The 44-year-old man from Jilin has been in prison for most of his adult life, with torture as a constant companion.
by Song Baozhai
Bitter Winter has received reports that Tan Quicheng, a 44-year-old Falun Gong practitioner who is detained in the Jail no. 2 of Jilin Province in Jilin City, Jilin, is being tortured in prison. Relatives are concerned about his health conditions. Reportedly, Tan has been forced to sit on a “tiger bench,” and guards first poured water on him, then shocked him with electric batons.
Guards are furious at Tan because he has consistently refused to sign declarations of withdrawal from Falun Gong. This is, in fact, the story of his life.
Tan joined Falun Gong in his teens, and his family credited the movement for the visible improvement of the behavior of the young man, who had previously been addicted to drinking and gambling.
He was first arrested in 1999, when he was 21, as part of the first great national crackdown on Falun Gong. He was sentenced to one year of “reeducation through labor,” which he served near Yushu city, Qinghai province.
After he was liberated, he continued to be active in Falun Gong, and he was arrested again in 2001. As a recidivist, he was sentenced in 2002 to fifteen years in jail.
He came home in 2014, and managed to report several instances of torture. His health had badly deteriorated.
In 2019, he was arrested again under Article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code, claiming he was still active in Falun Gong. On September 28, 2019, the Lishu County Court of Siping City, Jilin, sentenced Tan to another seven years in jail. He appealed, but on April 30, 2021, the Siping City Intermediate Court confirmed the verdict.
Tan is in poor health and has spent most of his adult life in jail. Yet, he has never accepted to denounce Falun Gong or to sign statements repudiating it. Torture is tried again, but so far it has not achieved any result.
