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Clearwisdom Collection: Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Part I, 30 torture methods)
(Clearwisdom.net) Under Jiang Zemin's orders to, "physically
destroy" Falun Gong, Falun Gong practitioners have suffered many kinds of
torture. All the tortures were used to augment the spiritual persecution in
order to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their practice and write the
"Three Statements" (Guarantee Statement, breaking away statement,
criticizing statement), and give up their beliefs. The following illustrate some
of these tortures. They are part of over 100 torture methods used to persecute
Falun Gong practitioners Ten Methods Commonly Used to Torture Falun Gong Practitioners (Illustrations) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/19/49340.html One of the tortures suffered by young women: heavy pressure
applied to the lower abdomen Another torture suffered by women: sexual assault Long bamboo shoots are forced under the fingernails Brutal force-feeding Wang Yuzhi, a practitioner from Helongjiang Province in China, said:
"During my hunger strike to protest the persecution, I was force-fed in the
labor camp. Their measures were very brutal. Several prison guards and criminals
tied my hands and feet and forced me down on a board. They covered my body with
a white sheet with only my mouth exposed. Then they inserted the tube into my
month, and held my mouth open by using a steel expander in order to pour in a
corn gruel. They placed the container over six feet high to create the pressure
necessary for the feeding. Because the food was very coarse and the tube was
very thin, it burst the tube and sprayed everywhere." Steadfast Falun Gong
practitioners were force-fed with concentrated salt, irritating chemicals and
hot chili pepper mixed with water. In April 2004, Dafa practitioners, Chu Lin (female) and Wei Jun from Xiaogan
City, Hubei Province, were abducted by the local police. Chu Lin went on hunger
strike to protest the persecution for 9 days. The police mistakenly inserted the
tube into her trachea. She went into coma from suffocation. The police declared:
"We are not responsible for her death!" Beaten for a long period of time Suspended in the air for long periods of time or immersed in a
chamber pot Burns After being tortured to the point of passing out, they are
revived by pouring cold water on them Hypothermia torture and humiliation Tiger Bench: many bricks are inserted underneath the
practitioner's feet and their knees are brutally pressed down using boards or
ropes. Drawings of Torture Techniques -- Nos. 1 -- 7 http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/10/49058.html (Clearwisdom.net) 1. Flying (an Airplane) This is one of the common tortures used in labor camps and brainwashing
classes on Falun Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their belief. It is
called "Flying," or "Jet Plane." In this torture, the head
is bent down until it cannot go down any further, while the hands are pulled up
and held up at the highest point against the wall. The practitioner is forced to
hold this position unchanged for a long time period (more than 10 hours). If a
practitioner refuses to comply, he/she will be shocked with an electric baton or
beaten to the point of losing consciousness. Police will then roughly wake up
the practitioner and continue the torture. 2. Needle and Thread This is another commonly used torture inflicted on Falun Dafa practitioners
who refuse to give up their belief. The practitioner is put in heavy shackles
which are locked onto the ground (making it impossible to move). Then both hands
are shackled between the thighs with a "Death Cuff" (a special
handcuff that is extremely tight). This torture forces the practitioner to sit for a long time, and he/she can
not take care daily needs such as walking, standing, using the bathroom, or
eating. This torture typically results in muscle damage, swelling of the hands
and feet, sleeplessness, uneasiness, and even mental collapse. It is very hard
to endure. All persons who went through this torture found it too painful to
talk about. This torture was previously used mainly by the Chinese police on violent
Death Row prisoners. This evil torture is now used on peaceful Falun Dafa
practitioners in order to force them into giving up their belief in Falun Dafa.
Often those practitioners who are on hunger strike are tortured this way. At the
same time, police order the other prisoners to take turns watching
practitioners, and to deprive them of sleep. 3. Swallow Flying This torture is commonly used by police hospitals, detention centers, and
forced labor camps on Falun Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their
belief. The practitioner's lower body is tied onto the sides of a bed, with his
hands intentionally handcuffed on the sides of the bed above or below, to the
extreme, so there is no way to move. Some Falun Dafa practitioners are tortured
like this for one week or several weeks, with some even tortured like this for
as long as four months. This torture prevents the practitioner from changing position even a bit, let
alone turning the body. After a long period of time, the muscles are damaged,
the mind becomes uneasy, scabies grow, and the practitioner experiences extreme
pain. Currently in police hospitals and clinics, this torture is used to mistreat
Falun Dafa practitioners who are on hunger strikes, to force them to stop the
hunger strike. The persecutors deceive the world's people by saying this is to
save practitioners' lives. Normally, damaging force-feeding is administered
along with this torture. If practitioners refuse to cooperate, they are also
shocked with electric batons. 4. Damaging Force-Feeding This is one of the commonly-used tortures administered to Falun Dafa
practitioners who hold hunger strikes. Damaging force-feeding is not the same as the normal medical feeding
procedure that is used to save lives. The persecutors in China use it as a cruel
torture to force practitioners to give up their belief. Hence, this
force-feeding is very brutal. According to reports, there have been up to 100
practitioners who died as a result of brutal force-feedings administered by
non-professional persons (including prisoners), and a large number of
practitioners experience serious side effects from these force-feedings. Some practitioners are force-fed highly-concentrated salt solutions, chili
soup, high-proof liquor, detergent, and even urine and feces. Some police
instruct prisoners to torture practitioners who are being force-fed, such as
forcing air into the tube, then stepping on the practitioner's stomach, which
results in highly-concentrated salt solution spraying up from the stomach,
burning the practitioner's eyes and nose. Some persecutors do not allow the
practitioner to use the toilet, instead hanging the practitioner upside down,
forcing them to urinate and defecate on themselves (see next illustration). In order to prevent practitioners' resistance to force-feeding, body
restriction torture is almost always used simultaneously. This includes
handcuffing hands behind the back, using heavy shackles, helmets (to limit head
movement), or Illustration 3 -- Swallow Flying. 5. Hanging Upside Down This is one of the commonly used tortures inflicted by labor camps and
brainwashing classes on Falun Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their
belief. This torture makes the practitioner's blood back-flush, and can result
in loss of consciousness or even death after a long period of time. Sometimes
the police forbid the practitioner to use the toilet, and hang the practitioner
upside down to humiliate him or her. 6. Hung up with Hands Shackled Behind the Back This is a very cruel torture commonly used by labor camps and brainwashing
classes. With both hands shackled behind the back, and both feet off the ground
or only the toes touching the ground, one is hung from a basketball support or a
building beam, by the handcuffs. Both hands and arms will go numb from lack of
blood circulation, and the arms can become disabled. At the same time,
practitioners are often beaten with clubs and leather whips. 7. Being Pressed Under the Bed This is another very cruel torture commonly used by forced labor camps and
brainwashing classes on Falun Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their
belief. First, the practitioner's legs and feet are tied tightly together, with
the arms and hands tied behind the back. Then the practitioner's neck and legs
are tied together very tightly, almost causing suffocation. The whole body is
then pushed under the bed (see illustration), and several people sit on top of
the bed, forcibly pressing down on the practitioner's back, almost causing the
spine to fracture. This torture often results in severe injuries. Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/21/75205.html Drawings of Torture Techniques -- No. 8: Burning Practitioners With Red Hot
Objects http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/7/48979.html (Clearwisdom.net) 8: Burning Practitioners Bodies With Red Hot Objects One of the torture methods used in interrogation rooms, forced labor camps
and brainwashing centers under the Public Security System is to use extremely
hot objects to burn Dafa practitioners' bodies. Police use lit cigarettes to burn practitioners' faces, often leaving black
scars on their faces. Some of the most vicious police have deliberately burned
the faces of beautiful young female practitioners, thus permanently disfiguring
them. This form of torture includes using cigarette lighters to burn practitioners'
faces (even to burn their eyebrows off), their chins, hands, thighs, or private
parts. At other times, specially made iron bars are heated in burning charcoal until
they become red-hot. They are then used to burn practitioners' chests and
thighs. Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/26/75620.html Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners
(9 - 12) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/11/49032.html (Clearwisdom.net) 9. Feeding the Insects (Caption: Police say, "Whoever does not obey us will be tied up outside
as food for the mosquitoes!" In the summer time, especially around dusk or dawn, the police strip
practitioners of every piece of their clothing and handcuff them to a pole in a
place where mosquitoes and other insects swarm. Practitioners are bitten over
and over again all over their bodies by various insects. Not long after, their
bare skin is covered with itchy bumps. Sometimes they cannot even open their
eyes because their eyelids are so swollen. This torture was often used by gangs of bandits in the past to punish
captives who violated their rules. Sometimes people even died from being bitten
by poisonous insects. Now this torture is used by police in Chinese labor camps
to torture innocent people who believe in
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." 10. Pouring Freezing Cold Water Over People In the freezing cold winter, the police instigate criminals to keep pouring
cold water on practitioners, causing them to be frozen, suffer frostbite and
numbness. Sometimes part or all of their body would become paralyzed. Some
people even suffer loss of speech and memory. 11. Electric Shocks (Caption: the prison doctor says, "Captain, he has passed out. The
voltage won't go any higher. What shall I do?") What is displayed here is called the electric needle. The police can adjust
the electric current and voltage at will. If the voltage and current is high,
the victim would bounce on the bed from the shock. He would suffer cramps all
over his body and incontinence of his bladder and bowels. If the victim has a
weak heart, he could easily die on the spot. Many practitioners on hunger strike
are repeatedly subjected to such torture. Other similar torture methods include: long-term shocking with high-voltage
electric batons, cranking a hand-crank telephone to generate electricity to
shock practitioners who are tied to with the telephone, using medical devices to
generate electricity to shock practitioners, lining the walls and top of a small
cage with electric needles to shock practitioners who relax or drift off to
sleep while chained up bent over, unable to completely stand, squat or sit (a
cruel form of sleep deprivation torture that is sometimes used for weeks on
end), etc. In order to achieve their goal, sometimes the police employ various means to
make practitioners suffer even more. For instance, they shock practitioners with
many electric batons simultaneously; they soak practitioners in water and then
shock them; or shock sensitive parts of the body, including eyelids, soles of
the feet, armpits, neck, etc. After the electric shock, the skin would be badly
burnt, develop blisters and even fester. Such torture also causes damage to the
internal organs and nervous system. Also, the victim suffers from psychological
trauma. What's more despicable is that the police shock practitioners' mouths,
private parts and anus for long periods of time. They even shock female
practitioners' breasts and private parts, sexually violating them while shocking
them with the electro-shock batons. 12. Stabbing with sharp objects The police use a screwdriver or other sharp object to stab the back of
practitioners' hands, attempting to force them to give up their belief in Dafa.
The victim will bleed profusely and often pass out due to the excruciating pain. Such torture is extremely brutal. Other similar means include: nailing bamboo
spikes into practitioners' fingers, chopping [hitting] practitioners' hands with
hard-soled shoes, hammering practitioners' hands with a hammer or drilling into
practitioners' hands with an electric drill. 2004-5-27 Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/28/75748.html 13. The Tiger Bench (Illustration) (Clearwisdom.net) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/12/49036.html During this torture, police tie the victim's legs tightly to the Tiger Bench
using belts. They then put bricks or some other hard objects under the victim's
feet. They keep adding layers of bricks until the belts break. Victims endure
unbearable pain and often pass out during these torture sessions. Other tortures are often used on the victim at the same time, including
shocking the victim with electric batons, cuffing the hands behind the back,
burning the body with cigarettes, inserting wood slivers under the fingernails,
stabbing the ribs with a sharp pen, hitting the cheekbones with a screwdriver,
slapping the face, pricking thumbtacks into the face, and even reining the mouth
with a rope (oftentimes the victim cannot close his mouth since the two corners
of the mouth have been torn.) 5-29-2004 Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/29/75918.html Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners
(14 - 15) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/6/21/49400.html (Clearwisdom.net) 14. Handcuffing and shackling so that the body is forced into a painful
position and makes the victim move from one cell to another Falun Gong practitioners have been brutally tortured in Chinese detention
centers, prisons and labor camps (lao gai) because they refuse to give up
their beliefs, and peacefully appeal for their most basic human rights. One of
the torture methods is to handcuff and shackle practitioners so that their
bodies are forced into painful positions, and then make them move from one cell
to another, intentionally inflicting even more humiliation and pain. The policeman said to the woman inmate who helped practitioners to pass
around Master Li's articles, "crawl into each cell and tell everybody that
you were wrong to pass around Falun Gong articles. When using this method, the police handcuff a practitioner's hands behind
their back. The practitioner is forced to kneel down with both feet shackled. At
the same time, they connect the handcuffs and ankle shackles in the shortest
possible distance so that the practitioner is unable to move into a different
position. This causes enormous pain. This method is insulting and humiliating,
inflicting psychological abuse on top of the physical abuse. In the past, this method was only used on male criminals who committed
serious offenses. But now, it is used to torture innocent Falun Gong
practitioners, even women. The guards force practitioners to kneel down and move from one cell to
another. By using this humiliating method, they attempt to create a negative
image of Falun Gong. According to an earlier Clearwisdom.net report, after
learning the truth about Falun Gong, one inmate who had been sentenced to one
year in prison (a non-practitioner) came to understand that Falun Gong
practitioners are innocent and are being persecuted. She helped practitioners to
pass around Master Li's articles. After the wardens found out, they used this
method to torture her. She was handcuffed and shackled, forced to kneel down and
move from cell #1 to #4 and then again from cell #4 to #1. They opened the door
of every cell in order to humiliate her. Some criminals shed tears out of
sympathy and they were beaten up by police. 15. Burying alive One of the torture methods is to bury practitioners alive. The police said, "If you die, it will be counted as a
suicide." This method is so heinous that they have to do it at night so that no one
will see their crimes. Over half a dozen police officers drag a practitioner to
an open rural area. They start a fire for light. Then they dig a hole and push
the Falun Gong practitioner into the pit. They shine flashlights directly into
the practitioner's eyes so that he cannot see them. They bury the practitioner
up to his chest. At the same time, they constantly use electric batons to shock
his head. They use this method to threaten and torture him, trying to break his
spirit and make him renounce his belief. Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/6/8/76497.html A Hundred Tortures Illustrated (16 - 18) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/7/29/50795.html 16. Electromagnetic Shock Falun Dafa practitioners are peacefully resisting government sponsored
persecution in China in order to stay true to their faith. Electromagnetic shock
is one of the many forms of torture they are subjected to in detention centers,
labor camps, and brainwashing centers. In order to torture steadfast practitioners, police place a type of
electronic device onto the practitioners' heads or chests, which results in
their instant collapse. This torture device can severely damage the brain and
internal organs, resulting in loss of memory, confusion, lack of energy, extreme
pain, but no visible injuries to the surface of the body, because the damage is
inflicted by sound waves or vibrations. The device includes an electric needle, like an electric baton, connected to
either large or small needles, which can cause convulsions of all the muscles in
the body. Ms. Zhao Ru in Jilin City, Jilin Province was tortured with this
device. She collapsed instantly, and had to be carried off. 17. Exposure to the Baking Sun Practitioners in China are peacefully resisting violent coercive methods used
by the government in order stay true to their beliefs. Exposure to the baking
sun is one of the tortures to which they are subjected in detention centers,
labor camps, and brainwashing centers. Police shackle steadfast practitioners outdoors under the baking sun, which
results in dehydration, fainting, sunburn, etc. During some of the brainwashing classes, police lock practitioners inside a
poorly ventilated, stifling cell, and then turn on the heat to torture them. 18. Dragging Behind a Vehicle Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully resist these torture methods, staying
steadfast to their beliefs. Being dragged behind a vehicle is one of the
tortures to which they are subjected in detention centers, labor camps, or
brainwashing centers. Police officers and camp guards drag practitioners with ropes behind a
speeding vehicle, resulting in tragically deep, bloody flesh wounds that
sometimes expose the bones. Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners
(19-30) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/7/5/49890.html Paintings by Lu Jing (Clearwisdom.net) 19. Brutal Beating The police tie practitioners' hands and then hang them up. They
then proceed to beat practitioners with spiked clubs. Sometimes the beating
lasts for several hours. The camp guards order the inmates to beat practitioners, and
reward the inmates by reducing their prison terms. The police officers persecute female Falun Gong practitioners shamelessly.
They strip off the female practitioners' clothes and then beat them. After the
beating, there are cuts and bruises all over their bodies. A large number of the
female practitioners are elderly women. Many female practitioners were beaten to
death; however, the police told their families that they died from heart attack
or made up some other stories. Sometimes, the police cremated the bodies without
allowing the family members to see them. 20. Hanging Up in the Air This is a very cruel torture. Practitioners' hands are tied with thin ropes
and then they are hung up for several hours, or even several days. Sometimes,
the rope was so tight it broke; and sometimes the rope cut into the flesh. Some
practitioners lost consciousness while being hung up. In many cases, the
practitioners were hung by their handcuffs, which caused broken bones. After the
torture, some practitioners suffered injuries to their hands and arms. As a
result they had difficulty using their hands and arms for a long time. Some
suffered severe injury to their arms and hands, and thus became disabled. 21. Handcuffing Hands Behind the Back with One Hand Crossed Over a Shoulder Practitioners' two hands are handcuffed behind the back with one hand crossed
over a shoulder. First, the police push practitioners down to the ground on
their stomachs and then step on practitioners' backs, then forcefully pull the
two handcuffs to lock them together. It causes great pain to the practitioners. 22. Sitting on a Small Stool This is not an ordinary stool. There are very small squares carved or molded
on the surface. The police tie the practitioners so that they can't stand up.
After sitting on the stool for a while, the small squares cut into the
practitioners flesh, causing the buttocks to bleed and fester. This is a very
cruel torture. 23. Deprived of Sleep, Forced to stand The police order criminal inmates to watch practitioners 24 hours a day.
Practitioners are deprived of sleep for several consecutive days or even half a
month. However, the inmates take turns resting. When practitioners are sleepy,
the inmates poke them with needles. Some practitioners were stabbed so often
that it resulted in severe trembling. 24. Forced-feeding Feces The police force-feed practitioner feces, and they even put feces on
practitioners' bodies and on their faces. 25. Tacked with Push Pins Police of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province have fastened more than 100 push
pins on practitioners' bodies. 26. Exposed to Extreme Weather In temperature of -20 -- 30oC (-4 -- 18oF) in winter,
practitioners are allowed to wear only underclothes while being forced to stay
outdoors for an extended period of time. 27. Water Dungeon Practitioners were stripped naked and put in cells full of dirty water up to
their chests. The cells are dark without any sunlight. The torture time is
entirely according to the police officers' mood. Some practitioners were
tortured to death and some practitioners' skin became rotten. 28. Injected with Drugs Some practitioners were sent to mental hospitals, although they were mentally
very healthy. The practitioners were injected with drugs that damage the nervous
system and some suffered mental breakdowns as a result of this torture. When
practitioners asked the officials of the mental hospitals why they were doing
this, they replied, "We have no choice, Jiang ordered us to do so." 29. Sexual Abuse The police shock female practitioners' breasts and genitals with electric
batons, and they even insert electrical batons into the practitioners' vaginas
to shock them. Even unmarried female practitioners have suffered this torture. 30. Rape or Group Rape One policeman, or a group of policemen, rape female practitioners. Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/6/17/77248.html Posting date: 8/31/2004 |