Former Professor Tortured to Insanity Still Imprisoned

Ms. Li Huiyun, former associate professor of electrical engineering at Hebei University of Science and Technology, was persecuted and tortured to the point of insanity by the communist regime.

She was initially arrested and detained in 2004. Ms. Li was taken into custody again in 2011 and sentenced to prison in 2012. At present, she remains in the Hebei Women's Prison.

Ms. Li, 51, is from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. She was hard working and a dedicated employee before the arrest, receiving a number of patents and winning many academic awards.

Constant Mistreatment

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Li was repeatedly harassed by the authorities because she did not give up her belief. The university demoted her and refused to pay her salary. She was forced to fetch water and sweep the corridors in the school.

Ms. Li was taken to a brainwashing centre on August 10th, 2004, and tortured for over five months. She became mentally disoriented. She was then transferred to a labour camp. During this period, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she was injected with large doses of drugs that damaged her nervous system.

When she was released from the labour camp, she experienced intermittent psychotic episodes and was unable to take care of herself.

Due to recurring psychotic symptoms, her family was ready to send her to a psychiatric hospital. But officers from the Ningan Police Station went to her home and took her into custody. She was then transferred to the Second Detention Centre of Shijiazhuang, where she was held for 29 months.

Her disability and refusal to do hard labour made her a target for repeated torture by prisoners and guards. She was handcuffed to a “rack” (a torture device) for extended periods and was not even released to eat, use the toilet, or sleep.

Ms. Li was not allowed to shower, change her clothes, or use menstrual pads. For nearly a year, she was confined indoors and remained handcuffed in a confined cell, where she was harassed and beaten by inmates and guards.

Ms. Li was also frequently denied food. Such relentless mistreatment led to her exhibiting severe psychotic behaviour and her health declined. Within two years, her hair turned grey and she often murmured to herself.

Despite her condition, the court sentenced Ms. Li to 4 years and 10 months in prison on June 21st, 2012. Ms. Li is now in the Hebei Women's Prison.

Due to ineffective treatment and long-term abuse, her overall condition is now very grave. She is very feeble and was not even able to recognise her mother, who sobbed uncontrollably, during a recent visit.

We ask for help from people in China and abroad to rescue Ms. Li Huiyun.