Ms. Zhang's Personal Account of Her Horrific Experiences

1. Tortured, Arms Disabled

In November 2000, I was sentenced to six years in prison for appealing for the right to practice Falun Gong in Beijing. I was imprisoned in Jiangxi Province Women's Prison. In prison, I was tortured repeatedly over a long period of time. Guard Xiong Ming, commander of prisoners in confined cells; guard Wan Mingying, political director of the third corps; as well as inmates Zhu Weiqing, Shu Yingjing, Wang Xia, Xie Mingxia, and Zhang Ruping physically mistreated and tortured me. They hung me up with my hands shackled behind my back and exposed me to the baking sun. I was confined, there was no drinking water or bath water, and I was handcuffed for long periods of time. I was handcuffed to a metal door frame, a window, or a bed 24 hours a day for more than a year.

The long term torture I endured left my arms disabled. I lost total use of my arms. I require full time care because I need help to dress, undress, eat, take a bath, and wash my hands and feet.

When my term ended on November 10, 2006, I was not released because I was disabled. Instead, to cover up how they had mistreated me, they escorted me to the Jiangxi Province Women's Forced Labor Camp for three more years. I was released from this labor camp on November 9, 2009. Today, I cannot straighten or bend my arms or fingers and am disabled for life.

2. Hung Up with My Hands Shackled behind my Back for Over 10 Hours

On September 19, 2005, guard Xiong Ming told inmate monitors (the inmates who were assigned by the guards to closely monitor and torture me) Shu Yingjing and Zhu Weiqing to drag me from the fourth floor down the stairs and expose me to the heat and sun for more than 4 hours. Then, Xiong ordered inmates Wang Xi, Xie Mingxia, Zhang Ruping, and another 4 or 5 inmates to pull my arms behind my back and make me "fly." I was then hung on the upper corner of a metal window in the restroom used by the guards who monitor the confined cells. They taped my month shut so I could not call out and so that others would remain unaware that I was being tortured. I hung there from 3:00 p.m to 2:00 a.m, more than 11 hours. My arms became paralyzed and I felt that I was dying. I was not lowered by Xiong Ming until I agreed to be "transformed." Once on the ground, I broke down. They humiliated me by calling me dirty, evil names, and coerced me into writing the "three statements." My hands would just hang. The guards had to hold my hands to guide them to write.

On September 20, 2005, guards Xiong Ming and Wan Mingying shouted at me, "Are the 'three statements' ready? Did you write them yourself?" I said, "I cannot even move my hands, let alone write. They held my hand and wrote the statements." Wan shouted angrily, "What? What? Go! Go! Go downstairs! Go downstairs!"

They dragged me to the same place where they hung me the day before. I was hung up for over 3 hours, from 8:00 a.m. to past 11:00 a.m. I was experiencing one disaster after another and by this time I was barely breathing.

It was lunchtime, but I was not allowed to eat. Instead they forced me to march back and forth. When I turned left, I slid because my right shoulder was dislocated and I couldn't control it. Wan Mingying scolded me for not marching correctly. He shouted, "Hold you arm."

I replied, "I cannot control my arm. I need to see a doctor."

Wan shouted, "Do not ask me for anything."

I was hungry, thirsty, and begging, "I need water, please!"

Wang said, "When you march correctly, you will get water."

Wan wanted to leave so he ordered the inmate monitors to tie my hands to the headboard of a bed. I was to stand beside the bed and recite the prison rules. I was hung with my hands shackled behind my back for over 14 hours in two days. I was delirious and followed their commands like a person in a trance. I could not speak. Wan Mingying told the inmate monitors to keep me awake until midnight.

After Wan Mingying left, inmate monitor Zhu Weiqing noticed that I was close to breaking down and allowed me to drink some water and put me to bed. After dark I felt nauseous and asked the inmate monitor to help me get up. Before my feet reached the ground, I began vomiting. The inmate monitor went to tell the guards. Later, Wan Mingying came back, yelling, "Tell me what? There was some vomited yellow fluid. Did you vomit yellow fluid?"

I could not eat for 10 days, I could only drink water. Because my upper body was in a great deal of pain, I could not sleep. On September 29, a prison doctor was unable to take my blood pressure because my hands were too swollen. I was in critical condition. He reported my condition to the general prison section and asked that I get an X-ray the next day.

On September 30, I was taken to the prison bureau hospital by the prison ward CCP secretary Ren, guard Xiong Ming, and the prison medical section chief, Xia. After the X-ray, director Zhu of the hospital let a doctor admit me to the hospital. My hands were extremely swollen and had lost all feeling. Hospital President Xiong touched my hands and asked, "Your hands are in such bad shape. Is it the result of being hung up with your hands shackled behind your back?"

I replied, "Yes."

He then asked me, "Do your hands hurt or are they numb when you extend them? I will prescribe you some medicine."

They arranged for two inmates, Zhu Weiqing and Shu Yingjing, to take care of me because I could not care for myself.

On October 8, I had a second X-ray. The X-ray doctor asked my name. I said that my name was Zhang Yuzhen. The doctor told Zheng, guard of in-patients, "Her name is misspelled. You should correct it. If you do not correct, I will not be held responsible for any future problems."

The doctor said that twice, but guard Zheng did not correct the spelling of my name.

Later, when the province procuratorate was investigating my case, an investigator asked me, "Did you ever use another name?"

I replied, "No. I have only one name. It is Zhang Yuzhen."

Officer Ai from the procuratorate asked me again, "Are you called Zhang Xiaoling?"

I said, "No." The guards in the prison intentionally misspelled my name and never corrected it because they did not want to be held responsible for their mistreatment.

I was in the hospital from September 30 to October 10. I was diagnosed with "extensive soft tissue damage in the hands, partial dislocation of the right shoulder, high blood pressure, heart disease, fever, heat stroke, etc." I had never had a history of illness. These conditions were the result of having my hands shackled behind my back for long hours.

During my 10-day stay in the hospital as a patient with paralysis, I received 7 bottles of intravenous drip every day, from morning to night. Although not fully recovered, on October 10, saying that an AIDS patient needed to be admitted immediately, they released me from the hospital. The swelling had just started to go down. I was taken to the gate of the in-patients department in a wheelchair. A man carried me and put me in a police car and transported to the prison. Inmate Sun Shuqin and three other inmates carried me to my cell on the fourth floor.

In November 2005, I begged for someone to mail my complaint to the Changleng Procuratorate. Several days later, the prison political commissar Zhu Liang and deputy warden Wei Qiuling, who served as an investigator later, called me to an office on the fifth floor. I said that I had written a complaint to the Changleng Procuratorate and had someone mail it for me. To my surprise, political commissar Zhu said, "Yes, I have the letter here. I will tell them about the complaint myself." He "comforted" me, "Muscle injury or a fractures will heal in 100 days."

On December 18, 2005, as my release date neared, section chief Zhong Yunhua of the education section of the prison, deputy section chief Wang Lixing, and guard Xiong Ming took me to the Provincial Secondary Affiliated Hospital for a physical exam. The day before the exam, Xiong Ming ordered me to take a shower. Before leaving for the exam, she ordered inmate Lei Donglian to comb my hair and adjust my clothes. In the hospital, doctor Liao questioned me about how my injury occurred. I said that it was the result of being hung up for 14 hours with my hands shackled behind my back on September 19 and 20, 2005. Doctor Liao ordered an X-ray. I never saw the X-ray examination or physical exam results. The doctor told me, "You have periarthritis in the shoulders or inflammation of tissues around a joint. Avoid cold. Keep them warm. Apply hot water bottles to your arms."

I asked the doctor, "When will they recover?"

The doctor replied, "Without physical therapy, they won't recover in your lifetime."

I was shocked, because that meant I would be permanently disabled.

On the day my prison term was to end, guards pushed me into a police car and drove me to the Jiangxi Province Women's Forced Labor Camp. I was given another three-year term. I was finally released on November 9, 2009. I would like to know which law gave the Jiangxi Province Women's Prison the right to subject me to another three years of forced labor after I completed the original prison term? This was an outrage.

During the three years of forced labor, I did not not have enough to eat and was beaten and verbally abused. Inmate monitors extorted money from me for their help. I was not allowed to wash up or use the bathroom because my disability kept me from doing forced labor. I was forced to do cleaning with disabled hands. There was also a failed attempt to extend my jail term for an additional 64 days.

3. Complaints Getting Nowhere, Officers Shifting Responsibility

I was released on November 9, 2009. On November 16, I filed a complaint with Director Yan and Office Manager Zhu of the Province Prison Bureau. In the complaint, I stated that I was seeking monetary compensation for the mistreatment I endured in prison and the resulting disability. Zhu said that I would get a reply in 15 days.

On the morning of November 27, section chief Li of the Women's Prison Punishment Office told me over the phone that they had turned down my compensation claim. That afternoon, I went to the prison bureau. Zhu and Li told me, "We are representing a decision that was made by the administration, and they affirm the prison's decision."

I repeatedly appealed to Chief Liao of the Complaints Division and Chief Li Li of the Prison Administration Division at the Procuratorate of Jiangxi Province. They both directed me to the administration at the Women's Prison and the Prison Bureau. Law enforcement System fails to abide by the law or enforce the law.

On the morning of December 4, I went to see Chief Li of the Prison Punishments Section and disciplining officers at the Women's Prison. I asked for compensation. They told me to get a judiciary evaluation from the Judiciary Evaluation Center in Shenzhou, Jiangxi Province.

In the afternoon on December 4, I went to the judiciary evaluation center. A forensic doctor asked me to show him my medical history from the prison hospital where I was admitted; otherwise, he could not give an evaluation. I immediately went to the hospital and asked section chief Liu of the Medical Administration Office to give me a copy of my medical history. Liu said, "The Prison Bureau does not allow public access to the medical reports without a written permit from the bureau."

I went to the prison as well as the Prison Bureau to apply for a copy of my medical history. They ignored my application. Not only was I unable to obtain a judicial evaluation about my injury, but my medical history, which showed that my injury was caused by being hung up with my hands shackled behind my back, was denied to me. A judge said that I was just a citizen trying to sue the government. Who filed the complaint, who collected the evidence? How could I collect evidence when all of the eyewitnesses were in prison?

The prison is withholding copies of my prison release record; my medical history, which was written by the prison doctor who verified my hand injury; the medicals records of when I was an in-patient at the prison bureau hospital; and a copy of my complaints. The forced labor camp is also withholding a copy of my complaints. The Jinxian County 610 Office is withholding my forced labor release record. All of the documentation for the last nine years, from when I was admitted to the prison and the forced labor camp, are being illegally and intentionally withheld by the authorities. Why are they withholding all of my records? Are they trying to cover up what they did to me?

Three months have passed since I was released from the labor camp. The police, the procuratorate, and the judiciary are passing my case back and forth, and none of them dares to uphold justice. Where is the law? Where is the justice?

I am disabled because I was persecuted and tortured. I cannot hold a bowl of rice, and I am unable to get a job. I am homeless, have no income, and no family. I am staying at a relative's home for now, but I am dependent on their kindness. One day seems as like one year. Don't I have the right to call for justice? I am only 43 years old and I have a long road ahead of me. How will I survive?

Mr. Pan Benyu, Who Saved Six Lives, Tortured and Imprisoned (Photo)

Name: Pan Benyu (潘本余 )
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Former Employee of Qiqihar Railroad Bureau Environment Sanitation Station
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 21, 2010
Most recent place of detention: Tailai Prison(泰来监狱 )
City: Qiqihar
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Beatings, Imprisonment, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Physical Restraint, Burned with cigarettes

Many cigarette burns and scars from scabies on Mr. Pan's body

Becoming a Good Person after Practicing Falun Gong and Helping to Save Six Lives

In the summer of 1997, one of Mr. Pan's neighbors gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun, and he started practicing Falun Gong. Reading the book changed him, and he got rid of many bad habits. Since then, he has tried to be a good person according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. In September 1997, at a railroad crossing near his home, two children on bikes collided on a railroad track and fell on the rails just as a train was approaching. Mr. Pan, who had been watching, rushed over and pushed both children out of harm's way. The train came so close that his clothes were caught and torn.

Mr. Pan also saved four persons from drowning in a river. One of them was a man in his thirties, Mr. Zhang, who was on the other side of the river when he got into trouble and cried for help. Mr. Pan jumped in the river to save him. Zhang grabbed Mr. Pan's arm so hard that the flesh was broken. Mr. Pan finally was able to pull him out with all his strength.

Suffering Brutal Persecution for Firm Beliefs

Mr. Pan has been repeatedly persecuted because he has refused to give up his Falun Gong practice. Shortly after the persecution started on July 20, 1999, he was sent to a brainwashing center for two months and then sentenced to one year of forced labor. He was detained in Nianzishan Forced Labor Camp in Qiqihar City, where he was beaten almost every day. He was also whipped with a plastic hose, hosed with cold water, burned with cigarettes, and beaten severely, among other tortures.

In July 2000, he was arrested and later sent to Fuyu Forced Labor Camp. He was put into a pig pen and beaten to unconsciousness. In August, 2002, he was sentenced to four years in prison and sent to Bei'an Prison.

In prison, Mr. Pan was kept in solitary confinement for more than 70 days. Other inmates beat him until his head bled. His hands were chained behind his back and to the floor. He was not able to sit or lay down. When he was unlocked 15 days later, he could no longer move his arms, and his blood pressure was dangerously low. He vomited and urinated blood. The flesh on his arms and wrists was rotting. He was in and out of consciousness, on the verge of death.

On April 30, 2006, the police tried to arrest him at his home, but he escaped and went into hiding. On December 8, 2009, two officers from Beijuzhai Police Station arrested him at his parents' home. At the station, he was handcuffed to the heating pipes. He was kicked really hard in his stomach. He was beaten to unconsciousness. When he was on the verge of death, he was taken to the Qiqihar Second Hospital.

Mr. Pan was sentenced to seven years in prison by the District Court in Tiefeng. On April 18, 2007, he was taken to Tailai Prison.

During his detention in Tailai Prison, Mr. Pan was tortured brutally and had symptoms of heart disease, liver ascites and myocardial infarction. He vomited blood and his head swelled badly. He was not able to take care of himself. Although he was close to death, the prison officials said that he would not be released unless he renounced Falun Gong. On May 22, 2009, the prison and the 610 Office let his family take him home on medical parole.

With gangrene in two spots, he was bedridden after he came home.

At around 8:00 a.m. on February 21, 2010, two officers from Beijuzhai Police Station in Qiqihar City and three prison guards from Tailai Prison went to Mr. Pan's home. They claimed that he needed to go for a mandatory annual physical examination associated with his medical parole and let his family pay 4,000 yuan for the exam. They then took him to the1st Hospital of Qiqihar City where they told his family that the examination fee could be waived if it was done at the prison. The family had no choice but to allow them to take Mr. Pan back to the prison. He has not been released since.

Tailai Prison is notorious for brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. According to the information available so for, five of them were tortured to death: Liang Jinyu on February 5, 2001, Pan Hongdong on May 15, 2005, Xu Linshan in December 2005, Liu Jingming on March 2, 2007, Lu Yuping on May 30, 2009.