Ms. Song Chunyuan in Severe Pain after 4 Years in Prison

Ms. Song Chunyuan was held in Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison for four years because of her belief in Falun Gong. She returned home in April 2015. Due to being tortured in prison, she is swollen and in excruciating pain.

Ms. Song, 59, is from Tahe County in Helongjiang Province. She was left disabled due to a car accident and also suffered from uraemia. But after she began practising Falun Gong, her ailments disappeared and she became healthy. Falun Gong gave her a second life.

Wishing to share her amazing experience with others, she talked to people about Falun Gong. As a result, she has been arrested five times, taken to a forced labour camp twice, and sentenced to four years in prison in 2011.

The following is an account of what Ms. Gong endured in Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison.

Forced to Sit on Small Stool for Long Periods

Ms. Song was initially put in the 11th Ward, which specialises in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Like many other practitioners who refuse to give up their belief, she was forced to sit on a small stool every day from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. except to eat or use the toilet. She was not allowed to put her hands together, stretch her legs, or close her eyes while sitting on the stool.

After 22 days, she had to stay seated a further two hours. After sitting like that for a long time, a person's buttocks turn black, and the flesh starts to wear away. Ms. Song started to tremble after 35 days and she became very thin.

One day, five guards came over and grabbed her arms and hands and pressed her fingerprint on a blank sheet of paper, leaving three deep scratches on her arms. They said, “You do not give up your belief, so we will do it for you.”

Because Ms. Song refused to acknowledge giving up Falun Gong, she was forced to sit on the small stool again. But due to her poor health, she was taken to the prison hospital on the third day.

Forced to Sit on Small Stool Even in Prison Hospital

Ms. Song was swollen and she had back and kidney pain. Even though she was hospitalized and very weak, she was still forced to sit on a small stool from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and only allowed to take a break during lunch time.

Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to talk to each other. When Ms. Song talked to another practitioner, the inmate monitoring her cursed her for an hour and threatened to punish her.

Because Ms. Song developed kidney problems, she needed to go to the toilet often. However, the guard only allowed her to use the toilet every five hours and restricted her drinking water. When she complained to the prison director, he said, “If you give up your belief, you can go to the toilet any time.”

Ms. Song was hospitalized for 100 days and still had to sit on a small stool for every one of them.

Using Coercive Implication Policy to Turn Inmates against Practitioners

Ms. Song was later returned to the 11th Ward, where every practitioner is monitored by four or five inmates. If a practitioner does the Falun Gong practice, the inmates are punished by having their prison terms extended.

The prison authorities use this coercive implication policy to make the inmates hate practitioners.

Practitioners Forced to Do Hard Labour

Since May 2014, practitioners are forced to do hard labour. Every one is assigned a workload based on age and ability.

Since Ms. Song was diagnosed with Hydronephrosis, she was not assigned a quota. However, other practitioners have to work from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. without a break. Sometimes they are made to work until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.

Ms. Song's prison term ended on April 24th, 2015.