Practitioner Recalls Drug Torture and Other Traumas in Shandong Province Women's Prison

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Meng Lijun was released from the Shandong Province Women's Prison on July 11th, 2013, after being held there for nine years. The guards kept asking her various questions before the release, such as “Why are you imprisoned?” “What did you have for breakfast?” Ms. Meng answered, “I don't know anything.” She indeed could not remember anything at that time. One of the guards smiled and said, “That's great.”

Ms. Meng Lijun is from Xifanliu Village, Guanzhuang Township, Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province. She was arrested on September 27th, 2005 for her belief in Falun Gong and was sentenced to ten years in prison by the Tianqiao District Court authorities of Jinan City at the end of December that year.

During her nine-year prison term, Ms. Meng was brutally tortured with forced drug administration, along with other tortures. She had lost a great deal of memory by the time she was released. Her emotions went up and down and she was mentally unstable. After her release, Ms. Meng had to rely on her family to take care of her day to day needs.

About two months after her release, Ms. Meng began to regain some shreds of memory. Bit by bit, she recalled several disturbing incidents of how guards had tortured her in the prison. Her family was horrified by what she told them. They asked her how she managed to remember it. She answered, “They tried to take my life. How could I forget it!”

What follows is Ms. Meng's personal account of the indignities she was forced to endure.

"Electronic Device Installed in My Womb"

I was given a gynecological examination in the prison. I was lying on a bed. When prison doctors inserted something into my womb, I immediately heard a “whoosh,” and my blood gushed into a wooden bucket underneath. I instantly lost consciousness.

I don't remember how many days passed after that. One day when I used the toilet, I heard a clinking noise as something fell into the toilet. I was afraid that it would block the toilet, so I tried to get it out with great difficulty. When I touched it, my hand suddenly received a painful jolt. I was startled. I took a close look at it. It was electrically charged and with a flat panel that appeared to dispense drugs. I had felt muddle-headed all the time during that period, which I now realize was because of the drugs. However, because of my foggy mental state at the time, I couldn't figure it out.

I told a guard about it and said, “The thing that you put into my body fell out.” They soon attempted to put another one into my body. I desperately resisted because I did not want to go through that pain again. I was able to avoid it.

"Criminal Inmates Attempt to Suffocate Me"

I was sleeping one night when several criminal inmates suddenly got up and covered my mouth and nose tightly. I could not breathe and struggled desperately. It was in vain. I finally gave up and stopped struggling. Seeing me not moving, they checked my breath under my nose and examined my pulse. They were sure that I was dead. One of them said, “She's dead. Pull her out!” They pulled me out and left me in the hall. As soon as they left, I suddenly stood up and yelled, “Murder! Murder!”

The guards came out in a hurry. They told inmates in a relaxed manner, “It's alright, it's alright. Go back to sleep.” The guards called me into their room and I described what happened.

The guards did not do anything about it. Now I'm guessing it might be precisely those guards who directed the criminal inmates to suffocate me. If they had succeeded, maybe they would have been rewarded with reduced terms.

Inmates kept causing me trouble after that. They were directed by guards to do so. They said that my bedding was dirty and smelly so they threw them away. I had to sleep on a bare bed. After a period of time, they got me some shabby bedclothes. They asked me, “You were trained to be a doctor. Aren't you disgusted by this dirty bedding?” They did not think that I would use them. I told them that I was not disgusted. I was then allowed to have that bedding.

"Damaging Drugs Mixed into My Food"

It was a living hell for practitioners held in the Shandong Province Women's Prison. The guards used a variety of methods every day to torture us. I don't know what kind of drugs were mixed into my meals, but many times after having a meal, I felt as if I were walking in the air and my mind was muddled without a sense of direction.

Once I went to the toilet, with a muddled mind. I had great difficulty walking up one step to the restroom. A guard extended his hand pretending to help me. When I used all my strength to reach for his hand, he suddenly withdrew his hand. I fell hard and the back of my head hit the floor. Several people then pressed me hard on the ground. I then lost consciousness.

When I woke up, my whole body was twitching and my heart was beating violently. I saw that some liquid drug was being injected into my body through an IV drip. I suddenly understood what was going on. I suddenly pulled out the needle. The right side of my head often felt heavy and painful after that and my right eye and right arm often hurt.

In addition, I was also shocked with electric batons, held in solitary confinement, tied on the tiger bench, and subjected to other tortures. One day felt like a year.