Woman's Family Visit Cut Short When She Complains about Prison Violence Against Her

.Ms. Tan Guiying was complaining to her loved ones about the recent abuse she suffered at Heilongjiang Women's Prison, when the guards cut short the family visit on May 1st and took her back to her cell.

The Harbin resident is serving a six-year sentence for practising Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. She has been mistreated on many occasions for refusing to give up her belief since her transfer to the prison on February 27th, 2013.

Though her family didn't get to hear her account in full, they still gained some insight into her suffering at the prison during the brief meeting.

She was doing the Falun Gong exercises one day in February this year when six inmates swarmed to assault her. Her temple and nose turned black and purple. There were bumps all over her head.

She requested to see the team captains to report the abuse, but they refused to meet with her. In addition, the guards revoked her family visit for February to prevent her loved ones from finding out about her injuries.

Ms. Tan was brutalized again one month later, this time for refusing to wear a prison uniform. Team captains Wang Xili and Ge Xuehong ordered inmates Wang Min, Gao Qingyan, Chen Yangyang, Lv Wenjun and Fan Xiumei to beat her up every few days, leaving bruises all over her body. She was again denied family visits twice in a row.

Ms. Tan's family wasn't allowed to see her until May 1st, but the guards abruptly ended the meeting when the topic of torture was brought up.

This is not the first time Ms. Tan has been subjected to severe physical abuse. Her arms were temporarily disabled after being hung up for long periods of time shortly after her transfer to prison in 2013.