Ms. Jin Junmei, a Woman With Disabilities, Beaten in Prison

Name: Jin Junmei
Gender: Female
Age: 57
Address: Zhangsutan, Chengguan District, Lanzhou City
Occupation:Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 1st, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Gansu Province Women's Prison
City: Lanzhou
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, extortion, home ransacked, detention.

Ms. Jin Junmei, a woman with disabilities from Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, was on the verge of death when she started practising Falun Gong. All of her illnesses have since disappeared. She was arrested by police officers from the local Domestic Security Division on August 1st, 2012 and taken to the Gansu Province Women's Prison. She was beaten in January 2013 and her face was badly injured.

Ms. Jin, 57, has had disabilities since birth due to poliomyelitis, a congenital defect. Before she started practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Jin was in poor health and suffered from many illnesses, including inflammation of the gallbladder, gallstones, and heart problems. She also had a bad temper. In late 1996, she developed a gastric perforation which caused her to vomit continuously, and she was not able to eat. She was turned away by many hospitals since her condition could not be treated surgically. She practiced many types of qigong in an attempt to heal her illnesses, but her health did not improve. Just when she was on the verge of death, she started practising Falun Gong, and before long her illnesses disappeared, and even her temper improved. Her family became very supportive of her Falun Gong practice after witnessing her huge transformation.

Ms. Jin Arrested, Abused, Home Ransacked, and Money Extorted

More than 40 officers from the Chengguan District Domestic Security Division broke into and ransacked Ms. Jin's home on April 13th, 2008. She was arrested and detained at the Lanzhou No. 1 Detention Centre.

Ms. Jin was not allowed to use crutches at the detention centre even though she had disabilities. As a result, she fell down and was injured. She was sent to the Lanzhou Labour Camp Hospital two months later, and her family was extorted out of 1,000 yuan¹.

Sentenced and Imprisoned

The Chengguan District Court held a hearing on September 27th, 2008 for Falun Gong practitioners, including Ms. Jin, Ms. Li Xiulan, and Ms. Qiu Dingxiang. However, the judgment was not pronounced at the end of the hearing. Chengguan District Court officials led by Jin Jiyong, the deputy presiding judge of the No. 1 Tribunal, went to the detention centre on the afternoon of December 10, 2008, and sentenced Ms. Jin to eight years in prison.

With her son's continuous efforts, Ms. Jin was released on medical parole that day. The guards made Ms. Jin's son wait outside the detention centre until after 4:00 p.m. before they finally let her go. Her son had to carry her home due to her injuries from falling down.

Not Allowed to See Dying Husband

Ms. Jin's husband was 68 years old at the time, and he had never practised Falun Gong, yet he was also detained after Ms. Jin was arrested. After he was released, Ms. Jin's husband went back and forth appealing and requesting his wife's release. He was scared and exhausted, and suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage on the night of December 4th, 2008, and became unconscious. He was taken to emergency care at a hospital. Even under such circumstances, the detention centre authorities refused to let Ms. Jin go. She was not released until the afternoon of December 10th, hours after her husband had passed away that morning. Ms. Jin was too late and didn't get to see her husband for the last time.

After returning home, Ms. Jin not only suffered the pain of losing her husband but also faced financial difficulties, as her husband had been the breadwinner of the family, and their children were still young. Nonetheless, the single mother of young children was frequently harassed by officials from the Chengguan Domestic Security Division. They climbed the walls of her home several times to monitor her.

More than twenty police officers from the Chengguan Domestic Security Division again broke into Ms. Jin's home at noon on August 1st, 2012. She was arrested and detained at the Lanzhou No. 1 Detention Centre. A month later, she was transferred to the notorious Gansu Province Women's Prison, and assigned to the “Anti-Cult Division” established in 2006. Falun Gong practitioners from each ward who had refused to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] were all transferred to this division to undergo intense persecution and brainwashing.

Since the establishment of this division, Zhu Hong was assigned as director, Sun Liwei as deputy director, Luo Yaqiong and Ding Haiyan as team leads, and a young officer named Guo joined in 2012. Serious criminal inmates from each ward were also selected and transferred to this division to monitor Falun Gong practitioners. Instigated by the guards, these inmates willfully abused the practitioners.

Beaten in Prison - Children Left Without Their Parents

During the months of November and December 2012, Ms. Jin was not able to eat, as a result of the persecution that she was subjected to at the prison. Inmate Lai Xiaoyan, who was assigned to monitor her, ignored the fact that she had disabilities, and often slapped her in the face and beat her in the cell. Ms. Jin was not allowed to tell anyone, even when her teeth bled due to the beatings. She was again beaten in January 2013 and her face was badly injured.

Ms. Jin's son went to the Chengguan District 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) many times to request his mother's release. Gao Lina, director of the 610 Office, avoided responding directly. When he went to the prison to visit his mother on February 28th, 2013, Ms. Jin told him that she was “earning points.” On that day, a Falun Gong practitioner whose name is unknown was in critical condition. This practitioner was beaten until her legs were broken and was carried out of the prison by her family.

Ms. Jin's children had already lost their father because of the persecution, and now their mother is again unlawfully detained and being mistreated in prison under the Communist regime. To whom can these unfortunate children express their pain? We call upon all people around the world to pay attention to the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and strongly urge that the Gansu Province Women's Prison release Ms. Jin.

Parties responsible for the persecution of Ms. Jin:
Gan Yumei, warden of the Gansu Province Women's Prison
Zhao Chun Yan, deputy warden of the Gansu Province Women's Prison
Zhu Hong, director of the “Anti-Cult” Division: +86-931-4810365 (Office)
Chen Zhikai, head of the Chengguan District Domestic Security Division: +86-13399317327 (Mobile)
Gao Lina, deputy secretary of the Chengguan District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, director of the Chengguan 610 Office: +86-13919366270 (Mobile)
Jin Jiyong, presiding judge of the No. 1 Tribunal at the Chengguan District Court: +86-931-2150518 (Office)

Note

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