Harbin City Women's Prison Authorities Reward Inmates for Torturing Falun Gong Practitioners

Harbin City Women's Prison authorities in Heilongjiang Province use inmates to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Deputy prison warden Liu Zhiqiang incites inmates to monitor and torture practitioners. He rewards each inmate with five points a month that apply toward sentence reductions. Inmates who do heavy manual labour in the workshops only receive three or four points a month. Accordingly, the inmates unscrupulously torture and abuse the practitioners.

Cui Hongmei and Xia Fengying are former heads of Group 1, Ward 1. They often used inmates who had been given long sentences and desperately needed points to monitor practitioners. The monitors also pressure the practitioners to give up their belief. In 2005, practitioner Ms. Zhang Linwen, who was later released, was pinned to the floor by about five inmates at around 8:00 p.m. one day in late May. She was facing up and was held down so that she was totally immobilised. She lost consciousness. The practitioners and inmates detained in the west wing section on the fifth floor witnessed this incident. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Liping, who was held at Ward 1, weighed less than 50 kg (110 lbs). Four brawny inmates held her down and sat on her. Some put their hands on her neck and some covered her mouth. Ms. Zhang Liping nearly suffocated.

Around 8:00 p.m. on May 14th, 2004, inmates beat ten practitioners held at Group 2, Ward 1. Practitioner Ms. Yao Yuming, who was held at the Infirmary Ward after becoming bedridden from long-term torture, was kicked until her legs turned black and blue. Inmate Zang Shuying beat practitioner Ms. Yu Xiuying until her nose bled. She also kicked Ms. Yu. When practitioner Ms. Zhang Jing tried to stop her from hurting Ms. Yu, Zang Shuying who turned on Ms. Zhang Jing and kicked her until Ms. Zhang Jing's toes were black and blue. Deputy prison warden Liu Zhiqiang eventually admitted that it was wrong to beat people but immediately said, "The inmates are permitted to assist in government work when guard manpower is in short supply." He said to the inmates, "The government supports you. Don't be afraid!" The officials took inmate Zang Shuying's name tag, but did not do anything to punish her for beating the practitioners.

Liu Zhiqiang even forced additional tortures on practitioners who were beaten. Five practitioners, including Guan Shuling and Song Qing, were tortured with the "Big Hang-up"¹, a forbidden torture that is against the law and not to be used even on death row inmates. All other practitioners were handcuffed for more than ten hours.

"Tackle the Fort" Division (this is a metaphor that compares determined Falun Gong practitioners to an enemy fort) and "Reform Base" were established at the Harbin Women's Prison in early 2006. Inhumane methods were used to "reform²" practitioners. One or two inmates from each group were selected to join the new divisions. The authorities sealed the doors and windows in the cafeteria on the fourth floor and ordered more than 100 inmates to monitor the practitioners. At the "Tackle the Fort Division," eight inmates were assigned to monitor each practitioner, who was then forbidden to sleep. Inmates on the other side of the fourth floor often heard practitioners being beaten and heard their heart-wrenching screams and cries. Even inmates who shopped at the prison canteen could hear the practitioners. Harbin Women's Prison authorities boasted they would "reform" all the practitioners through various tactics.

Prison warden Xu Longjiang and deputy warden Liu Zhiqiang need to be investigated by The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) for their persecution of innocent people. They should also be brought to justice for using inmates to carry out persecution.

Inmate Liang Ying has been persecuting practitioners since 2003. She had a fight with another inmate in 2004 over the persecution of practitioners. The guards beat her until her eyes were bloodshot and her hearing was affected. She didn't change her behavior and continued to persecute practitioners. In late May 2006, she fell from an upper bunk and bled from the nose and ears. She sustained three fractures and lost consciousness.

At the "Tackle the Fort Division," eight inmates were assigned to monitor each practitioner. The practitioners were forbidden to sleep. The inmates verbally abused Teacher all day long in front of the practitioners. They tried to "reform" people through brainwashing and coercion. The details are hazy because of the information blockade.

Note

1. There are two forms of the "Big Hang Up" torture: A. With both hands handcuffed behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to a metal window frame; B. One hand of a practitioner is handcuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bunk bed; the two beds are pulled in opposite directions. It is extremely painful as the body is pulled.

2. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/9/7/137294.html