(Minghui.org) A software engineer in Hefei City, Anhui Province, was tortured while serving an eight-year term for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Tang Zhifei, 44, was arrested at home on August 3, 2023, by Jinggangshan Police Station agents. His young son, only in his underwear at the time, was not allowed to get dressed. A policewoman then dropped the boy off at his paternal grandparents, who live nearby.
Mr. Tang’s wife was out of town at the time. She rushed back to Hefei upon learning the news. When she picked up her son from her parents-in-law’s home, the boy was wearing his grandpa’s clothes.
The police raided Mr. Tang’s home and confiscated his computer, cell phone, house deed, and business license (he co-owns a business with a partner). Before leaving, the police also changed the lock on his door. His wife had no alternative but to take their son to her hometown in Fuyang City, Anhui Province. She had invited her parents-in-law, both retired physicians, to go with her to avoid police harassment, but they declined because their health wasn’t suitable for travel.
Mr. Tang was held at the Changfeng County Detention Center. The police said they targeted him after discovering that he had been posting Falun Gong informational videos on an overseas social media platform, which had garnered more than 6,000 views. He was secretly sentenced to eight years at an unknown time.
Mr. Tang was admitted to the Suzhou Prison in 2024. Because he held firm to his faith, he was beaten and sprayed with chili water. When he held a hunger strike in protest, the guards put him in a metal cage.
Mr. Tang is currently held in the 12th Division for the old and infirm.
Suzhou Prison is the main prison in Anhui Province where Falun Gong practitioners are illegally detained for their faith. Upon arrival, practitioners are ordered to write statements renouncing Falun Gong. Those who refuse to comply are beaten, forced to stand facing the wall for hours, denied restroom access, verbally abused, and subjected to sleep deprivation. Many are also forced to work over ten hours a day, primarily making clothes, handbags, and luggage. Each person receives only several hundred yuan a month.