Practitioner in Her Sixties Tortured in Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

Sixty four year-old Falun Gong practitioner Wang Shulan was taken to the Masanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp on May 25th, 2012 to serve a one-year sentence. Prison staff attempted to force her to give up her beliefs by torturing her with brainwashing sessions and other cruel methods.

Three days after Ms. Wang was taken to the camp, jail team leader Zhang Lili asked, “Have you been converted?” Ms. Wang replied “No”. Zhang cursed at her, struck her face over 20 times, then hit her chest with a mobile phone. Ms. Wang's face was numb from the beating; she had difficulty eating after that. A couple of months later, three of her front teeth fell out.

Intensive belief-conversion practices against Falun Gong practitioners were conducted in the Masanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp in late June, 2012. Ms. Wang was taken to Zhang Lili's office on June 27th after she refused to slander Falun Gong, where she was struck in the face and shocked with an electric baton. Ms. Wang cried for help, but Zhang Lili and guard Yu Xiaochuan covered her mouth with a mask then sealed it with tape.

Ms. Wang refused to give in, so guards moved her to Donggang, a location in Masanjia dedicated to torturing Falun Gong practitioners. Guard and team leader Zhang Huan stretched her arm as far as possible, then handcuffed her to rails on two iron beds. Ms. Wang was forced to stay in this painful position, unable to move. After three or four hours, her hands started bleeding and lost feeling.

After Ms. Wang's handcuffs were removed, guard Zhang asked, “Isn't Falun Gong an evil cult?” Ms. Wang replied, “Falun Gong is righteous. I believe in Falun Gong.” Zhang said, “If you believe in it, I will stretch you harder.” She hung up Ms. Wang with both arms stretched to their limit, her two feet tied and a bed rail pressing directly under her chest. She was kept in this torturous position for three hours. Guard Zhang Xiurong kicked her while she was hanging in that position.

Ms. Wang was tortured with these methods twice between June 27th and July 1st. She couldn't clasp her hands due to the pain, and numbness in her fingers. She also had difficulty walking. For over a year, she couldn't perform any physical tasks. However, guards still forced her to clean the toilets.

Jail staff claimed that province officials visited the camp for an inspection on December 4th, 2012. A few officials in police uniform asked Ms. Wang, “Is your teacher a god?” Ms. Wang replied, “Since I was a child, I've believed that gods and Buddhas exist.” The officials were displeased with her response, and forced her to squat on a tile for 10 hours. Whenever she made even a small movement, she was kicked and cursed at. She was given a dark-looking pastry and a couple of pieces of pumpkin for dinner, but she didn't eat it. A guard said, “You will be force-fed if you don't eat it tomorrow. This is the kind of food you will eat from now on.”

The Masanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp is notorious for its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Various torture methods were used on practitioners in attempts to force them to give up their beliefs, including standing or squatting for extended durations, stretching and handcuffing, extreme body stretching, electric baton shock, force-feeding, slapping, kicking, throwing their bodies against walls, beatings, covering the head with a plastic bag, sleep deprivation, not allowing toilet usage, denying visitation rights, forcing them to eat bad food or administering unknown medications.

Since the forced labour “re-education” system is now collapsing, the Masanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp is also doomed. Staff involved in the persecution of practitioners includes Zhang Lei, Zhang Huan, Zhang Zhuohui (instructor), Ren Hongzan, Zhang Jun (Director of the Women's Division), Zhou (Political Commissar), Zhang Lili, Zhang Xiurong and Wang Huijing. Male staff includes Ma Jishan, Fan, Yu and Zhang.