(Clearwisdom.net)
(Continued from Part 1: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/10/15/128784.html )
Part 2. The Persecution Methods Used in Qinduankou Prison
A. The Persecution of Practitioners at Qinduankou Prison—a Systematic Crime
Many people have been thinking about why a serious persecution is taking place and what are the reasons behind it.
If we analyze Mr. Zhou Jiangang's case, he was tortured until he became a paraplegic. Yet, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claimed, “Zhou Jiangang committed suicide to escape punishment” and used it as an excuse to not compensate Mr. Zhou or release him from prison. Furthermore, no one was punished for what happened to Mr. Zhou except for Captain Li Guozhou, who was only suspended from his job. Personnel at Qinduankou Prison are able to openly violate the law and have little regard for human life because of the CCP's policy against Falun Gong.
(1) The CCP's Policy of Constantly Intensifying the Persecution of Falun Gong
The police and prison guards are told by the 610 Office personnel: “Orders from top officials: there are only two choices for Falun Gong practitioners—one is death and the other is to be 'transformed.' We're not responsible for any death, but we will get bonuses if practitioners are 'transformed.'” Enticed by high bonuses, the persecution of practitioners became more sinister.
In addition to receiving incentives for “transforming” practitioners, prisons, detention centers, and brainwashing centers across China were given an order to meet “transformation' rates” from top CCP officials, thus intensifying the persecution. In Qinduankou Prison, any guards who didn't reach the set quota were fined. As a result, the guards came up with different methods of torture to try to force practitioners to write guarantee statements.
The CCP also constantly sent out “secret documents” in its effort to eliminate Falun Gong. One example is the CCP's document from Hubei Province requiring an inventory of practitioners yet to be “transformed.” As a result, the guards at Qinduankou Prison began a concentrated, large-scale persecution of practitioners.
(2) Prison Authorities Systematically Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners
Under the direction of political chief Deng Kailiang in Qinduankou Prison, every police officer and guard was corralled into taking part in persecuting practitioners. There are more than 20 districts in the prison. Practitioners are imprisoned in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, ninth, thirteenth, and seventeenth districts. The thirteenth district has the most practitioners, about 27, and the fourth district is where practitioners are severely persecuted. Every department, prison district, political chief, warden, police officer, and guard is involved in persecuting practitioners.
(3) Inmates Instigated to Participate in the Persecution
The guards instigate prison inmates to directly persecute practitioners. The seventeenth district is the first district or entry division to torture practitioners. Guard Liu Wensheng, in charge of persecuting practitioners, was awarded for his “merit.” He also trained a group of vicious thugs whose sole purpose is to beat practitioners. Drug trafficking inmates Jianfeng Mei and Yang Mengxiang carried out the vicious beatings—hitting practitioners' backs with a wooden bench or a steel pipe until they lost consciousness. As a result of the beatings, the practitioners were covered with bruises and blood. In addition, they also had difficulty breathing and had other problems. Even under these circumstances, they were still forced to do slave labor every day.
Liu Wensheng was later transferred to the fifteenth district as an instructor responsible for persecuting Falun Gong.
After being tortured at the prison entry division, practitioners are then put in different districts for further persecution. Every practitioner is monitored by one or more criminal inmates 24 hours a day, even when they need to use the restroom.
Practitioner Min Changchun was threatened several times by the prison guards, who said, “We plan to 'transform' you using cruel methods.” Fourth district captain Zheng and instructor Lian Jinwen instigated more than a dozen inmates to torture Mr. Min, causing such severe internal injuries that he was sent to the hospital. The prison's political commissioner, Deng Kailiang, is mainly responsible for the persecution of practitioners.
On May 29, 2005, inmates He Zuchuan and Wu Jiabing tried to extort a confession from a practitioner about the source of Falun Gong materials by hitting him in the head so hard that he sustained severe injuries to the brain. In order to keep the incident from being publicly known and to protect themselves, the prison authorities dispatched a special force to arrest the two inmates and put them in a small cell. They also lied to their superiors and the media, saying that they had already handled the situation. He Zuchuan also beat practitioners Zhou Jianwu, Zhang Qingming, and others when they were detained in the third district.
Practitioner Fu Lulin was detained in a small cell where he couldn't even stand up straight or sleep on the floor. Mr. Fu then went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Before his solitary confinement ended, a guard threatened him, “We will have a criminal inmate monitor him; there's no way he will be able to leave without writing a confession. We want him to know how hard it is for him to survive if he doesn't cooperate and how difficult it is to die even if he wants to.”
Practitioners are forced to serve the head of inmates and to make the beds, do laundry, bring meals, and other things for those inmates who were assigned to monitor them. Those inmates can order the practitioners to do slave labor anytime they want.
The prison guards instigate criminal inmates to brutally beat practitioners, so they don't have to take responsibility should anything happen. Sometimes, they do persecute practitioners themselves, such as when assistant captain Liu tried to force practitioner Xu Sijun to take unknown drugs and get an injection at the hospital. However, Mr. Xu refused to cooperate. Liu then brutally beat him. Guard Lian Jinwen and several inmates pulled practitioner Yang Shengsong outside at around midnight to get an injection and a beating. They wanted to try to destroy the practitioners' will and see if they could be “transformed.”
(4) Evidence: Cases that Prove the Persecution of Falun Gong in the Prison is Systematic
Min Changchun is a practitioner from Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province. He was arrested in July 2002. He was found guilty of “attempting to interrupt TV broadcasting” and sentenced to four years in prison by a Hanyang District Court judge in December 2003. He was imprisoned in Qinduankou Prison until July 31, 2006.
During his time in prison, the director of the fourth team, Zhang Mao, repeatedly incited inmates to beat Mr. Min, causing severe injuries. In order to try to “transform” Mr. Min, Zhang Mao and director Lian Jinwen ordered over ten inmates to beat him because his answer to the “Yearly Evaluation” didn't meet their requirements on the evening of January 22, 2005.
Mr. Min reported his situation many times to higher authorities. However, it only led to harsher treatment. Inmates Zhang Binhua, Chai Kun, Xiong Junhua, and others would beat him more severely. In the morning on January 23, 2004, Zhang Binhua ordered others to drag Mr. Min to his room so inmates Xiong Hui, Xiong Junhua, and Zhu Zhenhua could beat him for the fourth time. When Mr. Min attempted to fight back, Zhang Binhua told Chang Shen to drag him to the fifth room. Chang Shen then dragged him by his feet and shouted, “You want to die?” Afterwards he stomped on Mr. Min's abdomen. Zhang Binhua also kicked Mr. Min on the back twice, while Xiong Junhua stepped on his head and Zhu Zhenhua kicked his back several times.
After being repeatedly beaten by inmates Zhang Binhua, Zhang Gaopan, Chai Kun, Xiong Hui, Xiong Junhua, Zhu Zhenhua, and Chang Shen, Mr. Min was a wreck, and his abdomen was painful and swollen. He could no longer can take in any food as his internal organs were severely damaged. His life was in imminent danger. In order to cover up their crime, the perpetrators sent him to the hospital on February 22. Mr. Min's case was overseen and monitored by prison political committee Deng Kailiang.
After being examined at Qinduankou Prison Hospital, Mr. Min was transferred to Hubei Province Prison General Hospital. He was diagnosed with severe damage to his pancreas and spleen, ascites in the chest and abdominal cavities, and edema in the legs and feet. On March 4, after undergoing surgery and being unconscious for over ten hours, Mr. Min was finally in stable condition. However, before he could fully recover, he was imprisoned again at the fifteenth district in Qinduankou Prison.
The guards didn't punish the perpetrators. Instead, they rewarded Chang Shen, Xiong Junhua, Zhang Binhua, and Zhu Zhenhua for their participation in the persecution by shortening their terms.
From this case, one can see that the persecution of practitioners in the prison is planned by the authorities.
B. Vicious Means of Persecution Used in Qinduankou Prison
(1) Methods of Torture Used in Qinduankou Prison
Besides vicious beatings, the other torture methods commonly used include:
-Long hours of intense physical labor: practitioners are forced to get up at around 4:00 a.m. and work until 9:00 p.m. with only five minutes for lunch. After 9:00 p.m., they are forced to write a so-called “thought report.” They are subjected to punishment if their writings don't meet the requirements of the prison. Practitioners are forced to do more intense labor and get less sleep than other inmates. Very often, they are deprived of sleep. Sometimes, they don't even have water to brush their teeth or wash their face.
-Various kinds of “standing punishment:” practitioners are forced to stand facing the wall until 11:00 p.m. and sometimes until 2-3:00 a.m. They are forced to stand in a positions called “Golden Chicken Stands on One Foot” with one foot raised and only the tip of the other foot touching the floor, while needles are placed under the heel. Sometimes, several practitioners stand in a row with one thick wooden block placed on the raised foot. If the block falls to the floor, the practitioners are beaten. Another torture method is to force practitioners to stand under the sun with both hands crossed behind their heads and their bodies at a 90-degree angle or less with the wall. It is more painful with the body being at an angle less than 90 degrees. Practitioner Wang Lingfeng was subjected to this torture at 11:00 p.m. He was forced to lean against the wall at 80 degrees. His body was nearly lying flat while his head leaned against the iron bed.
-“Military Training” torture: Long hours of “military training” are enforced, and sticks are used to constantly hit practitioners. Practitioners are forced to run and exercise under the hot sun. This torture was commonly used in 2003. Practitioner Xu Sijun was forced to do push-ups until he collapsed and couldn't move.
Practitioners Zhou Jianwu, Yang Chengsong, and Huang Xuanlin were put in the “strict monitoring team” and were subjected to standing punishment at night. Mr. Zhou was also put in chains for two consecutive months so that he couldn't bathe or change clothes. Other practitioners were put in “solitary confinement” and were hung up with only the tips of their toes touching the ground.
One practitioner insisted on doing the Falun Gong exercises, so the guards deprived him of sleep for several straight days and didn't allow him to eat. Instead, he was forced to pick food from the trash to eat until they didn't allow him to even to do that. He was also beaten by inmates. Although he suffered such inhumane tortures, he still refused to give up his belief. With his actions and words, he told people about the goodness of Falun Dafa. Everyone respected him a great deal.
(2) Refusing to Allow Practitioners' Families to Call or Visit
For practitioners who refuse to give up their belief in Falun Gong, the guards prohibit their families from calling or visiting them because they “didn't behave.”
The prison sets up strict rules for practitioners' family to see them. Every time they want to visit, their family needs to get an introduction letter from the local public security department to prove that they don't practice Falun Gong. Then they need to get an approval from the prison's political office. During the visit, the guard monitors their conversation. If they say something that the guard considers inappropriate, they will not be allowed to visit next time. For example, practitioner Lu Rui's mother went to Qinduankou Prison's political office twice to get an approval to visit her son. However, they refused her request and said, “We received orders from above. Falun Gong practitioners' families are not allowed to visit.”
Some practitioners have not seen their family for months or even years. They are not even allowed to write letters to their families.
The guards are very rude to practitioners' families who come to visit. The guard at Qinduankou Prison in charge of receiving practitioners' families is in his 50s. He is very vicious and does not allow practitioners' families to even stand in the hall while allowing other inmates' family to stay there. His work number is 4231293.
(3) Extension of Detention and Torture Used on Practitioners Who Remain Steadfast
Most practitioners detained at Qinduankou Prison are very determined and never yield even after the guards use various means to torture them. The Political and Law Committee in Hubei Province and the 610 Office secretly issued a document to continue torturing practitioners who have not been “transformed” after the New Year of 2005. For many practitioners whose terms were about to end, they were taken directly to a brainwashing center for further persecution. Since February 2005, many practitioners should have been released, but their terms were illegally extended.
Qinduankou Prison has been cooperating with the local 610 Office. They transferred practitioners who had served their full terms to a brainwashing center despite the fact that they knew it was illegal to detain practitioners beyond their terms. Several examples include practitioner Wei Chunping from Wuhan City. He was sentenced to prison in 2001. After being tortured in Qinduankou Prison for five years, he still didn't give up his belief. He is well-known for his determination. Several days before he was to be released, the guard said, “Wei Chunping is not 'transformed.' If no one from the 610 Office comes to pick him up on the day of his release, we will not let him go.” As soon as he walked out of the prison on October 1, four people from Jianghan District 610 Office, the street committee, and Director An in charge of registration at Wansong Police Station seized him and took him to Jianghan District Erdaopeng Brainwashing Center.
After practitioner Bai Yaobin served his full term, he was taken to Jiang'an District's brainwashing center by the Wuhan City Jiang'an District 610 Office, police station, and street committee. Practitioners Wu Zhiqiang was taken to Hubei Province's brainwashing center, while Zhu Feng was taken to Wuhan City Neiyi's brainwashing center by three people including the secretary of Xinsheng Division Liupo Town in Yun County of Shiyan City and the director and a staff person from the town. Practitioner Han Shan was taken to Wuhan City, Jianghan District's brainwashing center by four policemen from the Qichun District 610 Office and the public security bureau.
The perpetrators used all kinds of means to torture practitioners. Their sole purpose is to “transform” practitioners so that they can earn rewards from the CCP.
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