(Minghui.org) Continued from Part 2.

The Lawless Persecution

At the onset of the persecution, Jiang Zemin, then head of the CCP, issued directives to “destroy their reputations, cut off their financial lifeblood, and completely eradicate them,” in regards to Falun Dafa practitioners. He is also known to have said, “whoever kills them will not be held responsible and they’ll be reported as having committed suicide,” and gave the green light to “cremate their bodies without needing to find out their identities.”

The entire nation’s law enforcement became a well-oiled machine that operated extrajudicially to crack down on Falun Dafa—the public security system arbitrarily arrests Falun Dafa practitioners, the Procuratorate indicts them on baseless charges, the court system punishes them for exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and expression, and the correctional system incarcerates and abuses them.

Tortured During Arrest and Detention

Minghui’s father, Mr. Yu Zonghai, was tortured following each of his arrests, at the Gonghe Police Station (under jurisdiction of Xi’an Police Department), Hualing Police Station, and the Yangming Special Forces Division. During one particular interrogation, the police dumped two bottles of spicy mustard oil into his mouth and nose. He couldn’t breathe and the spicy oil caused an unbearable burning sensation. A few trained officers punched his head repeatedly. His cheek muscle tore and bled.

Mr. Yu’s feet were shackled and his hands were cuffed behind his back. He was tied into a metal chair for nine days straight. Three thick metal bars were secured in place in front of his chest, leaving no room for even slight movement.

At one detention center, the guards filled a one liter soda bottle with water, wrapped it in a towel (as not to cause any external injuries), and used it as a sling to hit Mr. Yu’s head until he passed out.

Imprisonment and Faith

Mr. Yu was taken to the Mudanjiang Prison in 2002 and Ms. Wang was taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison in 2004. Both places were notorious for mistreating and torturing Falun Dafa practitioners. Between the two prisons, more than a dozen male practitioners and several dozen female practitioners were tortured to death, and many became disabled.

The 610 Office, a government agency set up in 1999 for the sole purpose of persecuting Falun Dafa, similar to the Nazi Gestapo, gave orders for prison authorities across the nation to “transform” Dafa practitioners, meaning to make them renounce their faith.

The practitioners were forced to renounce Falun Dafa, repent ever practicing it, report on other practitioners, and promise to never practice it again, in a written statement. To prove to the prison authorities that they had truly been transformed, the practitioners were made to insult the founder of the practice, slander the spiritual belief, and swear not believe in Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

The transformation rate reached by each institution directly determines the director and guards’ next promotions and levels of raises and year-end bonuses they receive. The inmates who aid in monitoring and torturing Falun Dafa practitioners were promised to have their terms reduced. Driven by the incentives, the evil side of human nature in the guards and inmates dominates, resulting in widespread abuse and torture of Falun Dafa practitioners across China’s correctional system.

For remaining resolute in his faith, Mr. Yu was put on “special watch” multiple times during his 14 years of imprisonment, and subjected to inhumane torture. He has been beaten with electric batons, with clubs, and hard plastic industrial tubes referred to as “little white dragons.”

Torture reenactment: Beatings

Persecution Escalated

Li Dongsheng, the former deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security, became the director of the 610 Office in 2009. Under his leadership, the persecution against Falun Dafa escalated across China.

Newly-promoted assistant director Fu Runde at the Mudanjiang Prison was put in charge of transforming Falun Dafa practitioners. Fu ordered all prison divisions to “transform” all practitioners, or the entire staff of guards and division directors would be fired. Bi Haibo, deputy head of Division No. 6, and several guards were sent to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for a one-month training on how to make Falun Dafa practitioners renounce their belief.

After returning from the training in November, Bi picked Mr. Yu to be his first target. Mr. Yu was not allowed to sleep for many consecutive days, which caused severe headaches. Bi then brought in trained felon prisoners from another division to do the dirty work, and promised to reduce their terms. Some of them were at the tail end of their terms and would do anything to ensure that they were released without delay.

Beatings and Waterboarding

Bi’s men started the torture session with a question, “Do you give up or not?” Mr. Yu gave them a firm “no.” Zhao Jianghui, known to be the most vicious among the inmates who would not stop without seeing some blood, bent Mr. Yu’s fingers backward and said, “I’m gonna break your fingers.”

The other seven or eight inmates beat Mr. Yu about the head with their fists coming down rapidly like rain drops. They pried his mouth open with a metal bar, knocking out two of his teeth. They then stuffed a sock in his mouth and wrapped it shut with packing tape. His hands were tied behind his back and his legs were bound together before another round of beatings began.

Mr. Yu sustained many injuries, including broken ribs. He was barely recognizable due to swelling on his head and face. But Mr. Yu didn’t waver. The inmates stripped him naked, dragged him to the bathroom, and poured basin after basin of cold water over his head. They then hooked up hoses to two facets, turned the water all the way up, and blasted Mr. Yu on his belly button and into his ears. The water torture lasted from 2 o’clock in the afternoon until midnight.

Winter starts early in the northern regions of China,. The temperature regularly drops a dozen degrees below zero by November. After blasting high-pressure water at Mr. Yu for ten hours, the inmates passed the hose to a mentally ill and extremely violent inmate nicknamed “Dumb Crane.” He blasted water directly into Mr. Yu’s nostrils and nearly drowned him.

Unable to bear the torture any longer, Mr. Yu was forced to sign a statement renouncing Falun Dafa. But he soon regretted it and announced the statement as invalid. The guards beat him and shocked him with electric batons again.

Cruel Treatment and Permanent Injuries

After years of abuse and torture, Mr. Yu’s sternum protrudes from his chest, he walks with a limp, and nearly all of his teeth have been knocked out. His eyes were injured in an accident at the workshop, and delayed treatment caused permanent damage to his tear ducts.

Knowing that Mr. Yu’s eyes are without the natural lubrication and protection of the tears, the prison guards forced him to keep his eyes open in the dusty workshop. The dust that got into his eyes felt like handfuls of dry hay piercing his eyeballs. The pain was excruciating. The dryness and pain in his eyes kept him up many sleepless nights, kneeling in bed with hands grabbing his head tightly.

Another form of punishment sometimes used on imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners is not being allowed to talk, and others not being allowed to talk to them. After a while, the practitioners start to have speech difficulties and lose their language abilities.

After many years of being on “special watch” and not allowed to speak, Ms. Yu struggled to form sentences and express himself verbally. However, to the two questions he got asked the most, he answered loud and clear—“Is Falun Dafa good or not?” “Good!” “Do you still practice?” “Yes!” Regardless of the season, time of day, person who’s asking, or possible consequences, his response was consistent.

(To be continued.)