Mr. Liu Yongjin on the Verge of Death in Tai'an Prison

Name: Liu Yongjin
Gender: Male
Age: 41
Address: Baisha Town, Linyi City, Shandong Province
Occupation: Employee of the Linyi Import Export Corporation and the Qingxin Wood Company
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 5th, 2008
Most Recent Place of Detention: Tai'an Prison
City: Tai'an
Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, long-time standing, sitting on a small stool
Key Persecutors: Liu Xinrong, Gao Lingshan, Zheng Quansheng and Zhu Peijun

On March 20th, 2008, Mr. Liu Yongjin was sentenced to seven years in prison for practising Falun Gong. On June 18th, 2008, he was sent to the Fifth Division of Tai'an Prison. While in prison, Mr. Liu refused to renounce Falun Gong despite being subjected to various forms of torture. He has now been incarcerated for five years, and he is currently on the verge of death due to the long-term persecution.

Mr. Liu Yongjin is a resident of Baisha Town, Linyi City, Shandong Province. He was born in 1971 and graduated from Qingdao University. He was an employee of the Linyi Import Export Corporation and the Qingxin Wood Company. Since practising Falun Gong, Mr. Liu has been living by the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and is kind to people. He is responsible and diligent in his work.

Subjected to Various Forms of Torture

During the National People’s Congress Conference and the People’s Political Consultative Conference, officials of the Tai'an Prison escalated the persecution of practitioners. Mr. Liu held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Guards Zhu Xuhu and Lu Wenfeng tortured him with various means including brutal forced feedings, forced standing for more than 18 hours a day, sleep deprivation, and severe beatings. Mr. Liu was tortured until he was on the verge of death.

Brutal Persecution During the Past Five Years in Tai'an Prison

On March 16th, 2009, Mr. Liu had been confined to a solitary cell for more than two months for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. During that period of detention, four inmates were ordered to monitor and torture him. He was only allowed to go to the toilet. Due to the long-term torture, he was unable to keep his back straight when walking. To avoid other inmates finding out about Mr. Liu's situation, the monitoring inmates carried him to the toilet to block anyone from seeing him.

On April 25th, 2009, division chief Liu Xinrong and instructor Gao Lingshan ordered Mr. Liu's confinement to a solitary cell once again. His confinement time in the solitary cell had exceeded the limit that the prison rules allowed for, but the prison authorities kept extending it. More than a dozen inmates rotated monitoring and torture duties, and Mr. Liu was only allowed to sleep for two or three hours a day. He was given two small steamed buns every day – half for breakfast, one for lunch, and another half for dinner – without any vegetables and only a limited amount of water. He became very weak, yet he was still forced to participate in physical training. In the prison yard, he was forced to march military style for four hours every day for a period of time.

On April 23rd, 2010, after Mr. Liu received some Falun Gong materials, Gao Lingshan ordered guards to monitor him around the clock and to escalate the persecution.

In May 2011, the prison reorganised and established the First Division as the location for the most severe persecution of practitioners. In June 2011, a new round of brutal brainwashing sessions began. Every day, practitioners were forced to watch videos that defamed Falun Gong. Prison officials also recruited some corrupt officials and gangsters to help with the persecution. They tried to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] practitioners with CCP ideology. They threatened, cursed at, and insulted practitioners. Practitioners were also forced to sit on small stools all day and were not allowed to go to bed until after midnight, sometimes not until 3:00 a.m., and they were also forced to get up at 5:00 a.m. Practitioners were not allowed to leave their cells, and they were accompanied even when they went to the toilet. Practitioners were also not allowed to speak with each other, and had to do a variety of odd jobs in the prison.

In June 2011, Mr. Liu was beaten severely and had bruises all over his face and body. He had difficulty walking. Inmates Zheng Quansheng and Zhu Peijun participated Mr. Liu's persecution.

Prison officials rewarded the inmates who participated in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. They also secretly ordered inmates to beat and force-feed practitioners, deprive them of sleep, and pour cold water on them after stripping off their clothes.

Tai'an Prison
Mailing address: Mail Box 37-5, Tai'an, Shandong, 27100
Phone: +86-538-8432021
Gao Lingshan, section chief, former instructor: +86-13370626802 (Mobile)
Liu Xinrong, eduction section chief, former division chief: +86-13370621779 (Mobile)