(Minghui.org) A man who was recently released after serving three years in prison for practicing Falun Gong recounts the horrific torture he was subjected to for not renouncing his faith.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999 due to its immense popularity and revival of traditional values. Many practitioners who refused to give up their faith were sentenced to prison and tortured to try to force them to renounce their faith.
“Three years of torture left my body full of scars, but that won't change my faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” said Mr. Huang Futang, a 66-year-old native of Zibo City, Shandong Province, after being released from prison on March 21, 2019.
Below is his own account.
Assaulted by Police During Arrest
Niu Yong, the head of Jiazhuang Police Station, and other officers showed up at my home on March 22, 2016. Without identifying themselves, they surrounded me and beat me. One officer choked me while another covered my mouth.
After they knocked me down, I had difficulty breathing and was dizzy. They continued to hit me until I threw up. My shoulders became swollen. There were bruises on my back, and I fainted after one officer squeezed my testicles.
When I came to, my testicles were severely swollen and I had pain in my lower abdomen. Even though they eventually took me to be examined in the hospital, I was never treated. Even now, my testicles are still swollen and painful. I also experience sharp pain when I urinate. My hands and feet feel numb.
The officers ransacked my home and looted my tea shop. They threatened to kill me. During my three years prison, much of my tea stock went bad and I can't sell it. The financial loss I am now facing is huge.
The officers later took me to Zibo Detention Center. The guards often verbally abused me and beat me, because I refused to give up practicing Falun Gong.
I was charged with printing and distributing information about Falun Gong and talking to people about it. Nine months later I was sentenced to three years and transferred to Jinan Prison.
Tortured in Prison
I was taken to the 11th ward in Jinan Prison, also known as Shandong Provincial Prison, on December 15, 2016. Guard Li Wei instructed the inmates to take turns torturing me.
They often tied me up and left me on the floor all night long. They forced me to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. If I refused to watch, they beat me and verbally abused me. Sometimes they tied me up and left me standing on the stairs in the freezing cold.
Several inmates beat me and attempted to force me to drink diluted bleach in January 2017. I was in critical condition by February 9, 2017. The guards took me to the prison hospital and didn't let my family see me when they came to the hospital on February 24.
I wrote letters to complain about the torture. But when Chen Jianming, the head of the 11th ward, found out about them, he said to the inmates in front of me that they could torture me in any way they chose.
The torture intensified after that. The inmates locked me up and didn't let me use the restroom. I slept on the floor and had to relieve myself in my pants.
Because I encouraged two inmates not to waste food at breakfast on July 27, 2018, they dragged me to the bathroom and beat me. They stuffed a mop and socks in my mouth to prevent me from screaming. I was severely injured and unable to eat anything for two days.
When I complained to Chen, the head of the ward, he responded that “it's not a big deal.”
Between August 2018 to February 2019, I wrote several letters to the high court to complain about the torture. The guards withheld my letters and never mailed them.
In retaliation for my complaints, the inmates beat me even more. Many of my teeth loosened and I was usually unable to eat for several days after the beatings. Some inmates also threatened me that the prison authorities might extend my term if I continued to file complaints.
On the day of my release, the guards stripped off my clothes and searched me. They withheld all of my personal belongings, only returning to me the money my family had deposited for me to buy daily necessities there.
Related reports:
Shandong Man Beaten and Forced to Drink Diluted Bleach in Prison for Not Renouncing His Faith
Three Tried in Shandong Province for Practicing Falun Gong
Mr. Huang Futang Sent to Shandong Forced Labor Camp
Practitioner Huang Futang in Zibo, Shandong Province Files Charges Against Policemen
Store Owner Assaulted by Police Chief Sentenced to Three Years
