Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Jiang Botao Undergoes Violent “Transformation” in Jiamusi Prison

Name: Jiang Botao
Gender: Male
Address: Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jiamusi Prison
City: Qitaihe City
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Brutal beating, doused with cold water, freezing, sleep deprivation

For the purpose of forcing Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their belief, Jiamusi Prison set up a “strict management team” in February 2011. The brutal persecution started on February 21st. Within 15 days, three practitioners, Qi Yueming, Yu Yungang and Liu Chuanjiang had been tortured to death. Other practitioners have suffered varying degrees of torture. After hearing the news of practitioners being persecuted to death in Jiamusi Prison, family members of Mr. Jiang Botao worried about his safety. However, when they went to see Mr. Jiang in prison, they were beaten by plainclothes policemen.

Mr. Jiang suffered tortures such as brutal beatings, freezing and sleep deprivation. After he was beaten until he passed out, he would be doused with cold water to wake him up and then the beatings would continue. This violence did not stop until he became delirious and under pressure wrote the so-called repentance statement to give up his belief in Falun Gong.

The following is Mr. Jiang Botao's account of how he was persecuted.

Guards Instigated Criminals to Beat Me

After the Lantern Festival in 2011, Jiamusi Prison started its long and deliberate “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] of Falun Gong practitioners. From February 22nd to 27th, the guards instigated criminal Wu Changbao to watch and prevent me from contacting or talking to others. During this period, team political head, Guo Jianmin, talked with me to tell me to “transform” and write repentance letters. I said: “I strive to be a good person according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, what do you want me to transform into?” Deputy division political head Ying Jie said, “If you don't 'transform', then you will suffer!”

From February 28th to March 3rd, I was not allowed to sleep for 3 days in a row. After work on February 28th, team head Su Zhifeng called me into the guards lounge and said: “If you don't 'transform', then I have to take some measures.” He then summoned criminals Wu Changbao, Zhang Jinlong, Ma Li and Zhu Xin and instructed them to: “Proceed with the arrangements for the day.”

Sleep Deprivation and Beaten Unconscious

After dinner, I was taken to a storage room. Zhang Jinlong, Ma Li and Zhu Xin watched the room to keep me from sleeping. After 9:30 p.m., I was forced to sit on a stool and was kept from sleeping.

After midnight, the three criminals started beating me. First, Zhu Xin violently struck my right leg. Then Ma Li grabbed my right hand, forcing it onto a stool and used glass bottles to smash it. My ring finger immediately swelled up. Zhang Jinlong pulled me up and started to beat my head viciously. The three of them punched and kicked my head and body. I immediately saw stars and my nose started to bleed badly. I don't know how long I was unconscious. When I started to wake back up, I realised that they were still beating me, so I shouted: “Falun Gong is good!”

After a while, they told me to sit on the ground. Since I refused, they continued to punch and kick me until I was forced to the ground.

On the morning of March 1st, Wu Changbao and Hu Shaolong came in to watch me. Failing to persuade me to “transform”, Wu Changbao started to beat me viciously, hitting me in the throat and chest. I immediately fell from the bench onto the floor. I felt a tightness in my chest, couldn't breathe and lost consciousness. When I woke up, Wu Changbao ordered Hu Shaolong to pick me up and put me on the bench. He then started to punch and kick me until I was knocked to the ground again. They continued to drag me up and repeated the same thing over again.

After Being Beaten Unconscious, Cold Water Was Dumped Onto Me and I Was Left in the Freezing Cold

In the morning of March 3rd, Zhang Jinlong and Wu Changbao told me to sit on the ground of the 3rd cell, but I refused and they began to beat me. Each time I lost consciousness, they dumped cold water onto me to wake me up and continued beating me again. When I fell to the ground and couldn't get up, Zhang Jinlong said I was playing dead. He and prisoner Mu Naiqun dragged me by my feet to the hall area, where there was no monitor, and started to beat me. When I was semi-conscious, Zhang Jinlong jabbed my eyes with his finger to make me open my eyes. He slapped my face continuously until I couldn't open my eyes to see him anymore.

After I regained consciousness I was taken to the storage room with only a shirt and trousers on. They opened the windows and made me stay in the cold. During that period, team political head Guo Jianmin came in to persuade me to give up practising Falun Gong. My mind was not clear and I could not withstand the physical and mental tortures. I was forced to write the “repentance statement” to renounce practising Falun Gong.

Everyone in the prison heard about the news of Falun Gong practitioners being tortured to death.

Practitioner Liu Chuanjiang was shocked with multiple high-voltage electric batons in the 3rd Division. He became mentally ill after brutal beatings and was persecuted to death.

Here we hope that people will continue to focus on the safety of Falun Gong practitioners detained in Jiamusi Prison. Please help to stop this brutal persecution.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/4/30/239873.html