(Minghui.org) Mr. Sun Jun from Zhongshan the District in Dalian City was taken to the Shenyang No. 1 Prison in late 2017. He began a hunger strike to protest being imprisoned and persecuted for his faith in Falun Gong. His parents, who are in their 80s, tried to visit him ten times but were repeatedly turned away. When they tried again on November 29, 2018, the guards approved their visit on the condition that they agree to try to talk Mr. Sun out of his hunger strike.
Mr. Sun's wife Ms. Zhang Xia, who is also a practitioner, was a teacher at the Qingyun Primary School in Zhongshan District. The couple was arrested in March 2017, and each sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Mr. Sun is being held in the No. 4 Ward of Shenyang No. 1 Prison in Pingluo Town. Ms. Zhang is being held in the Liaoning Province Women's Prison, not far from the Shenyang No. 1 Prison. Her mental state is very poor and she is having difficulty with her legs. Their son had been studying in Japan but had to leave school after his parents were arrested.
Before Mr. Sun was taken to the No. 4 Ward, he was held in the No. 19 Ward, a high-security facility in the Shenyang No. 1 Prison. After he was abused, he went on a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment. Guard Xu Bowen then instigated inmate Wen Tie to beat Mr. Sun and put a plastic bag over his head. Mr. Sun was nearly suffocated.
Torture reenactment: Tortured by placing a plastic bag over the head
Mr. Sun was transferred to the No. 4 Ward around March 2018 but taken back to the No. 19 Ward by guard Yang Hao because he refused to do forced labor. Mr. Sun started a hunger strike soon after he arrived, and it lasted for over a month. During the hunger strike, he repeatedly asked to meet with a Procuratorate official, who was stationed in the prison for supervision.
His requests were rejected. About 20 days into his hunger strike, another practitioner, Mr. Jiang Shilin, 25, who was held in the same No. 19 Ward with Mr. Sun, banged his head against the wall to force prison officials to allow him to meet with this official. Mr. Jiang expressed his complaints to the procurator and told him that Mr. Sun also wanted to meet with him.
The official then met with Mr. Sun, who explained that he was not guilty and had been tortured by Wen Tie and other inmates in the No. 19 Ward. Mr. Sun asked to file complaints against Wen Tie and the perpetrators involved.
The prosecutor dodged responsibility and told Mr. Sun that the procurators stationed in the prison no longer oversaw these complaints. He said that there was a unit called the Supervision Department, which had taken over these cases. This official then said that he would turn over Mr. Sun's case to the Prison Investigation Division.
Two days after the procurator left, Wang, head of the Prison Investigation Division, came and met with Mr. Sun. Wang provided groundless excuses to justify the illegal persecution. Mr. Sun's case was left unsettled.
Through his hunger strike, however, Mr. Sun got back his written "confession of guilt" and promise to give up his belief. He had been coerced into writing these statements when he could not think clearly during torture sessions. Mr. Sun declared that he would no longer engage in forced labor, which an innocent person should not be forced into doing. Officials for both the No. 19 Ward and the No. 4 Ward agreed.
After he returned to the No. 4 Ward, Mr. Sun sat near the back door of the factory where the inmates were doing labor work. He practiced the Falun Gong exercises after returning to the prison cell, and also practiced the exercises every morning.
A few days later, Zhang Lin, a disciplinary head in the No. 4 Ward, saw Mr. Sun meditating in the factory. Zhang shouted at Mr. Sun and refused to let him cross his legs. Mr. Sun ignored him. Zhang then dragged Mr. Sun to an office behind the factory. People heard the sounds of someone being slammed against the office door. After some time, Mr. Sun came out and appeared to have been beaten. An inmate took him to the bathroom and washed his face.
Mr. Sun subsequently started a hunger strike again. Mr. Sun later said that Zhang Lin had sprayed his eyes with pepper spray.
The guards again sent Mr. Sun to the No. 19 Ward and forcibly injected him with a so-called life-sustaining nutrient solution. They injected the same liquid when Mr. Sun went on a hunger strike the previous time.
Mr. Sun's hunger strike lasted for over a month. In the end, Zhang Lin called Mr. Sun's father and son, asking them to come and try persuade him to stop the hunger strike. When Mr. Sun asked to be able to practice his faith, Zhang Lin did not give a clear answer.
Mr. Sun now practices the exercises every morning and evening in the prison cell and sits in the back of the factory during the day.
Mr. Sun has insisted on filing complaints against Wen Tie and the others who abused him. He repeatedly asked Guo Liang, warden of the No. 4 Ward, to give him a pen and paper so he could write the complaints. Guo has repeatedly dodged the subject and refused to give him anything.
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