Torture in Jilin Province Women's Prison

My name is Ms. Guo Wensuai, and I am a Falun Gong practitioner from Changchun City. I was arrested on September 2nd, 2011, and sentenced to seven years in prison for practising Falun Gong. I was taken to the Jilin Province Women's Prison on December 23rd, 2011, and admitted to the No. 8 Ward, the former “Education Ward,” in May 2012.

I have been beaten and tortured in many ways, such as “Tying with Ropes” and “Flying an Airplane.” After I went on a hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment, I was brutally force-fed.

I wish to expose how practitioners are tortured in Jilin Women's Prison. There are still many practitioners being held in that prison. They are brutally treated, force-fed, confined in small cells, and forced to do slave labor.

Torture Methods

Tying with Ropes

The guards tied my arms and legs to the four posts of a bed so that my entire body was suspended in the air. The pain was excruciating.

Flying an Airplane

The guards tied my arms behind my back and hung me to the top rail of a bunk bed with my feet not touching the ground. They stretched my legs in different directions and tied them to the lower bunk. The pain was extreme and I sweat profusely.

Hanging by Handcuffs

The guards handcuffed me and hung me by the cuffs with my feet not touching ground. My arms and hands were seriously injured.

Sitting on a Stool for a Long Time

I had to sit up straight and absolutely still for prolonged periods of time. The legs must remain close together, with the feet touching each other, the hands laying flat on the knees, and the eyes looking straight. My back, buttocks, and lower spine hurt, and my hands swelled.

Stretching the Legs

The inmates held me down on the floor and stretched my legs in opposite directions. My arms were pulled behind my back, and they pushed my head towards the floor while holding my arms. The pain caused by this torture is similar to the Tiger Bench¹ torture.

Force Feeding Through the Nose

The guards force-fed me through the nose on the 7th day of my hunger strike. It choked me once, and I almost died. They force-fed me twice per day for six months, which damaged the membranes of my nasal cavities and stomach. It resulted in a gastrointestinal disorder, organ failure, and constipation.

Other Types of Torture

The inmates often beat, verbally abused, and tortured me. They pulled my hair, slapped my face, and kicked my abdomen and ribs. I was not allowed to use the toilet many times.

Reduced Sentences for Inmates

I appealed to the prison officials when I was tortured. It happened many times for more than two years. I never got a response, not even one, but the inmates who tortured me had their sentences reduced.

Warden Zhang Suling, whom I met on December 4th, 2012, sent me to the hospital to have my arms and hands looked at when they were injured. Zhang did not punish anyone.

When I went on a hunger strike to protest the torture on December 18th, 2012, the prison officials' response was to force-feed me.

I showed my injured arm and the hand to the director of the prison investigation section on December 27th, 2012. I told her what I had gone through. She just comforted me and told others not to verbally abuse and beat me. She did not take any action.

There was no response to several appeal letters I wrote to the wardens in January 2013. However, He Fangnan, an inmate who had tortured me, was released on February 5th, 2015.

Next, I wrote a letter to the procuratorate on April 22nd, 2013. Someone did show up and talked to me and promised to investigate. During the summer, deputy warden Wang Lijun and warden Wu Zheyun told me that I had to wait for a response from the procuratorate .

Wu Zheyun told me in November 2013 that there was insufficient evidence concerning my complaint, and the investigation was closed. They ignored the scars on my body and my injured arm and hand.

I wrote another letter on November 12th, 2013, to provide details on how I had been tortured while imprisoned. I requested that they investigate my complaints as soon as possible since the inmates involved were going to be released soon. Their terms were reduced. I asked Ni Xiaohong, head of the ward, to hand my complaint to the head of the prison. No response.

I tried to talk to different prison officials, including Wei Lihui, Ni Xiaohong, Li Haiyan, Yang Yi and Liu Dan. They all tried to avoid responsibility.

Inmates who tortured me, Pan Ying and Chen Mei, were given reduced terms and released in January 2014. Inmates Yang Mei, Xie Lirong, and Qu Guirong were released on bail.

I wrote a letter to the head of the prison and the related prison sections on June 18th, 2014. No one responded.

Parties involved in the persecution of Ms. Guo in the Jilin's Province Women's Prison:
Inmates: Han Lili (韩丽丽), Tian Guiping (田桂平), Yang Hui (杨慧), He Fangnan (何芳楠), Pan Ying (潘英)
Collaborators (former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture) Zhang Yancun (张艳春), Yang Mei (杨梅), Xie Lirong (谢立荣), Qu Guirong (曲桂荣)
Officers:
Wu Zheyun (武泽云), warden
Wang Lijun (王立君), deputy warden
Ni Xiaohong (倪笑虹), head of the No. 8 Ward

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.