(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Ding Yan (tortured to death on the night of August 18, 2001 in Chengde Prison) was transferred from the Chengde Prison to the Taihang Prison in Mancheng County, Baoding City, Hebei Province in the summer of 2000. Because she believed that she was innocent, she refused to do the forced labor, nor would she take orders from the prison police. As a result, she was subjected to ruthless persecution.

In the beginning, they locked Ms. Ding up in an isolated cell with four criminal prisoners. One day, the four inmates forcibly took her downstairs to answer roll call. In front of several hundred prisoners, Ms. Ding clarified the truth about Falun Gong. She told them that Falun Gong and the practitioners were unjustly accused.

In the following three months, police officers and eight prisoners took turns tormenting her. Each morning at about 6 o'clock, four prisoners pulled her hair, grabbed her hands and dragged downstairs with her head facing downward. Her body fell heavily on each staircase landing. Her clothes and shoes were torn and she had bruises all over her body. They dragged her into a group of prisoners and then, with policemen giving orders from the sidelines, several of them violently beat her.

Next, Ms. Ding was forced to stand still in a freezing cold courtyard. There were four prisoners surrounding her: one in front, one behind and two by her sides. Even shifting her weight from one foot to another would invite a savage beating. She was forced to stand still for over 10 hours. It was the dead of winter. Even with a mere half an hour shift, the prisoners could hardly bear the cold. Ms. Ding's legs and feet were severely swollen and she couldn't put on shoes. Most of her hair had been pulled out. Her back and legs were injured and she was not able to walk straight. She was often subjected to violent group beatings at the hands of prisoners.

The entire winter was like that for Ms. Ding. One day, after a round of savage beatings and electric shocks at the hands of policemen and several prisoners, no one ever saw Ms. Ding again. One prisoner who knew the circumstances said, "They lost control while beating her that time."

Meanwhile, another practitioner also suffered the same persecution resulting in severe injuries of the lower back, kidney area, legs and feet. In the end, no one knew that practitioner's whereabouts, either.