(Minghui.org) “The guards forced me to sit on the floor and pushed my head down,” recalled Mr. Zheng Shoujun. “They next tied my neck to my calves in an angle such that my face and stomach both touched the floor. I was about 200 pounds at the time, and my big belly felt like bursting in this posture.”
“With my hands tied behind my back and my upper body almost parallel to the floor, I was in so much pain that I sweated profusely. By the time they untied me about four hours later, there was a pool of water around me. For three months, I couldn't walk normally, since my feet and legs were dislocated.”
Torture reenactment by Mr. Zheng Shoujun: Tied up
The above is what Mr. Zheng went through at Zhangshi Labor Camp in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. He died as a result of torture a few years later in prison.
About 650 miles away in Weifang, Shandong Province, a similar torture was used on Falun Gong practitioners detained at Changle Labor Camp. They were forced to sit with their arms bound to their legs. A guard would then sit on a wooden board placed on their backs.
Torture reenactment: Tied up and crushed
These two cases offer a glimpse of the horrific torture endured by Falun Gong practitioners at the hands of the Chinese Communist regime over the past fifteen years.
Forcing a victim into excruciating positions using rope or belts is one of many torture methods devised by the authorities in their attempts to force practitioners to renounce their beliefs. This is used in conjunction with other forms of torture to increase practitioners' suffering. Practitioners tied up this way often sustained serious injuries.
Ms. Wang Wenjun in Liaoning Province was one of the Falun Gong practitioners subjected to this torture at the Masanjia Labor Camp. Her legs were tied up in the lotus position (crossed over each other) with her head bound to her legs and her hands cuffed behind her back for nine hours in December 2003. Her legs soon became swollen, as the blood couldn't circulate as normal.
Torture reenactment: Tied up like a ball.
Some practitioners were tied up for five consecutive days and crippled as a result. Some guards even sat on the practitioners to increase the pain.
The same torture also occurred at the Nanmusi Women's Labor Camp in Sichuan Province.
The Guangzhou No. 1 Labor Camp devised an even more painful variation of this torture: many Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Yang Guiyuan, were tied up in this position and hung from a metal hook from their back for hours. They were quickly injured from all of their weight being supported by a few joints and tendons. The guards also gagged practitioners with rags or dirty socks to stop them from screaming.
Torture reenactment: Tied up like a ball and hung from a metal hook
Torture reenactment: Hung from a metal hook from the back
When this torture was used at the Masanjia Labor Camp, some practitioners' mouths were sealed, while others were forced to inhale from odorous shoes.
Ms. Wang Fang's legs were tied up in the lotus position with her hands cuffed behind her back for four hours in December 2002. Afterwards, she could not move her left leg or her left arm. Even now, one can still see scars from the handcuffs on her skin.
Torture reenactments: Legs tied up in lotus position and hands cuffed
Guards in labor camps and prisons often use ropes instead of handcuffs to carry out this torture. The practitioners' feet were injured after a short period of time. Some guards even stood on the practitioners' knees.
The practitioners who suffered this torture include Mr. Li Yun, Ms. Fu Liqiong and Ms. He Yumei at the Nanmusi Labor Camp in Sichuan Province; Ms. Liu Xiuqin, Ms. Zhao Yumin and Ms. Dong Cui at the Beijing Women's Prison; Ms. Xiao Shunxiu at the Baimalong Women's Labor Camp, and Mr. Shao Zhongye at the Xianningying Labor Camp in Liaoning Province.
After Mr. Shao refused orders from guards, he was tied up for three consecutive days. He fainted and could not move his legs for some time.
Guards at Guangzhou Brainwashing Center tied practitioners' legs in the lotus position and twisted their arms behind their back to be pulled up by ropes.
Torture reenactment: Legs tied up in lotus position with hands pulled up behind the back
At the Tuanhe Labor Camp in Beijing, some Falun Gong practitioners were tethered to bunk bed ladders with their necks tied to their legs, their hands behind their backs, and their mouths sealed with tape. Mr. Wei Rutan was one of the practitioners who suffered this torture from 2000 to 2001.
Torture reenactment: Tethered to a bunk bed ladder (A wood plank was used instead).
Torture reenactment: Tied up in lotus position and stuffed under a chair
Ms. Gong Ruiping was subjected to this torture in solitary confinement at the Beijing Women's Prison at the end of 2003. Inmates tied her legs in the full lotus position, and pushed and bound her head down so that it touched her feet. They subsequently pushed her under a stool and sat on it.
When Ms. Gong still refused to give up her belief, the inmates pulled her out and beat her. Her face was covered in bruises, including around her eyes. She also developed a limp.
The guards at the Masanjia Labor Camp tied up Falun Gong practitioners in standing positions, such that the victims could not lower their heads. Guards shocked their necks or jaws with electric batons if they fell asleep.
Torture reenactment: Tied up in standing position
At the Dalian Forced Labor Camp, some Falun Gong practitioners' hands and feet were shackled. Their entire bodies were then wrapped tightly with plastic to make them look like a mummy.
Torture reenactment: Wrapped up like a “mummy”
Related reports:Ms. Gong Ruiping, a Teacher from Beijing Who Suffered Repeated Persecution, Imprisoned Again
Mr. Shao Zhongye from Liaoning Province Imprisoned and Tortured for Nine Years
Mr. Zheng Shoujun Tortured to Death in Liaoning Province (Photos)
The Persecution of Yang Guiyuan, a Doctor at the People's Liberation Army's Quartermaster University