College Lecturer Ms. Wang Yan Brutally Persecuted in Harbin Women's Jail in Heilongjiang Province

On July 15th, 2000, Ms. Wang Yan was detained at the Mishan First Detention Centre by authorities from the 610 Office¹. On October 23rd of the same year, she was detained in the Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. She was released on January 22nd, 2001. On January 2nd, 2002, once again she was arrested by 610 Office agents and held at the Mishan Detention Centre where she suffered many times from brutal beatings, forced feedings, and other cruel torture. Later, she was sentenced to seven years in prison, and on March 3rd, 2003, she was taken to the the Mishan Court ordered her sent to Harbin Women's Jail, where she has been subjected to persecution ever since.

Ms. Wang Yan is a 42 year-old practitioner from Daqing, who worked as a lecturer in the Engineering College at the 81 Agricultural Reclamation University located in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province.

On July 15th, 2000, Ma Baosheng, head of the First Detention Centre, slapped Wang Yan in the face in front of Ms. Wang's mother, which caused the mother to suffer severely, both mentally and physically. In addition the police from the public security bureau of Mishan City, including Ju Hongjun and Liu Xiaohu, used a needle to randomly poke her head, body, arms, etc., and said that poking in this way was good as the wounds would not be visible.

On October 21st, 2002, Ms. Wang and more than ten other practitioners began a hunger strike to protest the persecution and ask for an unconditional release. The head of the detention centre, Ma Baoshen, and Han Yuming had Wang Yan handcuffed, fettered, and tied up. They made her stand up for a day and night. The authorities also added some unknown drugs to her food, then extorted 1,200 yuan² from her family by using the excuse that the money was needed to cover the expenses of treating her with an intravenous drip medication and force-feeding her in the Mishan People's Hospital. After more than 20 days of persecuting the hunger striking Ms. Wang, the Mishan Court sentenced her to seven years in jail on charges of "interfering with the execution of the law."

Ms. Wang Yan refused to accept the sentence and submitted an appeal. But innocent people under the domination of the Chinese Communist Party have nowhere to appeal. Party law can only cheat and deceive people. Thus Wang Yan was sentenced to seven years. At the same time the University leadership, headed by Li Yuanjiang in the 81 Agricultural Reclamation University, participated in the persecution by dismissing her from her job. The president of the university was afraid of being held responsible for any offence and announced that the practitioners had quit their jobs voluntarily.

On March 3rd, 2003, Mishan Court sent her to the Harbin Women's Jail. She again held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. On March 5th, Lu Jinghua from the New Arrivals Division, along with patient Dean Zhao, collaborated with prisoner Shang Xiaomei to brutally force feed Wang Yan. One kilo of salt was mixed with soy bean powder in 400 millilitres of water, and she was forced to consume it. On March 8th, after she was nearly tortured to death, she was sent to a hospital and again subjected to brutal force feeding and a forced intravenous drip. This time they didn't withdraw the tube but plugged in a device to prop her mouth open.

From December 1st until December 12th, 2003, at the instigation of the third division, Yang Hua, worker Yu Bo, and Ren Meng colluded with prisoners to torture practitioners with the "zipper" for 12 days. For the first several days they forced the practitioners to run non-stop for eight hours. Whoever refused was handcuffed and kicked and beaten with a club that often broke in the process. When the tormentor were tired they were relieved by another group that continued the beatings. Being forced to squat on one's heels is another torture technique. Whoever refused to squat was be violently beaten by several prisoners. They used electric batons to shock the face, head and mouth of a victim. Several days later, the practitioners' clothes and trousers are taken off, leaving them only in thin clothes and trousers. They were forced to stay outdoors in freezing weather for seven hours. During that period they were not allowed to sleep and were beaten with clubs and forbidden to eat anything. After that, they were still not allowed to go indoors and were deprived of sleep for the whole night on the first floor hallway. The authorities also opened the door to let the cold wind blow in.

Yu Xiulan wore unlined garments, and after several days her fingers were frozen and black. The police locked her in a solitary compartment. ("Being confined in a solitary compartment" means that a single detainee is confined in a solitary cell which contains a basin and a pair of handcuffs. The basin is used both for face washing and as a toilet. One end of the handcuffs fastens the wrist and the other end attaches to the door railing. The handcuffs can be fastened onto the door railing at three different heights. In the highest position, the detainee has to extend his/her arm upward. The middle position is at waist level. In the lowest position, the detainee can sit on the ground.) Once practitioners were placed in a solitary compartment, they were not released for several months. The police handcuffed their hands behind their backs in that small square room, then used electric batons to shock them, and the cold wind blew in through the gaps around the door. Every day they were only allowed to eat very little rice and not allowed to sleep.

On December 4th, practitioners all together decided not to cooperate with the authorities. They refused to go out, everyone held together, and the authorities couldn't separate them. More than ten guards beat them together, dragged them by their hair, and tied ropes around their necks. Whoever fainted was just thrown outdoors. Later they were dragged to the west side of the jail cell. The practitioners were stranded outdoors from the morning to night and not allowed to wear hats or gloves. Their clothes and sleeves were pulled up, and they were situated in the path of wind. Several days later their clothes were taken off. Wang Yan was only wearing very thin underwear, and froze for three days. Three days later everyone's face had turned pale, they could not even move their eyeballs, and their vision was cloudy.

On March 2004 in the 4th Division of the women's jail, Ms. Wang Yan was suspended by her handcuffs for two days. The police who participated this torture were Tao Shuping and prisoner Lu Shuwen. In April 2004, guard team leader Tao Shuping collaborated with prisoners Zhao Yitong and Lu Shuwen to hang her up for two days and nights, totalling 48 hours.

In January 2005, Ms. Wang Yan was confined in a solitary compartment for 15 days at the women's jail in the 4th Division. Those involved in this persecution were guards Wu Yanjia, Tao Shuping, and prisoner Lu Shuwen.

On January 13th, 2005, team leader Tao Shuping, along with Wu Yanjia, collaborated with prisoners Lu Shuwen, Yu Yanyun, Song Shubo, and Ren Xiuli to confine Ms. Wang in a solitary compartment. She refused to wear the jail uniform, to answer to roll call, or to number off to protest the persecution. Prisoners Yu Nuofeng and Sun Yajia then brutally tortured her.

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

2. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/6/1/156009.html