The Intense Suffering of Dafa Practitioners At the Hands of Guards and Criminals in Tumuji Labour Camp

1. Tied up with Ropes
Practitioner's hands are tied up behind his back with a very thin rope, then a rope is looped around his arms and shoulders and tightened to such an extent that the rope will dig into the flesh. They will loosen the rope several hours later. Two people hold the practitioner's arms, outstretched to each side, and then tie up the practitioner once again. Some Dafa practitioners were tied up five consecutive times. Even after several months had passed, the marks on their shoulders could still be clearly seen. Many Dafa practitioners have been suffering tremendously from such acts of torture.

2. "Baojia"
"Baojia" are handpicked criminals used to persecute practitioners around the clock. The intent is to monitor and control Dafa practitioners, and assist guards in forcibly brainwashing Dafa practitioners. The guards often exert pressure and lure the criminals with different benefits, forcing them to use all kinds of cruel means to torture Dafa practitioners.

On October 3, 2001, as punishment for practicing the exercises alone, Dafa practitioner Wang Zhichen was brutally beaten by two "Baojia" Later the guards hung him up in a warehouse and forcibly stuffed a piece of dirty insole into his mouth. On November 1, Wang Zhichen was called to the team leader’s office. He cuffed Wang's hands to a bed and brutally beat him with an electric baton. Furthermore, he stripped off Wang's trousers and underclothes and beat him with a leather belt. He purposely struck Wang's head for a long time. The repeated beatings left injuries all over his body. He then called in several criminals and ordered them to throw Wang onto the cold floor of a small cell. That night Wang Zhichen fell unconscious. The next morning, they found him having vomited large amounts of foam. After a guard asked a "Baojia" to wash away the foam, a guard directed the "Baojia" to continue torturing Wang Zhichen. They kicked him with leather shoes, struck him with wooden planks, inserted a cigarette into his nose, placed a big plastic barrel on his head, and dripped salt water around his wrists and turned the very tight handcuffs around to produce more pain around the bleeding wrists. His wrists swelled up. He was also forbidden from going to the restroom, so Wang Zhichen had to relieve himself inside his trousers.

Due to the severe torture, Wang Zhichen was not in a healthy mental condition, and his whole body was in terrible pain. He fell unconscious several times. However, the guards still did not let up, continuing the torture for several months.

All of the illegally detained Dafa practitioners went on a hunger strike in protest. Finally, the "Baojia" who had committed to the beatings were only punished with an additional four months on their prison terms. The guard who participated in the beatings has been protected to this day, and he did not receive any punishment.

On November 2, 2001, for practicing the exercises alone, Dafa practitioner Liu Guixiang was hung up in a warehouse by guards. His toes could barely touch the floor. Sweat drenched his entire body. The guard instructed a "Baojia" to punch and kick Liu Guixiang. Liu Guixiang was beaten unconscious several times. "Baojia" used batons and wooden planks to beat him. To prevent him from shouting out, they forced a piece of cloth into his mouth. When Liu Guixiang reported their beatings to the guards, they ignored him.
Because he did not go to the restroom with the group and could not respond to a headcount on the evening of May 16, 2002, Dafa practitioner Wang Zhanxiang was forced to stand all day under the baking sun on May 17, 2002. The guards also tied him up with rope, stretched out his arms and brutally beat him. To this day he is unable to take care of himself.

On July 15, 2002, Dafa practitioner Wang Jianhua asked a guard to tear down a banner that showed slanderous materials against Dafa. The guard ignored him. After he tore down the banner himself, Wang Jianha was brutally beaten by the guard.

3. Forbidden to communicate with the outside world
The guards were fearful that Dafa practitioners might file complaints, so they took away all the writing instruments and paper. Dafa practitioners were not only deprived of the right to appeal, but also the right to communicate with their families. The guards also did not allow Dafa practitioners to call home. When their family called, the guards would not allow them to answer the calls. When their families came to see them, the guards sent them away and often withheld the food and money that the family members brought.

4. Seizing Dafa practitioners' property
In February 2002, several Dafa practitioners in the third team went on hunger strike for several days to protest against the persecution by the guards. On the evening of February 8, Dafa practitioner Wang Zhichen of the fourth team used money he had scraped together and saved up to buy some sugar and seven bags of powdered milk. He asked the team leader to give it to Dafa practitioners of the third team. The team leader Chen Qiang agreed to ask some inmates to deliver these items. However, Dafa practitioners of the third team said that they had only received the sugar. Later, Dafa practitioners tried to get to the bottom of what happened, but the camp officials turned them away. Dafa practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest and wrote an appeal letter. The labour camp forcibly searched for that appeal letter and ordered the inmates to seize it. On May 13, some people from the procuratorate came to resolve the issues, requesting the guards and labour camp inmates to stop cursing and beating Dafa practitioners, and to return the money for the powdered milk. The labour camp officials refused to followed the order and have not returned the money to this day. They are even turning around and accusing Dafa practitioners of "causing trouble."

5. Intensifying the persecution in the name of "examination"
Trying to upgrade to an autonomous region level forced labour camp, on July 3, 2002, Tumuji Forced Labour Camp conducted a so-called examination to all detainees, which included questions that slandered Falun Gong. They set up rules such as: answering unsatisfactorily will add three additional months; not participating in the exam would add two additional months; a score under 60 would add one additional month. This is a just another way to persecute Dafa practitioners.

6. Not providing enough food
For the Dafa practitioners who were firm in their beliefs, the forced labour camp gave them only meagre amounts of food. Dafa practitioners have tried several times to report their situation but were blocked.