Ms. Sun Jinjun from Anshan, Liaoning Province, was arrested on July 21st, 2014 because she practised Falun Gong. After being abused in police custody, she suffered a relapse of schizophrenia that had developed while she was incarcerated at a labour camp 14 years ago. She is now facing possible trial.
Her recent arrest added to her family's suffering at the hands of the Chinese Communist regime: her older sister Ms. Sun Yuhua was killed in a guard-instigated beating in Liaoning Province Women's Prison in 2003 for practising Falun Gong.
Forced Labour
Ms. Sun Jinjun was sent to a forced labour camp in 2000 after refusing to give in to the authorities' demands to renounce her belief in Falun Gong. After two years, her term was extended by another 10 months.
In the labour camp, she was subjected to solitary confinement, forced to stand still for extended periods of time, and deprived of sleep. As a result of the abuse, she developed symptoms of schizophrenia, according to doctors at Shenyang Mental Hospital.
After Ms. Sun was released, she continued to do the Falun Gong exercises and gradually recovered.
Latest Arrest
On July 21st, 2014, when Ms. Sun was on her way home, she decided to stop by the home of another Falun Gong practitioner, Zhou Gaiqing, to borrow an umbrella. She ran into police officers who were searching Zhou's home at the time. The officers arrested Ms. Sun and searched her home that night.
Ms. Sun was detained in Yongle Police Precinct and later transferred to Anshan Women's Detention Centre, where officers physically abused her, including stomping on her hands. She was taken to Anshan Mental Hospital on August 21st with her hands cuffed and her feet shackled. She could not walk under her own power and had to be carried by multiple guards. A doctor again diagnosed her condition as a “schizophrenic reaction.”
The detention centre proposed to have Ms. Sun released, citing her mental condition, but the local police department carried their own medical evaluation on September 27th and claimed she was still mentally stable at the time of her arrest. They therefore insisted she remain incarcerated.
Not long afterwards, the local procuratorate formally approved Ms. Sun's arrest and indicted her. Her case now sits with the local court, which is preparing to try her.
Older Sister Beaten to Death
What happened to Ms. Sun Jinjun evokes memories of her family's past suffering: her older sister, Ms. Sun Yuhua, who also practised Falun Gong, was killed during a beating ordered by prison guards in an attempt to coerce her to give up her belief.
Ms. Sun Yuhua was arrested in June 2002 in Liaoyang, Liaoning Province. She was tortured in police custody and went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse. When she ended up in critical condition, she was released.
Four months later she was rearrested and sentenced to four years in Liaoning Province Women's Prison, where she was forced to do hard labour, not allowed to sit down, malnourished, and deprived of sleep.
A division chief and a lead guard instructed a prisoner to beat her and even put faeces in her mouth. Ms. Sun Yuhua lost consciousness during such a beating on April 21st, 2003. She was taken to a hospital, but it was too late. She passed away at the age of 37.
A Few of the Parties Responsible for Persecuting the Sisters:
Fan Lianbao, secretary, Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Tiexi District, Anshan City
Wang Dengke, head of Tiexi District Domestic Security Division
Chai Xinghui, police officer, Tiexi District Domestic Security Division
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