Name: Yan Zongfang (阎宗芳)
Gender: Female
Age: 60
Address: Dongtu Company Dormitory, Liu Jia Ally, Cangxi City, Sichuan
Occupation: Retiree of a food company
Date of Most Recent Detention: NA
Most Recent Place of Detention: NA
City: NA
Province: Sichuan
Persecution suffered: Forced Labor, Torture, Physical Confinement, Beating, Forced Feeding, Public Humiliation, Electric Shock, Sleep Deprivation

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Yan Zongfang became physically and mentally healthy after she started practicing Falun Gong. During the ten years of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Yan has been detained and persecuted in forced labor camps for more than eight years. Severe beatings, being forced to wear handcuffs and shackles and forced to parade through the streets, and being subjected to tortures labeled "wrapping the silkworm with silks," "planting the seedlings," and other torture methods designed by the CCP have resulted in Ms. Yan's inability to walk or take care of herself.

From 2000 to 2009, using various schemes and false accusations, the county State Security Brigade and the local 610 Office have arrested Ms. Yan five times. Accused of of "undermining the enforcement of the law," she was imprisoned for eight and a half years. During this period of time, she was deprived of the right to appeal or defend herself.

While Ms. Yan was detained in prison, the police used a method called "wrapping the silkworm with silks" to torture her. This method included dipping a thin hemp rope into a pot of boiling water until it swelled, then tying Ms. Yan's hands behind her back with the hemp rope, causing excruciating pain. Because of the pain, Ms. Yan lost consciousness quickly. There was another method called "planting the seedling" (a posture resembling a farmer planting a seedling in a field), in which Ms. Yan was forced to stand still in the "planting the seedling" posture without being allowed to make any movements. Criminal prisoners such as drug addicts were provoked into beating her repeatedly on her chest, lower abdomen, snf ribs. The scars on her neck caused by the beatings still haven't healed. Because of the severe beatings, Ms. Yan has difficulty breathing, talking and walking, and she feels pressure in her organs. Her feet and legs are swollen, and she cannot take care of herself.

Ms. Yan was also forced to do hard labor for over 13 hours every day. She was not allowed to use the toilet more than three times per day. She was forced to stand and sit in an army pose. She was locked in a confinement cell without given drinking water. When the wardens weren't happy, they punched and kicked her, as well shocked her with electric batons and deprived her of sleep.

Before Ms. Yan started practicing Falun Gong, she suffered from a variety of illnesses including hepatitis, stones, mouth ulcers, breast tumors, uterine tumors, cerebral sclerosis, rhinitis, rheumatism, and other ailments. After she took up the practice, all her diseases disappeared. She truly felt the comfort and happiness of being in a state free of illness.

During the past eight plus years, Ms. Yan has suffered a large amount of inhumane persecution and torture by the police and criminal inmates. When she was held in the detention center in Cangxi County, she was forced to wear handcuffs and shackles. She was also on death row for more than sixty days. She was denied use of the toilet and as a result, she defecated and urinated on the bed. She later developed illness symptoms including body pain, lack of oxygen, and she felt disoriented. The pain she experienced was excruciating.

When Ms. Yan was held in the Cangxi County, she was forced by CCP personnel to parade through the streets, as public humiliation. The CCP showed its true nature by mistreating and humiliating a 60-year-old person, who has done no wrong to society, in such a cruel way!

During the eight and a half years that Ms. Yan was detained, her retirement pension was suspended by the Chinese Communist authorities. To this date, they haven't compensated her whatsoever.

August 27, 2009