(Minghui.org) Following his most recent arrest on September 5, 2010, Mr. Liang Yuncheng, a former judge of a Fengcheng City Court in Liaoning Province, was illegally sentenced to three years in prison simply for refusing to give up his belief in Falun Gong.
Mr. Liang was first sent to Dabei Prison in April 2011 and then transferred to Benxi Prison 15 days later. Not long after, he was moved to Dalian City Prison, where he served out the rest of his term.
In Dabei Prison, he was made to sit on the cold cement floor with his hands fastened to wall-mounted handcuffs and his feet secured to shackles. In no time at all his body went numb.
The guards in Benxi Prison tied him to a bed and kept him immobilized for 60 days, force-feeding him as a punishment for his hunger strike.
Things didn’t get any better in Dalian City Prison, where he was savagely beaten on numerous occasions. To add insult to injury, the guards poured cold water all over his injured body. As if that were not enough, they stuck needles under his fingernails, causing excruciating pain and non-stop bleeding.
Below are descriptions of only some of the tortures Mr. Liang endured in three different prisons in Liaoning Province.
14 Days of Ill-treatment in Solitary Confinement in Dabei Prison
As soon as Mr. Liang was admitted to Dabei Prison, the guards searched him and confiscated his appeal letter. When he protested, he was met with electric shocks and brutal beatings.
The guards moved him to solitary confinement the very next day and kept him in the small room for 14 days.
He was forced to sit on the cold cement floor, and his four limbs were immobilized. His hands were fastened to two wall-mounted handcuffs and his feet to shackles anchored to the ground. His body quickly went numb and felt terrible. It was impossible to fall asleep in such a painful position. The guards also ripped all the buttons off his jacket to make him cold.
After Mr. Liang went on a hunger strike, division head Zhang Hua ordered inmates to unlock his handcuffs and shackles two days later. However, Zhang refused to provide any bed covers for him, leaving him exposed to the cold.
Immobilized on a Bed for 60 Days and Force-fed in Benxi Prison
When Mr. Liang asked division head Zhao Gang to pass his complaint letter to the Liaoning City Superior Court, Zhao instead turned it in to the prison management, who then gave orders for him to be tortured further.
On August 8, Zhao deceived Mr. Liang into going to solitary confinement and began a 60-day torture session.
Torture Illustration: Tied up on a Bed with the Limbs Stretched Out and Immobilized
Directed by section chief Gao, seven guards and three inmates stripped Mr. Liang of his street clothes and put a prison uniform on him. They shaved his head and tied him up on the so-called “stretching bed.”
Mr. Liang’s arms were stretched out and his hands were fastened to handcuffs at the ends of the headboard. His legs were straightened and tied up to a ring on the bed. A high-voltage light bulb was directed into his eyes.
A surveillance camera recorded everything going on in the room. Both Liaoning Judicial Bureau and Liaoning Labor Education bureau had 24/7 remote access to the video. The guards and inmates spared no effort in making Mr. Liang suffer.
Unable to move, Mr. Liang had to relieve himself right on the bed, with inmates catching his waste in a basin. Sometimes they intentionally left his pants down to make him suffer in the cold. He eventually developed arthritis after long-term exposure to cold.
The guards refused to give him a pillow to rest his head, so it was hard for him to sleep.
In protest, Mr. Liang went on a hunger strike, but he was met with brutal force-feeding three days later. Under the direction of the prison doctor, the guards inserted a feeding tube through his nostril and fed him a high-concentration salt solution. They usually left the tube in his stomach for four days before taking it out for minimal cleaning. Once in a while, the doctor would coat the tube with chemicals to irritate Mr. Liang’s nose and esophagus.
Torture Reenactment: Brutal force-feeding
As if that were not enough, the guards turned the loudspeaker to its highest volume and kept blasting slanderous programs. They attempted to break his will, but Mr. Liang held firm to his faith.
The torture took a toll on his health. He hurt all over, and even his internal organs hurt tremendously. His hair turned gray and began to fall out. Mr. Liang was taken to the prison hospital for a checkup, only to be transferred to Dalian City Prison just five days later.
Constant Beatings by Guards and Inmates in Dalian City Prison
When Mr. Liang was held in Dalian City Prison, Hao Wenshuai was the prison head, and Zhang Xiaoyu was the chief warden. The prison had four divisions at the time, each consisting of 40 guards divided into three teams. When Mr. Liang was transferred to this prison on October 13, 2011, he was assigned to Team Two in Division Four.
Zhang Wei (division head), Gao Wei (instructor), Zhu Ansheng (captain), and Sui Yongzhi (team head) not only personally beat Mr. Liang, but also instigated inmates to brutalize him. During his 23 months of incarceration in this prison, Mr. Liang was severely beaten at least 14 times.
Torture Reenactment: Brutal beating
Team lead Sui Yongzhi beat Mr. Liang at least three times.
Division head Zhang Wei once directed Lin Bo and a few other inmates to strip Mr. Liang down to his underwear and cuff his hands behind his back. They opened the windows wide and kept him shivering in the cold.
Zhang punched Mr. Liang in the face and whipped him with his shoes. He ordered his inmates to cover Mr. Liang’s head with a plastic bag and beat him savagely. They even plucked out Mr. Liang’s pubic hair to humiliate him.
After they removed the plastic bag, they poured cold water all over Mr. Liang’s bruised body. The torture session lasted two hours.
In March 2013, Zhang Wei repeated the same torture with some tweaks. He and Sui Yongzhi put hot pepper powder in Mr. Liang’s underwear.
After a round of beating, they began to pour cold water all over him. Inmate Yu Youfu was responsible for refilling the bucket with water. Sometimes he ran to the washroom to fetch tap water, while other times he simply scooped up the dirty water laced with chili powder on the floor. The chili powder greatly irritated Mr. Liang’s eyes, private parts, and wounds.
Torture Illustration: Pouring cold water on practitioners
After more than three hours, Mr. Liang was left with bruises and injuries all over.
Guards Instigate Inmates to Beat Mr. Liang
The guards arranged four inmates to monitor and torture Mr. Liang. Qin Yan was a convict appointed by the guards to oversee all inmates in the division, while Li Guifeng was the head of the cell in which Mr. Liang was held. The other two inmates, Tian Qing and Zhou Peng, didn’t have to do any work--their only job was to monitor Mr. Liang around the clock.
Three days after his arrival, Mr. Liang was beaten by Tian Qing and Qin Yan. About ten days later, he was roughed up again by Tian Qing.
Division head Zhang Wei ordered Qin Yan to beat Mr. Liang in the courtyard in May 2012. Several days later Zhang issued the same order to Liu Chuanlei (who replaced Zhou Peng and Yang Liguo).
Liu wasted no time and began “doing his job” the very next day. He stomped on Mr. Liang’s feet, whipped his face with the sole of his shoes, and hit him with a broomstick. Liu struck Mr. Liang so hard that he broke the broomstick.
Later that day, Liu Chuanlei and Lin Bo gave Mr. Liang a second round of beating. Liu even used a key to press against the back of Mr. Liang’s hands and cause immediate bleeding. Even today there are still visible marks on his hands.
Liu attacked again a few days later. He, Yang Xulin, and Sun Xueli stuck needles under Mr. Liang’s fingernails, causing excruciating pain and non-stop bleeding.
Torture Reenactment: Sticking needles under fingernails
Fan Guangcai (who replaced Qin Yan after Qin’s release) once punched Mr. Liang in the face, causing unstoppable nose bleeding. Mr. Liang’s upper eyelids were broken and bled, too.
Deprivation of Sleep and Family Visits
In May 2012, division head Zhang Wei ordered Qin Yan, Tian Qing, Liu Chuanlei, and a few other inmates to keep watch on Mr. Liang so that he didn’t doze off. As a result, Mr. Liang wasn’t able to get any sleep for five straight days. The gang played the trick again later that year and kept Mr. Liang from sleeping for five days.
The guards also rationed his food and water, so he was always hungry.
Moreover, the prison never allowed Mr. Liang to see any of his family members during his 23 months there. His older brother once traveled around 250 miles to the prison to visit him, only to be turned away at the gate.
Captain Zhu Ansheng made it clear: “The labor camp bureau has said no visitors if he doesn't 'transform.'”
To weaken Mr. Liang’s willpower, the prison also utilized a group of former practitioners who had given up their belief in Falun Gong under pressure. These "helpers" tried to use distorted theories to fool Mr. Liang, but he never fell prey to them.
Earlier Reports on Mr. Liang’s Ordeals
Unfortunately, Mr. Liang’s latest ordeal is not his first. Ever since the persecution of Falun Gong began, he has been repeatedly arrested, detained, and tortured simply for refusing to give up his belief. The past 14 years have seen him arrested a total of five times and held in two different labor camps for a total of 4 years. Moreover, he was removed from his post as Judge of the Fengcheng City Court and transferred to the Fengcheng Irrigation Department in March 2000.
Below are several earlier reports documenting Mr. Liang’s plight.
Mr. Liang Yuncheng, a Former Judge from Liaoning Province, Was Brutally Persecuted
Mr. Liang Yuncheng Remains in Custody Despite Having Lost Sight in One Eye
Mr. Liang Yuncheng Tortured to Near Blindness; Family Members Are Not Allowed to Visit
Mr. Liang Yuncheng from Fengcheng City Is Being Brutally Tortured
Other Torture Methods as Reported by Minghui
Mr. Liang’s suffering is not an isolated incident. Numerous other Falun Gong practitioners have also been tortured at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party agents. In its attempt to force practitioners to renounce their belief, the regime has developed all kinds of torture techniques that are being widely used in detention facilities across the country.
For a more complete list of torture methods used on practitioners, refer to the following series published by the Minghui website.
Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Part I) Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Part II) Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Part III) Illustrations of Torture Methods Used to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Part IV)
