Prisons in the People’s Republic of China are not famous for their excellent treatment of the inmates. This is explicitly true to the Hohhot Number 3 Prison (formerly known as Hohhot High Security Prison). The prison in Inner Mongolia became famous for the inhuman treatment and torture of the inmates.

Even in this awful place, it seems that some people treated worse than others. This is the case with Alamusha. The 28 years old art student is coming from a herdsman family in Xilingol and was attending Shanghai Theater Academy up until 2013. That year while visiting his family he intervened when he noticed that one of his classmates was being beaten on the street. Despite the fact that he was the one trying to help his classmate, he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in Hohhot High Security Prison.

From the beginning he was a target for torture since he is not willing to plea guilty. During this time Alamusha, through inmates, learned about Christianity and declared himself a convert to Christianity. This was the point when things started to worsen for him. According to his family and former inmates, he was severely beaten by a police officer and a cellmate. After the incident he complained to the prison authorities and as a result, he was put in a solitary cell, where he did not receive enough food or water and in order to survive, he was forced to drink water from the urinal.

He was shackled and was not given appropriate clothing for the harsh cold of Inner Mongolian winter and as a result his feet was severely frostbitten. When he was finally released to the prison area, he had to promise in writing that he won’t press charges. Complaints from his family resulted in him being taken back to solitary cell, where his living conditions were made even harder to survive in. He was given old and dirty prison clothing, was shackled and unable to straighten his back, permanently beaten and his food ratio was reduced even further to the brink of starvation.

The video of his aunt telling his story went viral on social media. It is still unclear what is going to be the reaction of Chinese authorities to the video. In the meantime Alamusha and many of his inmates remain living under such conditions, where survival is always questionable.

Source: Bitter Winter

Photo: Weibo