(Minghui.org) After the Chinese Communist regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, guards and inmates in detention centers and prisons are encouraged to use various torture methods to force practitioners into renouncing their faith. These guards and prisoners are given monetary rewards or reduced sentences for “transforming" practitioners. Even now, inside Hunan Provincial Women’s Prison, the guards and their collaborators use straitjackets to torture practitioners.

The straitjackets are made of canvas. The sleeves are about 25 cm long with a ribbon attached to each end. This form of torture, if applied for a long time, can fracture the spine, shoulders, wrists, and elbows, and it can even cause death.

Illustration of Straitjacket torture

Falun Gong practitioners were separated into three groups in twelve cells inside the prison. Two cells were designated for those who haven’t been tortured, four were for those who renounced Falun Gong against their will and were “transformed” after being tortured, and six were for those who were suffering torture.

The torture usually involves being strapped into a straitjacket and hung up for almost an entire day, while being beaten or shocked with electric batons. The practitioners were deprived of sleep after they were taken down and had to stand still until the next day, when the torture began again. They were not allowed to use the bathroom and had to relieve themselves while being hung up. They were not allowed to clean themselves for days. The torture often resulted in injuries to the arms and severe swelling.

Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured with Straitjackets

Ms. Jin Fuwan from Huaihua City Put Into Straitjacket

Ms. Jin Fuwan from Huaihua City, Hunan Province, was forced to wear a straitjacket four times while imprisoned. Three out of the four times she was hung up from a window frame, with her feet barely touching the ground. This put enormous strain on her arms and several fingers on her right hand lost their function. When she went on a hunger strike to protest the torture, she was force-fed and shocked with electric batons. The guards put the electric baton inside her nostrils, and the burns left severe scars. She was deprived of bathroom use and forbidden to clean herself. This woman in her 40s appeared emaciated and her hair had turned gray by the time she was released from the prison.

Ms. Yi Hong from Changde City Lost Much of her Hearing

Ms. Yi Hong from Changde City is currently being tortured. She was emaciated and lost almost all her hearing and vision. She couldn’t walk properly and take care of herself.

Ms. Liu Saijun from Ningxiang County Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Ms. Liu Saijun from Ningxiang County, Hunan Province, was put on trial on July 6, 2016, for possession of Falun Gong brochures, which is not actually a crime according to Chinese law.

She was sentenced to two years in prison for distributing a few copies of Falun Gong brochures. The local authorities never informed her family, nor presented any legal documents.

While in prison, Ms. Liu was tortured for not giving up Falun Gong. The guards put her in a straitjacket from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and hung her up by a window frame in a corner away from the surveillance camera. While she was hung up, she was denied toilet use, which created a stench. She wasn’t allowed to clean up or change clothes. She became severely swollen because her blood circulation was cut off. After she was put down, she was forced to stand or squat until the next morning before the next round of straitjacket torture began.

Ms Wen Shulin from Chenzhou City Persecuted

A dozen local authorities broke into Ms. Wen Shulin’s residence in Chenzhou City on August 1, 2014. They ransacked her place and confiscated her computer and Falun Gong literature.

Beihu District Police Department officers arrested her on July 6, 2015. She was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan because of the Falun Gong brochures they'd found in her home the year before.

The authorities violated her constitutional right to freedom of belief and free press. She was transferred to Hunan Women’s Prison in 2015. She refused to renounce her faith and was deprived of sleep and bathroom use.

Ms. Wen was also put in a straitjacket from morning until midnight. After that she became very dizzy. She suffered excruciating pain because of the torture. While she was hung up, she was only given a small bite of food each meal and denied the ability to use the toilet. The stench made it hard for her to breathe. She lost mobility in her hands because the rope that was used to hang her up was tied to her wrists.

Ms. Deng Yue'e from Huaihua City Tortured in Changsha Women's Prison

Ms. Deng Yue’e from Huaihua City had to study the prison rules every day and was threatened with physical punishment in the Changsha Women’s Prison. She was denied bathroom use.

She was also put into a straitjacket. When she screamed because of excruciating pain, the persecutors stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth.

Inmates Ordered by Prison Guards to Torture Practitioners

Prison guards ordered prisoners to torture practitioners. They beat the practitioners' heads until they signed documents renouncing Falun Gong.

An elderly practitioner was not allowed to use a toilet for a long time and when she couldn’t hold it anymore and went to a toilet, the prisoners brushed her mouth with a dirty scrubbing brush. She wasn’t allowed to shower for over a month in summer and was given only a bite of food at each meal. When she cried because of the pain, the prisoners stuffed socks into her mouth.

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