Hunan Province Women's Prison Gives Heavy Prison Terms and Obstructs Family Visits

Changsha Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Lei Yangfan and his wife Ms. Zhou Pinjun have suffered persecution on several occasions for practising Falun Gong. In August 2002, Ms. Zhou was arrested for distributing CDs exposing the persecution and then sentenced to seven years in prison. At this time, she is still imprisoned at the Hunan Province Women's Prison.

Mr. Lei Yangfan was arrested five times. In June 2006, he was arrested by the Dongtang local police for distributing leaflets exposing the persecution. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and he was not allowed to go to the toilet. He was imprisoned at Changsha No. 1 Detention Centre, and while there he was badly beaten and verbally abused by the other prison inmates. The prison guards also routinely assaulted him by kicking him in the buttocks. He began a hunger strike to protest against this humiliation and mistreatment. He was only released after seven days of fasting, when his life was in great danger.

Since 2006, the prison guards at the Hunan Province 6th Divisional Women's Prison have threatened and manipulated Ms. Zhou into divorcing her husband. Guard Deng Xing told her that the best hope for her was to be "transformed¹."

Suffering from the prison's high-pressure environment, and the constant harassment by the prison guards, Ms. Zhou has gone through the "transformation," and filed for divorce. The South China Sea Sichuan Law Office lawyer Mr. Tang Zhengping has been given this document and told to act on it.

Under the circumstances of 7 years of imprisonment and the coercion of the police, Ms. Zhou was forced to be "reformed." At the present time, a divorce is underway in which the prison administration section empowered lawyer Mr. Tang Zhengpin of the Haichuan Law Firm in Hunan Province to handle the case. Practitioner Mr. Lei Yangfan is not willing to grant the divorce but does not want his refusal to cause his wife further injury. However, since they have not been allowed to meet normally for a long time, it is hard for Mr. Lei to engage in normal communication with his wife. During the more than 4 years of Ms. Zhou's imprisonment, Mr. Lei has gone to visit his wife almost every month, but most times he was not allowed to see her. This is additional evidence of the Hunan Women's Prison's wilful deprivation of people's visiting rights, which has caused the deteriorated relationship of the spouses and has sabotaged the harmony of this family. Even when visits were allowed, it took place under tight surveillance. Spouses were separated by a glass window, and they had to talk using microphones. Every word they said could have been recorded. It is painful to engage in this kind of visit.

Ms. Zhou was compelled to undergo "transformation." She has little contact with her husband, though he continuously requests to see her. When they do meet, their innermost feelings are extremely painful, and after four years in prison there is a deep family wound.

Details of the Persecution:

The Hunan Province Women's Prison Reformatory, Main Division (Formally #5 Surveillance Centre, currently renamed #6 Surveillance Centre)

Partial list of names and telephone numbers of prison guards:

Main Divisional Prison Reformatory Office: 86-731-2323040

Li Chunhui, Political Instructor: 86-13637311116 (Mobile)

Xue Fang, Sectional Manager: 86-13787788566 (Mobile)

Second "Transformation" Division (a special division for imprisonment and "transformation" of Falun Dafa practitioners)

Luo Jian: 86-13974856700 (Mobile)

First "Transformation" Division (Main focus on imprisonment and "transformation" of Falun Dafa practitioners)

Zhou Chan: 86-731-6892583 (Mobile)

Hunan Province Women's Prison:

Warden: Zhao Xingyun

Political Commissioner: Nie Wei

Deputy Warden: Zhao Lan

86-731-2323007 (Office), 86-731-2323878 (Home), 86-13308498728 (Mobile)

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")

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/2/2/148117.html