Criminal inmates are recruited, taught torture techniques, and given rewards such as reduced sentences for persecuting practitioners.

Mr. He Zhi Dies in Custody in Guangxi Prison

Name: He Zhi 
Gender: Male
Age: 48
Address: Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Occupation: Computer Science Teacher in Baise City Third High School
Date of Death: April 2009
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 2, 2004
Most recent place of detention: Guangxi Regional Prison in Litang Town, Binyang County, Nanning City 
City: Nanning
Province: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Persecution Keywords: Torture

At midnight on August 2, 2004, more than one dozen officers arrested Mr. He Zhi at his home and confiscated his two computers along with truth clarifying CDs. His wife was working the night shift, and their ten year old daughter was left alone at home. The police detained Mr. He in the Youjiang District Detention Center. At the beginning of 2005, the Youjinag District Court sentenced him to eight years in prison.

At the beginning of April 2009, Mr. He died in Litang Prison. A source said his death was very tragic. His wife went to his funeral at the prison and was severely threatened. When she returned home, she did not dare to live in her home or speak about her husband's death. She keeps silent, and Mr. He's parents still do not know about his death.

Many practitioners are still detained in Litang Prison, and some of them have been there eight or nine years. They must have endured numerous tortures based on how emaciated they are and how weak their voices are. The details of how Mr. He died and how practitioners are being brutally mistreated are yet to be revealed.

Hunan Province Women's Prison Trains Inmates to Mistreat Falun Gong Practitioners

At the Hunan Province Women's Prison, guards have recruited a group of vicious inmates and trained them to abuse Falun Gong practitioners.

With false accusations of Falun Gong, such as the staged Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation incident, to provoke hatred toward practitioners, Officials incited inmates to mistreat practitioners, using incentives including extra credits, promotions, and term reductions.

Information related to certain inmates and their crimes

Partial list of inmates trained to persecute Falun Gong practitioners:

Liu Qin, 47, convicted of financial wrongdoing, from the northeast, has a Master's degree (Following training by 610 Office agents, they authorized her to be in charge of "reforming" practitioners by brainwashing. She is given special privileges within the prison and behaves like a "police criminal.")

Yan Meiying, 42, convicted of murder, from Yongzhou, Hunan Province

Liu Yan, 30, thief, from the northeast, her term is 15 years

Xiang Lianhua, 50, convicted of fraud, from Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province

Gan Lingyuan, 50, convicted of fraud

He Ying, 50, convicted of economic fraud, from Beijing

The inmates' persecution methods

The prison has established seven brainwashing cells to target Falun Gong practitioners who have refused to "reform." Each cell holds one practitioner and three inmates. If the practitioner shouts "Falun Dafa is good" or "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" or refuses to "reform," the inmates' terms will be extended; however, if the inmates make the practitioner "reform" and give up Falun Gong practice, regardless of what method they use, they will earn credits, a promotion, or term reduction.

The inmates use the following abusive methods:

Standing for prolonged periods: guards take a steadfast practitioner to the brainwashing cell and hand her over to the three inmates. The inmates force her to stand 24 hours a day, no sleep allowed. If she shuts her eyes for a tiny moment or moves at all, the inmates beat and kick her. They hit her on the head and won't stop until she loses consciousness and collapses. They also limit her food and water as well as toilet privileges until she is "reformed." The practitioner becomes muddle-headed and exhibits symptoms of physical disorder, for example, even being unaware of losing bladder control. Due to the prolonged standing, the practitioner's legs swell and become extremely painful; the legs become numb and she eventually collapses. While her legs are swollen, the inmates force her to squat by pushing her shoulders down. With legs swollen and numb, the practitioner's muscles, blood vessels, tissues, and knees suffer severe internal trauma, which is not detectable on the surface. The practitioner's legs hurt so severely that she cannot fall asleep or wakes up from the pain. She walks very slowly, with great difficulty, and can even become incapacitated or paralyzed.

Hanging: If a practitioner clarifies the facts and protests the persecution and says "Falun Dafa is good" or "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good," the inmates knock her down, gag her with a filthy rag, and report to the guards. The guards handcuff her to the metal bar at the top of the bunk bed and let the inmates torture her at will. With the guards' approval, the inmates would knock a stool out from under the practitioners' feet and let her entire bodyweight hang from her handcuffs. This torture can cause the bones in her hand to fracture. Ms. Yin Hong from Changde, Hunan Province, was a victim of this torture, but the prison authorities refused to have her treated; moreover, they forced her to peel beans in icy water. As a result her skin festered, her fingers got deformed, and her fingernails came off.

Incidents of Abuse

Serving time for fraud, Gan Lingyuan gained credits for persecuting Falun Gong and has been promoted to cell leader. She monitors other people's financial resources and takes possession of the food they buy.

Liu Yan, a thief, often beats practitioners and intimidates them by claiming, "It will not cost me a thing if I kill you. I'll say you died of cultivation insanity. Then I get a term reduction to be released early--that's guaranteed."

Criminal Liu Qin regularly cursed and beat two practitioners who refused to "reform:" Ms. Wang Manzhi from Yongzhou, Hunan Province, and Ms. Yang Su, an engineer.

Liu Qin has also kept practitioner Ms. Zhang Xinyi from speaking to anyone. In addition, she forced her to peel beans in icy water. Ms. Zhang is nearsighted and works very slowly. She had to work like a slave for 21 hours a day for several months, from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., to finish her quota.

Inmates Yan Meiying and He Ying have tortured practitioner Ms. Zhang Furong until her legs were severely injured. Ms. Zhang could not squat and had great difficulty walking.

Prison head Zhao Lan incites inmates to persecute practitioners, "guaranteeing they will not be held responsible and their terms will be reduced if they participate in 'disciplining' (Falun Gong practitioners), even if the practitioners die." At the same time she pretends to care for practitioners in front of them. She has transferred inmates who refuse to participate in the mistreatment and abuse to other wards within the prison.