(Minghui.org) Ms. Tang Kaiju, in her 50s, is a Falun Gong practitioner from the Hecheng District of Huaihua City. In April 2014, Ms. Tang was arrested for trying to seek the release of other Falun Gong practitioners.
She was sentenced to three and a half years in Hunan Women's Prison. Following is Ms. Tang's personal account of her arrest and imprisonment.
I went to the Hecheng District Police Department on April 8, 2014, with three other Falun Gong practitioners to visit Ms. Du Zhiai and bring her clothes and personal items.
Some of the officers at the station said they wanted to discuss something with us, so we got into a police car believing we were going to their office. Instead, they drove us to a hospital for physical exams. As soon as we realized that we had been deceived, we called to notify our families. We were dragged into police cars and taken to Huaihua Detention Center.
I was viciously beaten by other inmates at the detention center. I had many injuries from the beatings and couldn't walk. Four female inmates smashed a bucket full of water on my head, and I lost consciousness.
I coughed for almost a year after that and often spit out mucus with blood clots. When I was feeling weak, nauseous, or unable to eat, the police had inmates carry me to the infirmary for force-feeding. I tried to explain to them, but they would not listen. My nose was infected from the careless insertion of feeding tubes for many months.
My family was not allowed to visit me, and I was prohibited from calling them. In a few months, my hair turned white from the physical and mental tortures. I was kept against my will at the detention center for 15 months before being sent to Hunan Women's Prison.
In November 2016, I was transferred to another cell. Six or seven inmates took turns to keep me standing. I was not allowed to talk or move. If I moved even a little, all of them started hitting and kicking me until I fell down. They piled on top of me and I could hardly breathe. Someone then held my hand and wrote a guarantee statement and signed my name. I was told I had “transformed.”
About two to three months before my prison term ended, the guards again tried to force me to give up Falun Dafa. They instigated other inmates to beat me. They grabbed my hair and smashed my head into the wall. When I passed out, they simply poured cold water over me. I was covered in bruises.
They stuck me with needles and wouldn't let me sleep or wash. They would not let me use the toilet. When I could not hold it anymore, they made me soil my pants. Then they poured strong detergent water over me. When my clothes air dried, they poured the detergent water me over again. I was not allowed to wash or change. My body was covered with rashes.
One day, I was told that, if I copied the guarantee statement that they had written, I could use the toilet and all physical punishment would stop. When I refused, several inmates jumped on me and started beating me. My head hit the floor and I passed out. The next day, I had severe pain in my head and I couldn't hear clearly. I was taken to a hospital. The doctor asked how I got my injuries and I started to reply truthfully. The police cut me off and threatened to extend my sentence if I said anymore.
I was bombarded with slander and attacks on Falun Dafa every day. They even put a picture of Falun Gong’s Master in my pants. In the end, I was on the brink of a mental breakdown, I complied with their demand and agreed to give up Falun Dafa, to my greatest sadness.
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