(Minghui.org) “The guard forced me to kneel on the floor and began to pull my ears really hard. My ears were torn immediately and bled profusely.
“She then sat in a chair, clamped my head down with her black boots and kicked with all her might. She kicked my head like a ball, and I soon lost consciousness. When I came to, I knew my neck was broken.”
Above is an excerpt from Ms. Song Cuiping's criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin. She holds the former Chinese dictator responsible for launching the persecution of Falun Gong and for her labor camp detention and torture.
Ms. Song, 67, was arrested on October 28, 2002 and given two years of forced labor. Her term was later extended by four months because she refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong. During her incarceration, she was subjected to various forms of mental and physical torture.
One guard told her, “Even if you survive our torture here, you will have suffered unimaginably and won't ever be the same ever again.”
Ms. Song, a retiree from the Nanjing City School of Business and Technology, credits Falun Gong for restoring her health and turning her into a better person. She, however, lost her freedom for more than two years simply because of her spiritual belief in Falun Gong.
In her criminal complaint mailed out in August 2015, Ms. Song detailed the abuse she went through at Jiangsu Province Women's Forced Labor Camp. Below is her personal account.
Mental Manipulation
Forced to Write a Statement Renouncing Falun Gong
As soon as I was taken to the labor camp on December 5, 2002, they started forcing me to write statements against Falun Gong—expressing repentance for believing in Falun Gong, admitting guilt to crimes that I did not commit, and renouncing my belief in Falun Gong.
I refused to write those statements. They then required that I write a huge amount of subject matter that was impossible to finish every night. During the day, other detainees worked hard to brainwash me and persuade me to give up my belief.
One day in January 2003, a police guard pressured me again to write a statement renouncing Falun Gong. I refused.
She then ordered me to half squat and half kneel for extended hours. She instigated detainees to make a dunce cap with the words, “cult member xxx,” and put it on my head. They wrote insulting words on long slips of paper and placed the paper on my back. Two detainees immobilized my hands to stop me from protesting.
Forced to Write a Statement Disowning My Own Family
The prison not only tried to make me to give up my belief, but also to disown my family, to be used in propaganda to discredit Falun Gong.
Most of the time in the labor camp I was detained in an isolated cell. Police guards assigned detainees to watch me in turn.
One day a police guard talked to me. “You've got to write a statement to disown your son, otherwise, we will not allow you to sleep.” I relented after I could not take the sleep deprivation.
I wrote a statement. I thought my son would understand this and would not believe it was my true intention.
The next day a police guard spoke to a large group of detainees in a big room. “Look! A Falun Gong practitioner wants to disown her son!”
Again and again, the guards tried to make me divorce my husband. If I refused, they would not let me sleep. I realized they wanted to use it to denigrate Falun Gong.
This was absolutely unacceptable to me. My husband and I always had a good marital relationship. We brought up our children and care for our parents together. We had a happy family and lived a peaceful life.
Physical Torture
Torture During Three Days of Interrogation
I was arrested on October 28, 2002, and taken to the Gulou District Criminal Police Group, Nanjing City on the same night.
One policeman handcuffed me and shackled my ankles. Another slapped me heavily in my face. Then they took me to an interrogation center and took turns to interrogate me for three consecutive days and nights. I finally fainted and fell to the cement floor.
Ears Torn and Head Kicked Like a Ball
I was deprived of sleep and use of the bathroom as soon as I was detained in the labor camp.
One afternoon in February 2003, I asked a guard named Zhang to use the bathroom. She refused my request. Instead, she forced me to kneel down. She pulled hard at my ears, which made them bleed.
She sat in a chair across from where I knelt. Using her black boots, she clamped down on my head and kicked with all her might. She kicked my head again and again.
Gradually I went in and out of consciousness. My mind blurred. I could only remember that I had not eaten that evening, nor was I allowed to use the bathroom. This torture continued until two o'clock in the morning.
Afterwards I could not keep my head up; my head would lean to the left side. I sensed that my neck was injured or broken. A guard took me to the hospital for an examination, but would not tell me the diagnosis. Later another guard told me that my neck had been fractured.
Even in such a physical condition, guards instigated detainees to make me do cleaning chores and curse me often.
Questioned and Tortured for 'Unsatisfactory' Answers
I was 56 years old when I was taken to the labor camp. After several months in detention my hair turned white. I became extremely thin but the torture never stopped.
In the autumn of 2003, guards increased their attacks on Falun Gong practitioners who refused to give up their belief.
A guard named Tang questioned me and forced me to give answers. If she was not satisfied with my answer, she would hit me hard with a thick book and clamped the skin on my ears with a wooden clip. There were cuts all over my face.
Standing for Days and Days Until Fainting
In the spring of 2004, police guards launched another attack on resolute Falun Gong practitioners. Guard Tang ordered me to stand on a tile of 66x66 square centimeters. I was not allowed to sit and squat, nor to sleep.
This continued for 17 days. My feet and legs had swollen and were completely numb. I lost all sense of feeling and began to hallucinate. I was not even aware of where I was at the point. I fainted and fell to the ground, hitting my head. I had a big lump on my head and dried blood when I woke up. It took me more than one month to recover.
Denied Bathroom Use and Force Fed with Water
My sentence ended on November 13, 2004 and I should have been released. Around 10:00 in the morning of that day, Zheng said my term was extended for another four months.
Guards then tortured me in even crueler ways. I had to ask if I could use the bathroom. I never knew when they would say 'no' so I ate little food and no water.
When they noticed that I reduced my food and water intake, guards had several detainees force feed me with water. I protested and held my hand over my mouth. One detainee pried open my fingers and almost broken my third finger.
Stripped and Water Poured Over My Body
In December of 2004 as winter set in, I wore heavier cotton clothing. A guard named Ding ordered a detainee to remove my cotton clothes. They poured cold water over me and turned on an electric fan. I shivered all over. My teeth chattered uncontrollably. This went on for more than one hour.
Forced to Do Splits on Separate Tables
One day Ding invented a new torture method for me. She placed two tables together and set a chair on each table. She forced me to stand on the chairs, with each foot on each chair. Then she ordered detainees to pull the tables apart. I was forced to do splits with no support, over five feet above the ground, and I fell.
Long Hours of Intensive Labor
One day as I labored in a group of elderly detainees, a guard named Tian ordered me to move to a group of younger detainees.
I worked with 14 young people making Christmas trees. Another detainee and I had to bring items to the detainees who tied the trees together.
The work moved so fast that I could hardly keep up. If I paused even a little, I heard angry shouts and curses directed at me.
We did this more than 14 hours a day, from 7:00am till 9:30pm.
During the autumn months I was soaked in sweat every day, even my shoes were wet.
My bones ached after hours of intensive work. My thumbs were so swollen that they could not hold things.
Background
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners in the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
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