Chongqing Practitioner Mr. Zhang Jingzhi's Account of the Persecution Directed by Bo Xilai

From the editors: For protesting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Zhang Jingzhi from Chongqing was subjected to brutal persecution directed by Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun. He was arrested and sentenced to a three-year prison term in August 2009, and subjected to severe beatings and "fatal torture" while imprisoned. Below is his own account.

My name is Zhang Jingzhi. I’m 47 years old this year and live in the Jiulongpo District, Chongqing.

During Bo Xilai’s term in office as the Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing, he relentlessly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. In order to protest the persecution, I went to Lieshimu Square in Chongqing on the evening of November 23rd, 2008, and threw several paint-filled eggs at the CCP flag on the square.

This was reported to Bo Xilai. He ordered Wang Lijun to investigate thoroughly and to implement "fatal torture."

On the afternoon of December 1st, 2008, Wang Lijun personally led more than 20 officers from the Domestic Security Division, who came in four police vehicles to my home. They ransacked my home, took me to the Erlang Police Station in the Gaoxin District, and interrogated me for over ten hours. I was then transferred to the Shapingba District Detention Centre. Meanwhile, Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun ordered the police to search 873 citizens throughout Chongqing. They arrested more than 30 practitioners and even persecuted practitioners’ relatives.

Following Bo Xilai’s direct order, the Shapingba District Court sentenced me to three years in Nanchuan Prison on August 26th, 2009.

While in prison, I was subjected to different forms of torture simply because I would not give up my practice of Falun Gong and I refused to do forced labour. The guards severely beat me with batons and slapped my face. On May 1st, 2011, guards Ren Bo and Tang Cao attempted to force me to slander Falun Gong, but I refused. The inmates were then ordered to torture me with the death bed¹ torture. My four limbs were stretched out and tied to the four corners of an icy-cold metal bed, and I could not move at all. I was not allowed to get up, to eat or drink, or even to use the toilet. The torture continued for 48 hours. It was so cruel that I was injured both mentally and physically, and at one time I felt that I was about to die.

Afterwards, the guards persecuted me again with this torture. I was not released until three years later.

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.