The Persecution of Practitioners at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison

While doing roll-call in Ward No. 2 of the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison at around 8:00 p.m. on January 6th, 2013, guard Qu Jialiang slapped practitioner Ms. Lu Yinghua (from Hegang City and in her forties) and Ms. Zhang Dexiang on their faces more than thirty times. Some people tried to stop him, but he became enraged and beat whoever he saw. He also severely beat practitioners in Ward No. 3 during roll-call on that day.

Practitioners detained in the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison are forced to sit on their haunches during roll-call. Even elderly practitioners in their sixties and seventies are forced to squat during roll-call. The guards threaten them and say that those who do not comply will be sent to the Patient Ward, Ward No. 9, or Ward No. 11 for further torture. Ms. Dong Limin from Nenjiang County was transferred to Ward No. 11 and subjected to brainwashing. She is currently in critical condition due to being tortured in Ward No. 11.

The persecution has escalated severely since Bai Yingxian and Shi Genghui became head and deputy head of the prison. Bai and Shi transferred several guards, who were infamous for carrying out particularly brutal torture, to Ward No. 9 and Ward No. 11, to teach the guards and inmates how to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] practitioners by using various forms of torture on them. They didn’t allow practitioners to sleep, and made them sit on small chairs from 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. They also coerced practitioners into reading books and watching videos that slandered Falun Gong. Furthermore, practitioners were forced to have a "talk" with them, and would be abused and beaten if they didn’t do so. Directed by the prison officials, the guards and inmates persecuted practitioners unscrupulously.

Guard Kou Lili from Ward No. 7 often beats practitioners. She once forcefully pushed Ms. Guan Shubo down to the ground, forbade her from buying food and other necessities, and denied her family’s requests to visit her.

In attempts to transform practitioners, the guards not only threaten them, they also persecute them using various tortures, including sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, physical restraint, solitary confinement, hanging by handcuffs, force-feedings, drug administration, and severe beatings. As a result, many practitioners have become physically or mentally impaired. Some have even passed away. Ms. Xu Youqin, who was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment, has been incarcerated in this prison for more than 10 years and subjected to harsh persecution. The guards have hammered sharp bamboo sticks into her fingers, shocked her with electric batons, and forced her to sit on a small tiger bench¹. On one extremely hot day, she was forced to run under the burning sun, which caused her to pass out. The guards then poured cold water over her body and forced her to continue running. Due to the long-term persecution, she appears deathly pale and is too weak to climb stairs or even lift a bottle of water.

The officials and guards from Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison have actively participated in the persecution of practitioners ever since the Chinese Communist Party began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999. They even ordered inmates who were imprisoned for murder, swindling, and drug use and trafficking to torture practitioners. Some practitioners have died, and some been disabled due to the harsh mistreatment. Practitioners currently detained in the prison have been subjected to severe torture and are weak and very thin.

Bai Yingxian, head of the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison: +86-451-86639099
Shi Genghui, deputy head of the prison: +86-451-86639066
Sun Wei, head of Ward No. 9: +86-451-86639047

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.