Persecution of Practitioners in Shiling Prison, Siping City, Jilin Province - (Part 3)

Part 1 - http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200701/37524.html
Part 2 - http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200701/37546.html

II. Spiritual Torture

Of all the torture methods used in the persecution, spiritual torture is the most inhuman and cruel. To force practitioners to renounce their belief, guards at the Siping Prison take away people's most fundamental human rights and use psychological attacks, brainwashing, and other methods to completely erase practitioners' awakened good natures.

A. Taking Away the Most Fundamental Human Rights

In Siping Prison, practitioners lose the most fundamental human rights. They are not allowed to talk or walk as they wish or to have family visits. They may not use any personal items brought in by their relatives. Eating, sleeping, mailing letters, appealing, and many more fundamental human rights are brutally taken away. It is as if practitioners enter a living hell once they are in Siping Prison.

1) Family Visits Taken Away

To show a different picture to the outside world and to give themselves a pat on the back, staff
at Siping Shiling Prison announced special times for practitioners' family visits. They arranged visits once or twice a month. On those days, practitioners and relatives could see each other, but only through a window. They could not talk person to person, but through a special-purpose phone, which was monitored. However, even such small rights were used to threaten and deceive practitioners. Only if one acceded to their demands could one have family members visits.

In December 2004, Shiling Prison authorities came up with a new regulation. Family members of practitioners needed a certificate from the local police station showing that they themselves were not Falun Gong practitioners. Family members who were practitioners had to show that they had been "transformed¹," otherwise no visit. Prison staff did not care if the family member was a wife, husband, parent, brother ,or sister. And even worse, some of these prison staff members threatened the imprisoned practitioner that they would arrest practitioners' relatives if they were practitioners. They use such depraved methods to torture practitioners mentally.

Practitioner Mr. Wang Guiming was supposed to have his family visit on March 28th, 2006. Although Li Yi, director of the Department of Criminal and Investigation of Pingdong Procuratorate of Siping City had given a signed affidavit to Mr. Wang's family stipulating a family visit, Shiling Prison forbid the family visit. Director Li Yi went to the prison himself to negotiate, but prison staff insisted on not letting relatives see Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang protested with a hunger strike, and his life was in danger. His wife, Han Fengxia, went to the prison many times to see him but was refused admission. Not only that, police and the Tonghua City 610 Office² arrested Ms. Han Fengxia on April 4th, 2006.

On the evening of March 2nd, 2005, practitioner Mr. Jiang Quande's family hurried to Siping City because they thought they would get to see him. But prison staff refused with the excuse that it was not a visiting day.

On July 31st, 2006, it was the visiting day for the Educational Division. However families of many practitioners were forbidden from seeing the practitioners. To make sure that no one would get through, guards at the entrance, where visitors signed-in, were increased from one to three.

On July 17th and 18th, 2006, family visits for practitioners Wang Peng, Liu Zhijun and Wang Hongge were denied. The gate guards refused to let them enter the prison, and would not let them talk to the officials who gave permission for the visit. They claimed that this order came from higher officials. They claimed that practitioners' families were not allowed to visit.

Practitioner Mr. Yang Zhanjiu was tortured brutally and is now permanently disabled. In April 2005, his over 70-year-old mother, over 60-year-old mother-in-law, and another relative came to the prison to ask for his release. The prison head told the guards not to let them enter the prison grounds. Mr. Yang's relatives talked to the gate guard for a long time and eventually were allowed to go to fifth floor for a talk with the director of the Department of Political Affairs. The director saw Mr. Yang's mother-in-law and immediately went into a fury, "How dare you come here! I'm not letting you see him no matter what!" Mr. Yang's mother-in-law said, "We are here to take him home." Mr. Yang's other relative asked, "Why didn't Mr. Yang jump off of a building anywhere else? He did that here because of the inhuman torture he suffers at this place." The police director yelled, "Don't talk to me about this! I just won't let you see him! You go sue wherever you want to!" Mr. Yang's mother-in-law said, "There is nothing that your sort of person won't do. Mr. Yang's wife, Li Shuhua, was tortured to death by Yushu City Police Station after being there for 13 days." Mr. Yang's other relative asked the police director to write down what he had just said and sign it. The police director was shocked, but then took hold of himself and screamed again. He asked whether Mr. Yang's relative was a practitioner and threatened to call the local police immediately. Mr. Yang's relative wasn't scared and responded, "We need to bring Mr. Yang home and get medical treatment for him. Release him immediately on medical parole." The police director refused, turned around ,and left.

On July 21st, 2006, Mr. Yang's elderly mother and his two teenage sons came to visit despite heavy rain. After enduring a long journey and carsickness they arrived at the prison doors in the hope of seeing Mr. Yang. But the gate guard said they were not allowed to visit him because the Changchun City 610 Office was conducting a "re-education" session, and nobody was allowed to enter the prison hospital. They were told to contact them by phone after one month.

2) Monitoring Phone Lines

When practitioners' relatives visit, they always use a phone that is rigged and only used for practitioners. The volume is very low, and the phone line is monitored. Whatever the director of the Office of Visitors hears from practitioners doesn't faze her at all. She threatens practitioners with taking away family visiting rights. When some practitioners just mentioned about being rescued, she stopped family visits.

3) Reducing Visiting Time

One is allowed generally just half an hour of visiting time a month. The authorities still turn it into a persecutory method. Now, this half hour visit it is getting shorter and shorter. Sometimes it is very short. The practitioner with the last family visit was allowed only a little over ten minutes.

To see arrested practitioners, some relatives wait from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m., and each practitioner's family is allowed only about 10 minutes. This is because the prison has only one phone for all practitioners and their families. Once the time gets to 11:15 a.m., prison staff hurry the relatives to get the conversation over with.

4) Right to Appeal is Taken Away

Practitioners' appeal letters are discarded and never passed on. The prison staff admits that quite openly, arrogantly, and aggressively, because they know that they won't be punished.

Practitioners Jin Xuezhe and Wang Hongge had written appeal letters. Prison staff refused to pass them on. Mr. Wang's relatives called the Office of Penalty, and Drector Sun Yanqing said, "We received orders from our superiors to not sent on any appeal letters. They have told us not to pass on appeal letters from practitioners to the procuratorate."

5) Personal Items Not Allowed

Prison staff prohibit practitioners' relatives from bringing anything to the prison. Generally, prisoners' families can bring fruits and vacuum-packed food, but families of practitioners are not allowed to bring anything.

Inside the prison, practitioners and other inmates are treated differently. Criminal prisoners can have meals with their families and also may receive fruits, clothes, and other items from their families. But practitioners cannot receive anything. During a visit, family members of practitioners must keep their bags out of sight. If the relatives ask why, prison guards respond very rudely, "The prison has a regulation that states that you can't visit with bags. Otherwise you don't visit." The relatives then ask to see the regulation, but the guards naturally do not have such a regulations as it does not exist.

Practitioner Mr. Wang Peng was arrested over a year ago. His clothes are so old, torn and damaged that they coujld no longer be worn. He also does not have bedding. On March 21st, 2006, Mr. Wang called home and asked his family to bring bedding. His family bought bedding and brought it to the prison. It took several trains and buses to reach the prison, but the guards said, "You are not allowed to give practitioners bedding." The relative asked, "What can he use then?" The police said, "We don't care." Mr. Wang Peng is suffering deeply. He has suffered inhuman torture, is emaciated, and very weak. He can no longer even talk loudly, but only in very sedated tones.

Since the relatives could not give Mr. Wang the bedding and other items they brought, they asked to buy something for him in the prison shop. They were told that no bedding was sold in the shop. A guard went to the shop and talked to the salesperson. When the relatives were shopping, the salespeople treated them as if they were prisoners. They were asked to hurry after buying only one thing. The relatives were forced to leave after buying only a few items. To buy more, they would have to wait for the next visiting day. Also, the items in this shop, were a lot more expensive than in shops outside the prison doors.

6) Right to be Hospitalised Taken Away

After suffering physical and spiritual torture over a long time, many practitioners get very sick and more often than not their lives are at risk. Some relatives asked that prison staff attach more importance to human lives. They asked that these practitioners be taken to a hospital with better conditions or put them on medical parole. But this request was not granted to practitioners.

Practitioner Mr. Liu Zhijun from Yushu City, Jilin Province, was transferred to Siping Shiling Prison from Yushu for a three-year term. He has high blood pressure (160) and heart disease, and when he stands for a little while, he begins to shake. Mr. Liu's family went to see Li Zhengqiang, director of the Office of Political Affairs. Li said that he had other things to do. The relatives wouldn't give up and followed him to the fifth floor. He then told these relatives to go to the Penal Office. The relatives went and requested medical parole. The director of the Penal Office said that he would call the procuratorate and told them to go home and wait for a phone call. But two weeks passed and prison staff still had not called. The 11th floor division head was also there at the time. He said to the relatives with a terrible, careless attitude: "Not a big deal. He won't die!"

Practitioner Mr. Wang Honggefrom Changchun City was sentenced to a 13-year term by Changchun City Nanguan Court on June 3rd, 2002. More than five years of brutal torture has taken a terrible toll on Mr. Wang's body and mind. Since January of 2006, the news from the prison is that Mr. Wang was having continuous high fever, trouble urinating, and chest and back pain caused by swelling of his kidney. His heart rate sometimes reached 120 beats per minute and at times he was comatose. He was hospitalised in the prison hospital. Mr. Wang's family requested medical parole many times, but the prison staff refused again and again. Someone at the prison said: "For someone who can walk, that's not too bad. Only for someone who cannot live independently is medical parole granted."

(To be continued)

CCP members involved in the persecution in this division are:

Head: Yin Shoudong
Team captain: Zhang Yejun
CCP members: Geng Mingcai, Wu Tie, Yang Yejun, Yi Haifeng,

Guard He Yulin: he tortures and attempts to "transform" practitioners. For each "transformed" practitioner one earns 100 yuan (6.5 GB pounds). He also let it be known that no one outside that division, that is, Changchun 610 Office and "transformed" practitioners who are involved in the torture of firm practitioners, would be paid for "transformation" work.

Siping Prison Main telephones 86-434-5462364; 86-434-5463712; 6-434-5462211; 6-434-5462212
Address of Siping Prison 135 Mail Box, Shiling Town Post Office, Sihai Line, Jilin Province. Zip Code: 136505
Prison head Gao Ping 86-13904341008 (C); 86-434-5465001 (H)
Prison head Li Wendong 86-434-5469002 (O); 86-434-3209787 (H)
Office of Education and Transformation Chen Guomin 86-13944480566 (C); 86-434-6166111 (H)

Note

1. "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")

2. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/12/28/145663.html