Falun Gong Practitioner Song Yaqin, 54, Persecuted in Hohhot Women's Prison

Name: Song Yaqin
Gender: Female
Age: 54
Address: Binzhou Town, Bin County, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 24th, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Hohhot Women's Prison, Inner Mongolia
City: Hohhot, Inner Mongolia

Persecution Suffered: Detention, imprisonment, denied visitation, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, beatings, verbal abuse, electric shock, home ransacked

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Song Yaqin lived in Bin County, Heilongjiang Province. She was arrested at her son's home on December 24th, 2009 by officers from the Dayangshu District Police Department, Daxinganling, Oroqen Autonomous Banner in Inner Mongolia. She was sentenced to six years in prison by a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) court in 2010. She is currently being held in Hohhot Women's Prison in Inner Mongolia.

Hohhot Women's Prison authorities persecute Falun Gong practitioners in a consistent manner. They instigate inmates to take part in the persecution. Inmates may have their sentences extended or reduced depending on their success with forcing practitioners to undergo “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong]. Prison authorities generally use inmates who have committed theft, drug abuse, prostitution or murder to persecute practitioners. The inmates tell practitioners: “If you do not give up your belief, we are finished, we can't go home; in order to reduce our sentences, we have to do what the guards tell us to.”

Ms. Song is being held in the No. 2 Prison District because she would not give up her belief; she was also denied visitation rights. She was held in solitary confinement. Two inmates – Wu Rong and Song Yu – monitor Ms. Song Yaqin at all times. She was often beaten and subjected to sleep deprivation by them. The “Intense Transformation Group” is responsible for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Group director Xiao Mei attempted to force Ms. Song to give up her cultivation practice, to write a guarantee statement, deprived her from using daily hygiene items, and used male guard Kang Jianwei and Zhao Pengcheng, often bringing three other male guards to torture Ms. Song. They beat her and shocked her with electric batons.

Ms. Song is 54 years old, from Binzhou Town, Bin County in Heilongjiang Province. She previously suffered from severe knee inflammation, which was so painful that she could barely bend her knee and walk. A physician stated that there was no cure for this disease, and that she would eventually become paralyzed. She began practising Falun Gong in 1997, and abided by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Shortly thereafter, her illness disappeared and she truly experienced happiness in perfect health.

The CCP began a frantic persecution against Falun Gong in 1999. Faced with overwhelming lies and slander against Falun Gong, many practitioners suffered from brutal persecution. Ms. Song experienced enormous, positive changes after she started practising Falun Gong, and firmly believed that there was nothing wrong with this wonderful practice. She practised cultivation even more firmly, and informed people about the true nature of Falun Gong and the persecution. She was arrested, detained and sentenced twice in the past.

On March 11th, 2003, Ms. Song and two fellow practitioners went to distribute materials exposing the persecution in Songjiang Town. She was arrested by director Li Xinfang and other officers from the Songjiang Police Station. Zhao Yuntian from the Bin County Police Department and over twenty officers arrived that night, took them back to Bin County and held them in Bin County No.1 Detention Centre.

Due to the persecution, Ms. Song's knee inflammation returned, to the point that she couldn't walk. She was carried into the court for her hearing. Her family's request for her release to seek medical treatment was denied. The Bin County Court sentenced her to one year in the Bin County No.1 Detention Centre. She was released one year later.

On December 24th, 2009, several officers from the Dayangshu District Police Department, Daxinganling, Oroqen Autonomous Banner in Inner Mongolia broke into her son's home. Her son is a non-practitioner. Later, they ransacked Ms. Song's home and confiscated Falun Gong books, media, a cell phone and computers. Her family's visitation rights were revoked. She was later sentenced by the local court to six years in prison, and is currently being held in Hohhot Women's Prison in Inner Mongolia.

We appeal to all just persons in the world to help stop this unprecedented catastrophe in Chinese history, stop the persecution of Falun Gong!

Agencies and personnel involved in the persecution of Ms. Song Yaqin:
Oroqen Autonomous Banner 610 Office: +86-470-5621946, +86-470-5623563 ext.8625
Li Benxue, director, Dayangshu Town Police Department: +86-470-5714759(Home), +86-13847072678(Mobile)
Hohhot Women's Prison in Inner Mongolia
Song Yufeng, warden
Ni Rongxiang, vice warden: +86-471-2396668