July 18, 2003

(Clearwisdon.net) Disabled Dafa practitioner Mr. Yan Yutao was illegally imprisoned at a detention center for remaining steadfast in his belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance." Afterwards, he was transferred to a prison, and still suffers from persecution to this day.

Yan Yutao is from Zhijiang City, Hubei Province. When he was 18 years old, the upper part of his left leg was crushed in a car accident, and had to be amputated. This left him with both physical and mental trauma. Eventually, Yan started to practice Falun Gong. The wonderful effects of the practice greatly improved the condition of both his mind and body. When his friends and relatives saw the great change, they all expressed their admiration of Falun Gong.

Falun Dafa has brought Yan a brand-new life. Since Jiang's regime started to persecute Falun Gong, Yan clarified the truth to the government, appealed, and distributed flyers. He told people the facts, that Falun Gong helps people improve their mind and body, and that it is being persecuted. As a result, Yan was illegally imprisoned, sentenced to jail terms, and abused by the police.

The mistreatment at the detention center caused a deformity in Yan's left leg. When he was put in jail, his one-meter artificial leg could not be used any more, and he could only move by hopping on one leg. When going up or downstairs, he could only hop. Still, the prisoners designated to watch him constantly scolded and demeaned him.

The work at the brickyard of the Fanjiatai Jail is very physically demanding. Even to those prisoners who have healthy legs and arms, it is a daunting and terrifying work environment. Unable to bear the pressure, some prisoners would commit suicide from time to time. A few days after Yan was imprisoned, guard Wang Jiaqing ordered each of the two prisoners designated to watch him to drag Yan to the work site by pulling him by the arms. His good leg was dragged along the ground, making a slapping sound.

Several months later, the guards transferred him to another isolated prison area in order to cover any evidence of persecution. Yan was often forced to sit on a small plastic stool for as long as a whole day. He was not allowed to move or talk. Sometimes he was prevented from sleeping for several consecutive days. Such persecution remained unchanged up to May 2003.

Although guard He Ping shouted, "We must defeat him, defeat him," Fanjiatai Prison of Shayang Labor Camp could not break him down. Yan Yutao always maintained his rock-solid righteous thoughts and righteous actions.

Yan always dressed properly. He carefully wrapped the upper end of his left leg with the bottom of his pants. When talking with the police, he always stood erect, and maintained righteousness with dignity. He always managed to do general grooming and to queue up for lunch by himself. One day on his way to the work site, he fell on the slippery floor. A practitioner nearby immediately went to help him up, but he stood up very quickly by himself. Perfectly calm and collected, he walked on.

When he first arrived at the Fanjiatai Prison of Shayang Labor Camp, guards Xiao Tianbo and Duan Yu said to him, "Don't you know that you have violated the law?" He replied, "I don't acknowledge this evil law." Hence, the guards intensified the persecution. They forced him to do heavy labor, tried to brainwash him, exhausting every insult and deceitful method. Yet Yan remained steadfast in Dafa nonetheless.

The guards tortured him relentlessly, taking turns continuously to attempt to brainwash him. They even took him to an office where seven or eight guards would attack him. Seeing that nothing would work, the guards isolated him to persecute him. Several months later, the prisoners who knew the truth came back and said, "Yan Yutao is great. He has a strong mind and iron arms!" The guards were all afraid of Yan when they saw him. They were afraid of his unwavering righteousness.

Posting date: 8/1/2003
Original article date: 7/31/2003
Category: Eye Witness Accounts
Translated on 7/25/2003
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/7/18/54195.html

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