Italy: Anti-torture Exhibition held in Cordusi Square to Expose the Persecution

On the 27th of February, a group of Falun Gong practitioners from Switzerland and Italy held an anti-torture exhibition in Milan’s Cordusi Square to expose the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party.

On the Falun Dafa stall hung a banner reading “Falun Dafa is Great” in both Chinese and Italian. A petition calling for Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to be punished by a court of law for their crimes against humanity caught the attention of passers-by. A few of the many brutal methods of torture used by the Chinese Communist Party in cruel attempts to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs were displayed in posters, consisting of explanations and graphic images.

The practitioners re-enacted two methods of torture: one was the Tiger Bench, where a victim is tied on a narrow wooden or iron bench by the thighs and knees, with hands tied behind the back, then the legs are bent in the opposite direction by adding bricks under the heels. The torture creates excruciating pain. The other method of torture that was re-enacted was electric shocking. This is by far the most common torture used against Falun Gong practitioners. They have been shocked with as many as a dozen batons at a time, with voltages as high as 30,000 volts, often for several hours. Countless practitioners have suffered flesh burns, some having ears, hands or feet charred from the electric shocks.

Although it was very cold, the practitioners in Cordusi Square still demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises, sent righteous thoughts, distributed flyers and talked to numerous passers-by who were coming and going across the square. When looking at the anti-torture exhibition, people felt shocked and couldn’t understand why the Chinese Communist Party is treating these innocent and peaceful practitioners so cruelly. One after another, people signed their names on petition forms expressing their support and sympathy for the practitioners and calling for the persecution to end. Some passers-by were Italian citizens but many were foreign tourists. Two tourists from Greece came and asked for leaflets Greek.

Several members of Milan’s Radical Party branch also took part in the anti-torture exhibition and helped practitioners give out leaflets.