(Minghui.org) Mr. Sun Jianfeng, 54, of Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, was sentenced to six years and four months on January 15, 2020, and sent to Shizuishan Prison, where he was subjected to brutal torture.
After his release, Mr. Sun recounted the persecution he suffered in prison:
“For a period of time, I was repeatedly taken to a small field whenever Zhang Yanjun, the deputy head of the division, was on duty. There, Zhang shocked my head, face, mouth, ear, neck, legs, and hands with an electric baton, leaving scabs on the areas that were struck. He instructed someone to remove my socks and shoes and pin me to the wet ground, before shocking me again. They would also pin my hands and legs to the ground and strike me with a plastic pipe, causing my legs to bleed profusely. They also used plastic pipes and bamboo sticks to hit my thighs and buttocks, causing bruising.”
Mr. Sun used to work at the power station of Lanzhou Railroad Bureau. He was repeatedly arrested and incarcerated for refusing to renounce his faith in Falun Gong.
In 1999, Mr. was arrested and taken to Zhongning County Detention Center and tied up during his detention. In October 2000, he was taken to Beijing and sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor, which was later extended by another six months.
Then, in 2002, Mr. Sun was given another three years of forced labor. After his release, his workplace monitored him for nearly two years, as he refused to renounce his faith.
In January 2007, police and officers from the 610 Office arrested him at his dormitory and sent him to Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center in Lanzhou City. There, he was force-fed and given unknown drugs, made to freeze outside in the snow, held in solitary confinement for more than 50 days with his hands cuffed behind his back, and hung up for 72 days.
In March 2012, Mr. Sun was again arrested and later sentenced to five and a half years. In the Ningxia Prison Entry Education Center and Yinchuan Prison, he was beaten, sleep deprived, and forced to sit on a small stool. By the time he was released in September 2017, he had lost most of his teeth, and completely lost his ability to chew. His lower back was also injured and his hair had turned gray. He was extremely frail and emaciated, and appeared to be in a daze.
Mr. Sun filed an administrative complaint with Xingqing District Court in May 2018, demanding that Yinchuan Prison stop persecuting Falun Gong, and compensate him for his dental injuries and mental trauma. He also demanded to hold prison guards Hu Jianqiao, Lu Wei and Duan Mingliang accountable for torturing him.
The Yinchuan City Intermediate Court held a hearing of his case on August 15, 2018. Instead of seeing justice served, Mr. Sun was arrested again more than a month later and detained for 13 days.
Mr. Sun was distributing Falun Gong informational materials in a residential area on December 31, 2018, when a security guard saw him and reported him to police. He was later taken to Zhongning County Detention Center. His arrest was subsequently approved.
He was tried by the Shapotou District Court on January 7, 2020, and sentenced to six years and four months on January 15. He was first taken to the Ningxia Prison Entry Education Center and then transferred to Shizuishan Prison less than a month later.
“I was distributing Falun Gong informational materials in a residential area in Yinghai Residential Complex, Zhongning County on December 31, 2018, when a security guard thought I was trying to steal an electric bike and reported me to the police. The Zhongning Procuratorate subsequently approved my arrest, and I was later sentenced to six years and four months. I appealed to the Zhongwei City Intermediate Court, but the verdict was upheld.
“I was sent to the admission team at the Ningxia Prison Entry Education Center in April 2020. All newly admitted inmates were told to pledge allegiance to and support the Communist Party, but I refused and was placed under ‘strict management.’
“Anyone who has a faith was classified as a high-priority prisoner, and an inmate would be assigned to monitor the person. An inmate was sent to my cell to monitor my movements. I was not allowed to talk about qigong, faith, or the law. No one was allowed to talk to me casually. I had to keep my legs straight in front of me when I sat down and was not allowed to fold them. I was also not allowed to close my eyes, nor allowed to leave the cell at night while the rest of the inmates went to the lobby to watch TV. I was confined to the cell with a few inmates watching me constantly.
“A month later, I was sent to Shizuishan Prison. All newly admitted prisoners were instructed to stand in line in the field. After my attendance was noted, a few inmates wearing red vests came over and put a black hood over my head. With one on each side, they twisted my arms behind my back and dragged me to a location. I later learned that I was sent to the Sixteen Division, also known as the high security division.
“I was held in the Fifth Team (I learned later that fellow practitioner Mr. Luan Ning was also in the same team). Every day, someone would stand in the hallway and shout commands for everyone to stand for half an hour, with five minutes allowed for sitting down. I was not allowed to rest at night and had to continue the training until it was bedtime. I was forced to stand for over ten hours every day until my legs became swollen and painful. I felt nauseous and dizzy, and my eyeballs bulged.
“After three months, I heard an inmate on duty report that Mr. Luan was doing the Falun Gong exercises. What followed were rapid footsteps of a group of inmates and Mr. Luan shouting “Falun Dafa is good” repeatedly as he was dragged away.
“A few days later, I heard a group of inmates shouting at Mr. Luan to sit properly and upright, keeping his eyes open. The inmates were arranged to monitor Mr. Luan around the clock, and I heard how each group of inmates would give instructions to the next group on duty on how to torture Mr. Luan. I was saddened to hear this and wanted to give feedback to the prison chief. When the deputy head of the division asked me what I would do if the prison chief refused to see me, I said that I would no longer attend the training.
“The prison chief didn’t come. I decided to stop attending the training after a week. I stood motionless from morning to night. The inmates on duty said that no one in the division had ever done this. The shouting and scolding continued from where Mr. Luan was being held. I was also jolted awake at night by their voices. Sometimes, I would see Mr. Luan being taken away with his arms twisted behind his back, while wearing a black hood. He would return shortly after.
“I knew an inmate Li Jian from the time I was serving in Yinchuan Prison. He was on duty in the strict management division and was later transferred to Shizuishan Prison. He is currently the director of the discipline inspection commission at the Sixteenth Division.
“The Sixteenth Division was formed by gathering nearly 40 prisoners from various production divisions, and a group of ten inmates would be chosen to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. As personnel changes from time to time, many people do not know those specifically involved in the persecution. To resist the persecution, I continued to stand motionless for more than ten days, until my joints became so stiff that I had difficulty finally moving.
“Inmate Li told me one day that the division was going to intensify the persecution soon, and suggested that I start the training again to loosen my joints. I thought that it was a good idea and started joining the training again.
“A few days later, Zhang Yanjun, the deputy head of the division, brought a few people over and sealed the door and windows with black cloth. They forced me to sit on a plastic stool without legs. Two of them sat beside me and instructed me not to bend my waist or neck. I was not allowed to straighten my legs or move at all.
“They attempted to put the photo of Falun Gong’s teacher under my feet and buttocks, but I refused to let them. Then, they pasted his photo on a vat. I was also taken to a small field and made to wear a straitjacket and a black hood over my head that was sprayed with pepper water. I had to stand in the same position from morning to noon time.
“The prison set up another team to intensify the persecution. The team consisted of the prison chief, head of education, head of division, and five deputy head leaders. A group of inmates were also selected from the production unit to be involved in the persecution. I heard that the prison also invited an expert from Beijing to assist them.
“Zhang procured two wooden stools. Each stool was made from three irregularly shaped, flat wooden boards that were the size of a small hand, nailed together. One side had a row of nails with the heads protruding, while the other side had a metal strip attached. We were made to sit on them while in an empty room. The inmates refused to allow us to use the restroom, drink water, or do anything at all. We were sleep-deprived, and often woken up every hour by the inmates. We slept on a very dirty straw mattress. Mr. Luan was also held in a similar room.
“The persecution lasted for about three months. I was sent to the same room that once held Mr. Luan after he was hospitalized as a result of the torture. The room had nothing but a vat that held water.
“As I refused to cooperate with them, they took out the wooden stool and forced me to sit on it. I braced my feet against the tatami mat while three inmates surrounded me and grabbed my hands, waist, and thighs forcefully, causing bruises. An inmate took a pen and scratched it repeatedly against my back. They also used a paperclip to poke my back, thigh, and arms. They caught houseflies and stuffed them into my shirt. I was also verbally abused. I was given very little rice and not allowed to use the restroom during the day. My knees became numb after more than ten days and I couldn’t stand up.
“The took me back to the cell again and gave me only half the usual amount of food. I was given one bun and just a few pieces of vegetables for lunch. In the afternoon, I was given only a few strands of noodles swimming in soup. The training intensified, and I was given very little time to rest.
“The inmates did not allow the windows to be closed tightly during the winter. My thick clothes were confiscated. I was very cold and couldn’t sleep at night. I tried to stay close to the wall. My blanket became as stiff as metal.
“I was later transferred to the Thirteenth Team. The room had only a tatami mat and a vat. The wall was very dirty and the bed was covered with dust. The air was so dry that my nose bled. I was not given any daily necessities and continued to have very little food.
“I became emaciated. I was often gasping for breath. My legs were weak; I walked unsteadily and couldn’t stand firmly. My eyelids felt very heavy and I had to keep blinking to stay awake. I didn’t have the strength to speak to the inmates. At night, I couldn’t sleep due to the hunger. I was given the nickname “Zombie.”
“One day, Zhang took me out of the cell and gave me a small cloth. He instructed me to clean the hallway with it. Afterwards, he changed it to a slightly bigger cloth. I was not allowed to rest. Then they changed it to a bigger cloth after a few days. An inmate monitored me as I wiped the floor. I was not allowed to lift my head or straighten my back, and I couldn’t look sideways.
“Later, they brought over a very heavy cloth soaked with water. It took two inmates to carry it. As I wiped the floor, an inmate would continue pouring water on it. I sweated profusely, but was not allowed any water to drink. The weather had turned warm, but I was not allowed to change my clothes. I was also not allowed to shower, shave, cut my hair or nails.
“When I was not cleaning the floor, I would be forced to attend the intensified training from morning to night. I had to squat and stand the whole day.
“The strict management team set up an intensified class and I was taken there. We had to stomp our feet constantly every day. Everyone sweated profusely. Others were allowed to have more food, but I wasn’t. This lasted for one and a half years. One day, the team leader told me that it was not realistic for me to continue resisting the persecution, as I still had several years to serve.
“When winter arrived, the inmates opened the windows to allow the cold air in, causing me to freeze. I was not allowed to sleep in the afternoon and could only sit or stand. I was often locked up alone, and rarely had someone to talk to.
“After I wrote that it is not wrong to practice Falun Gong during an exam, a team leader took me to a small field at night and started striking my bare feet with a plastic pipe. My feet became swollen and bruised. I was later sent for intensive training for two months.”
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