(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Shen Xiaodu is a 56-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. His grandfather, Mr. Shen Junru, was one of the primary founders of the China Democratic League. He was a barrister, known as one of the famous "Patriotic Seven Gentlemen," and was the first head of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China.

Shen Xiaodu is being tortured at the Xinhua Forced Labor Camp in Jinyang City, Sichuan Province. When Shen Xiaodu was first sent to the No.3 Group, 6^th Brigade of Xinhua Forced Labor Camp for practicing Falun Gong, he missed his son very much. He signed the so-called "guarantee statement" against his will, after he was deceived into thinking that he could get in touch with his family by phone if he complied. When the police then required him to write the "Three Statements," Shen Xiaodu realized the police were conspiring against him, and he tried to take back the "Guarantee Statement" [Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners]. Then, the persecution intensified. Everyday, he was forced to stand and squat in military style for hours. The police tortured him in the name of "training" and pushed him beyond his physical limit. Between April 2002 and August 2002, Shen Xiaodu could not go to bed until 2 a.m. and had to get up at 5 a.m.; sometimes he could not go to bed until 4 a.m. and had to get up just an hour later.

At the same time, he was being watched by several criminals, the so-called "personal cangues"[A cangue is an instrument of torture, and the term is now used for people who are designated to control the behavior of a practitioner with force]. In August 2002, Shen Xiaodu was targeted as someone who needed to be "transformed." During the hottest days of summer, he was forced to run laps, boxed in by the personal cangues, until he could no longer run. Then, he was forced to walk "duck steps" (squatting with two hands crossed in front of his chest, each touching the opposite ankle, while trying to walk at the same time.) Next, he was made to stand up and squat alternately until the police were satisfied. In addition, he was not allowed to wash his face or brush his teeth. The inmates were ordered to grab and pinch his face and parts of his body, and to make him sit with a book inbetween his shins. He was not allowed to let the book slip out. They used bamboo chopsticks to hit his fingers and nails, injuring the third finger on his right hand to the point where it did not recover for about 10 months. As the guards had done, the inmates forced him to stand and squat alternately hundreds of times.

Because Shen Xiaodu never gave in, he was then taken to the brick kiln of the 4^th Group of the 4^th Brigade (hottest kiln at the Xinhua Forced Labor Camp). First, they put him in the "Cold Gate" (which is above 40^oC, 104^oF). Then, they put him in the "Middle Gate" (which is above 60^oC, 140^oF). When Shen Xiaodu did not give up, he was put in the "Fire Gate" (which is above 80^oC, 176^oF). Shen Xiaodu still refused to give in. The "Fire Gate" that he was put in was not a regular one; it had just been opened. The temperature was extremely high, and the bricks were still glowing. The police directed the inmates to take a glowing brick to burn Shen, who was only wearing a tank top, and he was made to stand with his back facing the wall. Normally, when the inmates pick up the bricks, even in the summer, they have to wear padded pants and jackets, and they have to switch every two minutes, with a powerful fan on at the same time. Shen Xiaodu is 56 years old, and he was in there for five minutes--until his personal cangues could not stand it any more. It was only then that he was let out of there. On the second day, the police were going to subject Shen Xiaodu to this torture again. They gave up when they saw the blisters on his back.

This is written as an appeal to friends and relatives of Mr. Shen Junru around the world, fellow Democratic League members and people from all walks of life: please pay attention to what is happening to Shen Xiaodu and do what you can to secure his release.