Deyang Prison Brutally Persecutes Falun Gong Practitioners

Deyang Prison in Sichuan Province brutally tortures Falun Gong practitioners. The Second Ward is notoriously inhumane. Prison guards bribe criminal inmates to brutally torture practitioners to force them to give up their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Brutal "Military Training"

Falun Gong practitioners on arrival at the Second Ward are strip-searched. Their glasses are smashed in front of them, and their leather shoes torn open. Their personal items including paper, pen, letters, and books are taken away and they are ordered to stand in the “military posture.”

The guards have developed methodically denigrating procedures to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. For example, when they approach a guard or an office, they must announce themselves as “Inmate So and So” and announce the “crimes" they were charged with. When practitioners refuse to cooperate and, instead, state the truth by saying "I am a Falun Gong practitioner, I am not a criminal," they are forced to attend "military training" during the daytime and, when the training ends in the afternoon, have to stand for long periods of time and are not allowed to use the toilet.

Inmate Qiu Congjun is a "team lead of the military training." He and other inmates actively participate in persecuting practitioners for money or rewards. For example, he forces practitioners to run around the sports field when they have a day off from forced labour. The full circle is about 300 metres. The running starts after lunch and practitioners were forced to run without stopping until dinner. After dinner practitioners are forced to go to the brainwashing sessions until 10 p.m., which is when regular inmates go to bed. Practitioners must then stand at attention until 11 p.m. Some practitioners were made to stand until 2 a.m.

Abuse and Torture

From December 3rd, 2003, to June 14th, 2004, practitioners were forced to stand until 11:00 p.m. each day, and some until 2 a.m. A guard watches them and no breaks are ever allowed. Sometimes practitioners have to eat their rice while standing. They are not allowed to wash their rice bowls, face, or feet; brush their teeth; take a bath; etc.

Many practitioners' feet swell due to the long periods of standing. In wintertime, chilblains covered their fingers and toes due to the extreme cold.

The following practitioners had to stand for very long times: Yang Yourun, Wei Bing, Gan Jin, Xu Tianfu, Song Ziming, Tang Gangyi, and others.

Zeng Guifu, director of the Second Ward, and guards Cui Weigang and Ma Chengde offered incentives to criminal inmate Lan Wei, leader of the Strictly Controlled Group; Qiu Congjun; and others to persecute practitioners.

During December 2003 the guards started a new round of persecution against those who would not give up their belief in Falun Gong. The practitioners were separated. He Yuancao and Gong Wenyou were sent to Guangyuan Prison; Geng Dexing and Xu Bin were sent to Wumaping Prison in Leshan; Yang Yourun, Song Ziming, Wei Bing, Li Chengdong, Luo Xiaoxing, Gong Guanlei, Gan Jin, Xu Tianfu, Deng Weijian, Wu Mingshan, Yuan Xiaodong, Chen Jingxi, and others remained.

The following participated in this round of persecution: Zeng Guifu, director of the Second Ward; Ma Chengde, deputy director of the Second Ward; Cui Weigang, head of the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong); Chen Ping; Zhang Jun; Li Runmin; Yang Shubin; Qiu Shen; and others.

In April 2004, practitioners Song Ziming and Gan Jin talked. Zeng Fugui and Cui Weigang slapped Song Ziming's face very hard in front of everyone.

In September 2005 practitioners Yang Yourun, Wei Bing, Gan Jin, and Luo Xiaoxing were transferred to the Third Ward. Wei Bing, Yang Yourun, and Gan Jin refused to be treated like or behave like regular criminals. They would not stand at attention and instead held their heads down. Over ten guards tied them up with handcuffs and ropes. They were punched and kicked. Wei Bin’s hands were handcuffed behind his back. Several days later his hands lost all feeling. A guard stepped so hard on Gan Jing's lower back that he could not straighten up for a week.

Inmates Directed to Abuse Practitioners

In September 2006 practitioners were sent to different production wards. Organized and trained “assistants” actively participated in abusing them.

These assistants are convicted criminals who have used violence to harm people, steal, or threaten. They are driven by self-interest and are very vicious. Most of them are sentenced to life in prison. It is these criminal inmates who are offered rewards and incentives to torture practitioners.

Given the title of "Information Provider," their orders are to persecute practitioners.

They use violence against practitioners in order to gain benefits, like avoiding forced labour or being offered a reduction to their sentences.

These “Information Providers” strictly control practitioners' movements and even check practitioners' private family letters. They make practitioners stand at attention for the slightest reason. They beat and curse practitioners, as every practitioner who ever stayed in the Second Ward can attest.

Li Fuquan and Feng Wei had broken ribs due to beatings; Wang Guohua's front tooth fell out during a beating; Yang Bin, Zeng Yonghao, Gong Guanlei, Liang Junhua, Gan Jin, Lin Xiaoquan, Li Zonghe, Zhang Jinbao, Zhang Wanyou, Yin Huajie, Liao Jianpu, Hu Kaiguo, Chen Jingxi, Tuo Wanxue, and Liu Wangquan have all been beaten more than ten times each, sustaining many injuries. Li Zhenglin lost his eyesight due to the beatings and he can now hardly walk. Teacher Wu Shihai from Panzhihua City was in a coma for a long time.

The "Information Providers" are: Shi Weixing, Wu Keming, Meng Zhaofu, Yang Yang, Bai Jian, Song Wencao, Li Qiang, Yang Ju, Zhou Xiaolan, Liu Lan, Xiang Pan, Liao Bo, Xiao Peng, Jia Hai, Lu Ran, Zeng Xiangjun, Jiang Dunjie, Guo Jun, Jiang Xingyang, and Zhao Gangqiang.

The Brutality of the Guards

In April 2007 Deyang Prison set up a "Leadership Group" at each production ward in order to reach their goal of forcing 1000f the Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief. The director of the ward leads the "Help-and-Teach Team" with two guards and two inmates. They use a prison cell as an office. Every practitioner is taken to this cell and isolated so the guards can try to force practitioners to give up their fundamental beliefs by torturing them.

To get quicker results, the guards beat the practitioners themselves. Lai Dengzhou, Luo Guanglun, Li Shunrong, Xie Hongliang, and Zhang Lin beat practitioners brutally. They not only used the torture methods used in the Second Ward, they invented new ones, such as “Standing on a high stool." The victim has to stand on two legs of an upturned stool and excrement is poured on his head. Practitioners were not allowed to use blankets at night and had to stand in the scorching sun in the summer and the freezing cold winds in the winter. If a practitioner still refused to be “transformed,” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] he would be sent to the “strict control room” to experience the Death Bed torture¹. Making practitioners squat for long periods of time and not allowing them use of the toilet are common occurrences.

Practitioners Zeng Yonghao, Yang Bin, Liu Wangquan, Wei Wei, Lin Xiaoquan, Luo Xiaoxing, and Wang Guohua have been tortured with the Death Bed. Inmates Jiang Xingyang and Yang Jianfu ordered Gan Jin to recite the prison rules. When Gan Jin refused, they made him hold a piece of paper against the wall with his head and slapped him at the same time. They ordered him to write a guarantee statement to renounce practising Falun Gong. Gan Jin was tortured so badly that the limit of his endurance was reached, and he wrote it under great duress. As soon as he had finished, he crossed it out himself. He did not want to betray Master and Dafa. Inmate Zhao Gangqiang ordered him to write it again. When Gan Jin wrote it again, his mind became deeply disturbed and he could no longer communicate. An inmate said, "Gan Jin got like this due to the torture.” Guards rewarded the assistants lavishly to encourage them to 'transform' more practitioners.

Besides the ten notoriously vicious guards, the following inmates also committed crimes against Falun Gong practitioners: Wu Tinghai, Li Jie, Qiu Shen, Li Runmin, Chen Zhao, Zhang Jun, and Tang Beizheng.

In 2002 guards and inmates persecuted to death Li Jianhou, a manager from Nanchong Agricultural Materials Company. One year later, a practitioner who had been brutally tortured died ten days after being sent home.

In December 14th, 2007, guards and inmates in the Tenth Ward persecuted Mr. Xong Xiu to death. (No detailed information)

Xie Hongliang, a guards from the Third Ward, has persecuted several practitioners brutally. Xie Hongliang, male, 32 years old, is from Qianwei County in Leshan, Sichuan Province. His ID number is 5127259. He has participated in this illegal persecution since early 2006. He taught inmates Zhao Gangqiang from Shantai County in Mianyang, Sichan Province, Zhao Wei, Tao Zhiguo, Jiang Xingyang, Jiang Dunjie, Guo Jun, and Baqiebuda (of Yi nationality) to torture practitioners Wei Bing, Yang Kelin, Chen Jingxi, Gan Jin using sleep deprivation, standing for long periods, and beatings.

In July 4th, 2007, Zhao Gangqiang and Zhao Wei under the instigation of Xie Hongliang brutally beat practitioner Wei Bing over a long period of time.

In 2007 the Third Ward started to intensify the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Wei Bing, Yan Xiang, Gan Jin, Chen Jingxi and Gong Guanlei, and others were all tortured at this time.

Xu Tianfu, Luo Xiaoxing, Gan Jin, Yang Yourun, Gong Guanlei, Wei Bing, and others were often strictly controlled or isolated. They were tortured over a long time without a decent night's sleep and became very weak. CCP members would lie about Falun Gong practitioners, saying that we did not care about our health and that we broke prison rules. This was an attempt tarnish the reputation of Falun Gong. Then the guards would pretend to be nice and send us to the clinic for an exam. The guards do not allow practitioners to see their family members and there is no communication with their families at all. Practitioners have to write a "Thought Report" every week. If they don’t, then a representative from the notorious 610 Office will come to persecute you even more viciously.

Computer Engineer Gan Jin Persecuted Before Entering the Prison

Mr. Gan Jin is over 40 years old and was a computer engineer. He was the head of Liangshan Technology Information Centre before July 20th, 1999. When the persecution started in July 20th 1999, he was ordered to denounce Falun Gong and then told to read a self-deprecating letter about himself to all the staff at a company meeting. He was later removed from his position. After short while he realized that what he did was wrong and told his company that he had written the self-deprecating letter against his will and that he would continue to practise Falun Gong. He also said he would withdraw from CCP, but his company would let him near a computer to do it.

In September 2000 Mr. Gan was arrested by the Security Office of Panxi Geological Team while he was distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution. He was taken by police officers Li Yuxu and Zhou Xin from Xichang City National Security Team to Butuo County Detention Centre. They brutally beat him. They used a lamp to hit his head, smashed his hands against the window bars, and kicked him. Mr. Gan's head bled, and the bones in his hand were dislocated. For several months it was difficult for him to use his hands. Later his family paid a 10,000-yuan² security deposit (since returned), and he was released. Xichang City National Security Team held his ID card. His company did not assign him any work and stopped his salary.

On November 14th, 2001, Mr. Gan was arrested by Panzhihua Xi District Police Department National Security Team and Qingxiangping Police Station when he was making pamphlets to inform people of the real truth about Falun Gong. He was detained at Panzhihua City Detention Centre for 20 months.

In January 2001 Gan Jin was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. In April 2001 his wife divorced him under pressure from the CCP. In July 2003 Liangshan Science Technology Bureau (his superiors' company) fired him.

Mr. Gan Jin was detained in Deyang Prison. His indictments, judgments, and even his divorce decree were seized in Deyang Prison and have never been returned.

Note

1. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

2. "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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/3/7/237274.html