. Ji was then taken to the Xibali Town Police Station, where he was handcuffed to a radiator pipe while the police beat him throughout the night.

The next day, several officials, including Du Chunming, Zhao Weibing, Li Xiangping, and Jia Yanjie from Liangzhuang, broke into and ransacked Mr. Ji's home on two separate occasions, confiscating his personal belongings including Falun Gong books. They also arrested his wife, Ms. Pang Aixiu, at around 10 p.m.

Mr. Ji was subsequently transferred to the Huailai County Detention Centre. There, he was forced to sleep on a wet floor, where other inmates had just showered. He was held there for 7 months and 20 days. As a result of the abuse, he experienced excruciating pain and could no longer walk. On December 27th, 2008, he was taken to the Huailai County Hospital, where his severe health condition was confirmed through X-rays and physical examination.

Despite his deteriorating health, however, Huailai County authorities put Mr. Ji on trial and sentenced him to four years in prison. During the trial preparation, court officials and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attorneys attempted to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] him by promising legal assistance if he would give up practising Falun Gong. Since he refused to give up his belief, he was not allowed to defend himself at the trial.

On March 1st, 2009, Mr. Ji was taken to the Zhangjiakou City Detention Centre for 10 days. There, guards instigated criminal detainees to abuse him. The detainees punched and kicked him, forced him to take cold showers, deprived him of sleep and meals, and forced him to do hard labour for 10 hours a day despite his poor health.

On March 11th, seven practitioners, including Mr. Ji, were transferred to Jidong Prison of Tangshan City. Due to his poor health, Mr. Ji was taken directly to the hospital section of the prison and assigned an inmate to monitor him. While imprisoned there, Mr. Ji developed multiple bone spurs the size of eggs, which caused him a great deal of pain, forced him to become bedridden and rendered him unable to take care of himself. Although he requested better medication on several occasions, the medical staff at the prison hospital accused him of faking the symptoms for a long period of time. He was only properly diagnosed in April 2010, when the hospital staff finally decided to take X-rays to confirm his condition.

After multiple requests and continuous efforts by his family, Mr. Ji was released in early August 2010. Officials from the Huailai County Bureau of Justice extorted 1,000 yuan¹ from his family prior to his release. Mr. Ji has not been able to recover his health thus far.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/8/22/228661.html