Ms. Yan Chongzhi Brutally Tortured in Harbin Women's Prison

Name: Yan Chongzhi
Gender: Female
Age: 63
Address: Changzheng Village, Dazhong Township, Baiquan County, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 30th, 2010
Most recent place of detention: Haerbin Women's Prison
City: Haerbin
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Detention, imprisonment, torture, brainwashing, beatings, home ransacked

Ms. Yan Chongzhi, a Falun Gong practitioner from Baiquan County, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to prison in 2011. The local court did not notify her family before the trial or after the sentencing. In February 2011, Ms. Yan was sent to the Harbin Women's Prison, where she was tortured for over 16 months.

Ms. Yan and her husband persecuted for their faith

Ms. Yan suffered from stomach problems, rheumatic neuralgia and severe gynaecological disease. She also had headaches and back pain year round. Her husband began to practise Falun Gong in 1996. After seeing positive changes in her husband's health and mental outlook, Ms. Yan also began to practise Falun Gong in 1997. Her illnesses were cured after half a year of practice. As a farmer, she could now work in the fields and take care of the housework at home. She also became cheerful and more kind.

Ms. Yan and her husband used to live at Qixingpao Farm in Nenjiang County. After the Chinese communist regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, local police often came to harass and intimidate them. In 2001, they were expelled from Qixingpao Farm for their faith. The couple were forced to move to the nearby Dongfeng Village, where police continued to attempt to drive them out. In desperation, the couple then moved to temporary accommodation in Beian City. Later, they settled down in Changzheng Village, Dazhong Township, Baiquan County.

Ms. Yan's husband sentenced to forced labour

In April 2003, Ms. Yan's husband went back to Qixingpao Farm to take care of some issues. He was arrested by local police after he got off the bus and held in the Qixingpao Detention Centre for 97 days. The police department associated with the Nenjiang County Qiusan Agriculture Management Bureau and its superiors collaborated to sentence him to 3 years of forced labour. On July 24th, 2003, he was sent to the Suihua City Labour Camp. After 6 months of torture at the labour camp, his legs became paralyzed, and he was sent to Baiquan County Senior Centre. Suihua City Labour Camp authorities repeatedly harassed him in an attempt to force him to write a guarantee statement to give up his belief, but he flatly refused to cooperate with them.

On May 16th, 2010, officers from Dazhong County Police Branch Station and three agents from the Baiquan County 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) broke into Ms. Yan's home, carrying a video recorder. They ransacked her home, looted her possessions and video tapped the activity.

On June 29th, 2010, Ms. Yan was tricked by officials into going to the Dazhong County Police Station. When she arrived there, she found officers from the Nenjiang County Police Department waiting to arrest her. They wanted to take Ms. Yan to the Nenjiang County Police Department, but were stopped after a kind local citizen intervened.

Ms. Yan arrested and detained

At about 5 a.m. on September 30th, 2010, Wang Xugang, head of the Dazhong Township Police Station, another officer with surname Xiao, and a third person tricked Ms. Yan into going to the Baiquan County 610 Office. Once she arrived there, a bunch of agents, including Zhu Jinyu, immediately detained her and sent her to the Qiqihar City First Detention Centre. They attempted to force her to write a guarantee statement to give up Falun Gong, but Ms. Yan refused.

In early January 2011, Ms. Yan's son went to the Baiquan County 610 Office to ask for his mother's release. However, staff there denied responsibility and told him to inquire at the county court. The court staff informed her son that Ms. Yan had been sentenced to four years imprison. When asked why they had failed to notify the family, the staff lied and said they could not find the family.

Ms. Yan brutally persecuted at the Harbin Women's Prison

Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, also known as the Harbin Women's Prison, is located on 389 Xuefu Road in Nangang District, Harbin City. Falun Gong practitioners have been detained in wards 7, 9, 11 and 13 there. Several special units have also been set up at the prison specifically to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

In order to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] Falun Gong practitioners and force them to give up their faith, guards frequently force them to sit on small stools from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Sometimes they are forced to sit until midnight or even to next morning. As a result of this torture, the buttocks become painful as if sitting on needles, leading to muscle necrosis and bruising. If practitioners still refuse to give up their belief, additional physical punishment is added.

On February 16th, 2011, Ms. Yan was put in Group 8 of Ward 9. There, she was forced to sit on a small stool from 5:30 to 1:00 a.m. next day. In the daytime, she was forced to watch videos and read books that slandered Falun Gong. In the evening, guards would talk to her to pressure her to give up her faith. If she refused to cooperate, they would abuse her further. On two occasions, Ms. Yan was choked and pushed on the back by guard Zhang Wenbo because she did not sit upright. It was so painful that she couldn't help but shout several times. She was also deprived of sleep, sometimes to the point of falling asleep while standing. The torture lasted over one month.

Ms. Yan was tortured so badly that her heart rate significantly increased, and she had nausea and vomiting. Despite her weakened condition, she was still forced to stand and watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. She was also frequently slapped and verbally abused.

Late one night, after Ms. Yan had vomited and become mentally disoriented due to the overwhelming persecution, the guards forced her to write the three statements to give up her belief. Then she was allowed to sleep normally.

Inmate Ma Xiaoqin was instigated by the guards to order Ms. Yan to recite the prison rules. Ms. Yan refused. Twenty days later she was transferred to a unit where she was forced to write a diary slandering Falun Gong, as well as a weekly report and a monthly summary. She told the authorities that she was determined to practise Falun Gong.

Ms. Yan was then taken back to Group 8 of Ward 9. She was again forced to sit on a small stool from early morning to 11 p.m. every day for more than three months. Later, she was transferred to Group No. 12 , where her hip was broken.

Personnel from the provincial 610 Office also attempted to force Ms. Yan to write the “three statements” to give up her belief on a daily basis. On two occasions, officer Xing Shijian threatened her, “I would knock out your teeth.”

In November 2011, Ms. Yan was sent back to Group 8 in Building 4. She was forced to sit on the small stool from 5 a.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. the next day. Inmates Huang Liyan from Jiamusi City, Sun Yun and others took turns to prevent Ms. Yan from sleeping. When her eyes closed, they would kick and beat her. Due to the torture, Ms. Yan's blood pressure reached over 200 mmHg.

The guards and their collaborators also force-fed Ms. Yan medicine when she refused to take it. Her body was pinched blue and black from the abuse. After some time, Ms. Yan could not bear the torture any longer and wrote the “three statements” to renounce practising Falun Gong against her will.

However, the next day, Ms. Yan again refused to cooperate with the prison authorities. She was imprisoned in Group 8 for 3 more months, and then sent back to Group 12 in Building 5 for another three months. All throughout, the guards continued to force Ms. Yan to sit on a small stool facing the wall. Ms. Yan was brutally tortured in the prison for over 16 months.

Parties involved in the persecution:
Lu Guangwei, director of Baiquan County Police Department : +86-138462222 (Mobile)
Zhu Qingli, director of 610 Office: +86-13504825400 (Mobile)
Bai Yingxian, director, Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison: +86-451-86639099
Shi Genghui, deputy director, Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison: +87-451-86639066