The Horrendous Torture I Experienced in Detention Center and Forced Labor Camp

By a Practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Since the persecution started on July 20, 1999, I have been detained many times and imprisoned in forced labor camps twice.

I experienced horrendous torture when I was imprisoned in Qinglong County Detention Center in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province. Many times the guards shackled my limbs with manacles that weighed 20 Jin [equivalent to 10 kilograms]. They did this to many other practitioners as well. With our four limbs restricted and our backs bent, we lost the ability to care for ourselves. We were forced to sit on the cold ground day and night for as long as ten days at a time. There were times when we were made to "walk" around a circle while we were shackled. When we could go on no more, the police relentlessly beat us with belts and cursed us at the same time. When we collapsed, they pulled our heads back by the hair to make us start walking again. Many of us fainted from the torture.

On December 20, 1999, the temperature dropped to -20^oC (-13^oF). The guards in the center took me and a few other practitioners out to the yard. They poured water on the ground to make ice. Then they made us lie face down on the ice. Putting on their warm coats and holding leather belts, the guards stood beside us, cursing at us using the filthiest language that they could think of. Then they made us strip off our pants and lie on the ground face down again, and thrashed us with the leather belts. Some of the practitioners buttocks were covered in blood and some fainted as a result of the torture. From that day on, the guards frequently tortured us in this way. We went on a hunger strike to protest their brutality. To punish us, they shackled our limbs, and force-fed us by inserting thick tubes into our noses and forcing food down. The excruciating pain that this caused is indescribable.

The reasons the security department gave for my detention were totally absurd. Once, while shopping in the market, I came across a few practitioners that I knew from my previous detention. While we were saying hello to one another, the policemen rushed at us, accused us of having an assembly, and forcefully took us to the police station. At the station, the policemen dragged us, with our heads downward and feet upward, from the third floor to the ground floor. Then they dragged us into police cars and took us to a detention center.

The reasons given for my labor camp sentences were also absurd. Once, some policemen forced their way into my house and asked me if I would continue practicing Falun Gong. I said I would and explained that the practice had benefited me tremendously. I was immediately arrested and sent for detention. Later I was sent to a forced labor camp. I experienced all kinds of torture there, and under the extremely difficult circumstances, I went on a hunger strike to protest the treatment. To punish me, the guards cuffed my hands and legs and made an inmate sit on my stomach. Then they force-fed me through the mouth. I felt that I would die at any moment.

As a result of the months-long torture I experienced in this labor camp, my health deteriorated rapidly and I frequently vomited blood. Fearful that I would die in their custody, the guards released me.

When I was home, the policemen and officials from the Security Department persistently and continuously harassed me. My family life was seriously disrupted. Even my neighbors were affected. At midnight on May 25, 2001, I was awakened by a group of people shouting and yelling. They smashed my windows, and stormed into my house. Although I was only dressed in underwear, I was handcuffed and not allowed to put on any other clothes. My husband was not home that night and my two children were so scared by what they were witnessing that they started screaming. My neighbors heard the noise and came to help. The guards, when scolded, yelled back at my neighbors, "No one is allowed to interfere. We were instructed to do this." They took me to a police station and detained me there, but I managed to escape. To avoid being kidnapped again, and though still frail from my previous detention, I lived the life of a homeless person for half a year.

In December 2001, I appealed in Beijing again. I was reported and once again imprisoned in a forced labor camp. They tried to brainwash me there and tortured me by not allowing me to sleep for a long time. Under the extreme pressure and in a state of confusion, I signed statements denouncing Falun Gong.

I now solemnly declare that all the statements that I made during my imprisonment in the labor camp are null and void. I will continue practicing Falun Gong. I would urge people in China not to believe the lies and vicious propaganda against Falun Gong. I ask them to rely on their hearts to discern right from wrong. It is important that the people in China join practitioners to stop the persecution and lay a foundation for a good future for themselves.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/9/16/36646.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version