(Minghui.org) A 56-year-old Changsha City, Hunan Province, resident has been subjected to relentless torture while serving a five-year-and-three-month prison term for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Li Zhigang
Mr. Li Zhigang was arrested at home around 10:30 p.m. on October 27, 2020, when he was studying Falun Gong teachings with a few other practitioners. In order to force him to renounce Falun Gong, the police restrained him in a cold metal chair and deprived him of sleep for over a month, while detaining him on “resident surveillance” at a secret location. The amount of food he was given in a day at that location was less than one of his meals at the local detention center. His blood pressure kept increasing. His systolic pressure was as high as 260 mmHg at one point, when the normal level is 120 mmHg or less. When his family visited him later on, they were devastated to see how much he had aged in such a short period of time.
The Liuyang City Court sentenced Mr. Li to five years and three months on December 21, 2021. Before the Changsha City Intermediate Court made the ruling about his appeal case, the authorities had already transferred him to the Wangling Prison, the main facility in Hunan Province to incarcerate male Falun Gong practitioners, to serve time.
In Wangling Prison, Mr. Li was constantly deprived of sleep and starved. Sometimes the guards forced him to squat on one leg for hours, stand with his head against the wall, and do push-ups. They also poured cold water on his clothes and blanket, or hot water over him.
The guards arranged the inmates to closely monitor Mr. Li. He was barred from talking to others and had to ask for their permission before he could drink water or use the restroom, which wasn’t always approved. While other inmates are allowed to spend 300 to 700 yuan each month to buy daily necessities or extra food, Mr. Li could only spend 50 yuan.
In addition to the physical abuse and restrictions, the inmates also verbally abused and humiliated Mr. Li at will. He was forced to watch propaganda materials slandering Falun Gong every day and write thought reports about it.
The Wangling Prison
After Lu Xianyu took office as the warden of Wangling Prison in October 2017, he established a “Transformation Ward” (the 10th division) that specializes in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners to try to force them to give up their beliefs. A variety of torture methods have been used here, including long hours of standing, sleep deprivation, and physical abuse, including the “leg-splitting” torture. Some guards proudly proclaimed, “We are very experienced in ‘transforming’ Falun Gong practitioners.”
On the second floor of the main building in the 10th division, each cell is about 12 square meters with four bunk beds for eight people. Every practitioner here is monitored by three inmates 24 hours a day in one cell. Practitioners’ every move and word are monitored. The inmates use any excuse to beat, verbally abuse, and physically torment practitioners. They also browbeat them to “confess” to their so-called crimes.
With the goal of forcing practitioners to abandon their belief, the “transformation” programs include brainwashing routines as well as physical torture. Practitioners are forced to watch and listen to propaganda programs, read articles that defame Falun Gong, and then write their thought reports. Slogans slandering Falun Gong are posted everywhere. Recently, practitioners have been forced to shout slogans abusing Falun Gong before every meal, otherwise, no one is allowed to eat. They often have to sing songs praising the Chinese Communist Party.
Practitioners have no personal freedom. They have to get permission for everything they do. If the inmates do not let them use the bathroom, they have to wet their pants. They are often deprived of sleep. Freedom of thought is not allowed, either. Practitioners are often ordered to report their thoughts, and if they still say that Falun Gong is good, they will be tortured nonstop.
To protest the persecution, some practitioners went on a hunger strike. The guards simply waited for a few days and then took the practitioners to a hospital for a toxic injection. Mr. Tan Meilin went on a hunger strike for 23 days and had injections several times.
“Leg-splitting” is one of the most brutal torture methods. The person’s legs are pulled apart in a straight line. It is very painful, and ligaments are often torn, sometimes leading to permanent disability. The excruciating pain makes the practitioner scream in agony. The guards also call this method “killing a pig.” Mr. Hu Wenkui, in his 30s, from Changdei City, became incontinent after being tortured like this and eventually developed a mental disorder.
“Leg-splitting” has become a preferred tactic because it leaves no marks and instills fear in practitioners afterward. The prison further refined the technique by adjusting it to the individual. Some people were in pain long before their legs were aligned. When others didn’t have much pain at first, the guards would force their legs into a straight line and then pull the legs upwards until they hurt. The guards would pause at a very painful point and then slowly increase the pressure.
In addition to being a torture chamber, Wangling Prison is also an underground factory. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the inmates were forced to make face masks, personal protection gear, and surgical gowns for overseas export. The packaging on some of these items was printed entirely in English. If inmates did not finish their assigned quota for the day, they were shocked with electric batons or physically brutalized at night. The guards called this abuse “nighttime education.”
The practitioners who have been tortured to death at Wangling Prison include Mr. Liu Chaoyang, Mr. Wang Yuelai, Mr. Pan Jianjun and Ms. Wang Guilin.
Past Persecution of Mr. Li
Mr. Li received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the National University of Defense Technology in Hunan Province. He went on to enroll in the university’s doctoral program to study artificial intelligence and expert systems analysis.
He started practicing Falun Gong in late 1998 and soon quit smoking and drinking. His frozen shoulder and stomach problems also disappeared. When he was about to graduate from the doctoral program, the Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution against Falun Gong in July 1999. He was forced to drop out and has since been subjected to repeated persecution for upholding his faith.
For attending a practitioners’ gathering on April 1, 2000, Mr. Li was arrested. After 41 days of detention, he was taken to the Guangzhou City Military Forced Labor Camp to serve a 1.5-year term. The guards and inmates often beat him and forced him to stand in the rain or under the scorching sun for hours. He was released in July 2001.
On August 21, 2002, the National University of Defense Technology called Mr. Li and asked him to come over due to an emergency. As soon as he arrived at the university, he was arrested. The police took turns interrogating him. They beat him, deprived him of sleep, and hit his head with bottles filled with water. He held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When he was in serious condition, officials of the university said, “It’s no big deal.”
Mr. Li was officially arrested five months later on January 19, 2003, for “participating in an illegal religion to undermine law enforcement.” The university submitted his case to the Beijing General Political Department Military Procuratorate, which indicted him three months later and moved his case to the Beijing General Political Department Military Court. After two hearings, he was sentenced to five years on September 11. He was taken back from Beijing to the Chenzhou Military Prison in Hunan on September 23, 2003, before being taken to the Jinshi Prison, also in Hunan, on May 14, 2004. He was released in September 2007.
On April 17, 2010, Mr. Li was arrested again while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police beat him and injured his legs. His pants were soaked with blood.
The police took Mr. Li to the Xinkaipu Forced Labor Camp to serve a two-year term on May 1, 2010. Although the labor camp refused to admit him due to his poor health, the police refused to release him and took him to the Wangcheng County Lockup. Only three days later, on May 4, 2010, the police took him to the Changsha City Brainwashing Center. Fifteen days later, on May 20, they took him back to the labor camp, and he was admitted this time.
As Mr. Li continued to struggle with medical conditions in the labor camp, the guards took him to a hospital on September 29, 2010. He was found to have a heart condition, high blood pressure, and emphysema, a severe lung condition. He was soon released on medical parole.
Mr. Li’s fourth arrest was on August 19, 2011, when he and his mother were walking on the street. He was taken to the Laodaohe Brainwashing Center on the same night and held there for 40 days.
Related Reports:
Former Doctoral Candidate at National University of Defense Technology Sentenced Again for His Faith
Former Ph.D Candidate Li Zhigang Arrested for the 5th Time for His Faith
610 Office Again Arrests Former Defense Researcher Li Zhigang
Ten Hunan Residents Detained for Nearly a Year for Their Faith
15 Hunan Residents Face Predetermined Prison Sentences for Practicing Falun Gong
Changsha, Hunan Province: 15 Face Trial, a 16th Has Been Imprisoned, All for Their Shared Faith
Hunan Police Refuse to Meet with Falun Gong Practitioners’ Lawyers
Updates on Falun Gong Practitioners Targeted in Changsha City, Hunan Province Group Arrest
13 Hunan Residents Detained Incommunicado for Two Months and Counting
Changsha City, Hunan Province: Fourteen Arrested and One Harassed for Their Faith
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
