Ms. Huang Lijun Brutally Tortured in Nanjing Women's Prison

Nanjing Women Prison in Jiangsu Province actively cooperated with 610 Office¹ officials to brutally persecute Falun Dafa practitioners detained there. Ms. Huang Lijun is one of those practitioners.

Ms. Huang Lijun was born in Lishui County, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. She is over 40 years old. She was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in 2002 and detained at Nanjing Women's Prison. She has been detained in the 6th, 2nd and 5th Monitoring Sites. Police Official Chou (assistant monitoring site chief--assigned to Nantong Prison later) directed and participated in the persecution of Huang Lijun during her stay at the 6th Monitoring site. In order to force Ms. Huang to give up her belief in Dafa, the guards used many torture techniques. This is what we have learned so far:

1. Very little food was provided. There was a time that Huang Lijun was given so little food that she had no choice but to drink tap water. Later, she went on a hunger strike in protest of her mistreatment. The prison doctors forced food laced with unknown drugs into her mouth.

2. Daily supply receipts must be signed "prisoner." Huang Lijun refused to sign, as she is not a criminal and therefore should not be imprisoned. Prison officials forbid purchases of tissue paper, sanitary napkins, and other daily necessities until she signed. Huang Lijun had to use wrapping paper picked up from the workshop.

3. Guards marked Teacher's [Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa] name on benches and the shoes of practitioners, in an attempt to force practitioners to defile their Teacher's name. Practitioners have to stand if they do not sit, and they will go barefoot if they do not wear the shoes. If the guards could not get practitioners to comply, then they will write Teacher's name on the floor.

4. The guards continuously shocked Huang Lijun for a long time with an electric baton in the policing rooms of the workshop. When she didn't say anything, the official would yell, "Why don't you cry? If you cry out, I'll let you go!" Huang Lijun did not say a word. Prisoners in the workshop could smell burnt flesh. Those people who still had a conscience were in tears.

5. The guards tied Huang Lijun to an iron bed for a long time. They secured a heart monitor to her, because this torture can result in shock or death.

Most prisoners in the 6th Monitoring Site became sympathetic to Huang Lijun, so she was moved to the 3rd Monitoring Site. She was soon transferred to the 2nd Monitoring Site. There is a special "Priority Aid Group" at the 2nd Monitoring Site. The guards attempted to force Huang Lijun to abandon her beliefs. The prisoners shared the same living cell in the beginning. Torturers cannot escape other people's eyes. Therefore, the torture there is limited to forcing practitioners to stand in a corner for long periods and depriving them of food.

Around April 2004, Political Commissar Wu Xiaofeng of Nanjing Women's Prison authorised the detention of Huang Lijun in the "Relative Visiting Room" alone. Police official Ding Hongyan carried out Wu's orders. Huang Lijun stood for seven days and six nights. She was not allowed to sleep. There were four prisoners working in two shifts to monitor her. The prisoner's names were Xue Shouqin, Ge Changying, Gao Beilei, and another unknown prisoner. Huang Lijun went on a hunger strike to protest.

The weather was chilly then, especially in the morning and at night. Huang Lijun didn't have much for clothing and her request for warm clothing was rejected. Huang Lijun's empty stomach felt especially cold. The guards directed other prisoners to cover her face with a cold wet towel to "wash her face." The prisoners danced the "Rabbit Dance" with Huang Lijun among them. They pushed her back and forth in order to drain her physical strength. The prisoners do what the guards tell them to do, because it determines whether they can get their sentences commuted or lessened.

The prison guards took photos of other prisoners holding a bowl and chopsticks pretending to "persuade her to eat." Ms. Huang reached the limit allowed for hunger strikes. Official Ding Hongyan ordered her hands tied and forced food into her mouth. Ding Hongyan said, "This is convenient. We can do whatever we want to force food into her." Another time, Huang Lijun's hands were tied for several hours and her thumbs were damaged. It took two months for her to recover. The guards also ordered prisoners to strike her head with pans, to bind her hands, and to use pens to write on the arches of her feet. All these dirty tortures were concealed. Prisoners at the same site could not imagine what the prison guards did to Huang Lijun in the "Relative Visiting Room" during those seven days and six nights. Other prison officials didn't even know what happened.

Soon after she was returned from the "Relative Visiting Room" to the 2nd Monitoring Site, Huang Lijun was transferred to the 5th Monitoring Site.

During her imprisonment at Nanjing Women's Prison, Ms. Huang was not allowed to see her family members or have a phone conversation over five minutes long during the relatives' monthly visits. The phone would cut off when the time limit was exceeded.

Huang Lijun was imprisoned until September 20th, 2005. The Nanjing 610 Office operated in the capacity of cooperating with Nanjing Women's Prison prior to that. Around July 1st, 2005, Huang Lijun was dragged to the "Relative Visiting Room" from the workshop. She suffered another round of persecution to try to force her to abandon her beliefs. Xiang Yang, Bai Zhenghui, and other officials from the Nanjing 610 Office directed and carried out this round of persecution. Huang Lijun was locked in a guardroom. She was not allowed to wash. There was barely enough water to flush the toilet. It was summer and Huang Lijun used part of the water to wash. Anyone in the 610 Office could watch Ms. Huang's every movement on the monitor.

Huang Lijun was again ordered to stand in the corner for very long periods and not allowed to sleep. If other torture techniques were used or not, it is unknown at present. A month later, it was said that Huang Lijun was "transformed²." She didn't abandon her belief before this round of tortures. Torture by the 610 Office is even more brutal. It was said that the Nanjing 610 Office and the Jiangsu 610 Office cooperated with Nanjing Women's Prison many times before the end of 2005. The officials brutally persecuted every practitioner that would not abandon her belief. This continued in the prison "Relative Visiting Room," until the practitioners agreed to give up their beliefs.

It's said that Huang Lijun was detained again from July to August 2006. Her current situation is unknown.

Prison Chief Mao Jun, Political Commissar Wu Xiaofeng, Assistant Director Bai Guangyou in the Correction Department, and other responsible prison officials of Nanjing Women Prison cannot escape their guilt in the persecution of Ms. Huang Lijun and other Dafa practitioners. They directly or indirectly orchestrated and/or participated in the persecution of Dafa practitioners.

It is said that Dafa practitioner Ms. Wang Xinchun would not cooperate with the demands of the persecutors, so she was sent to a mental hospital in the prison system for additional persecution. Ms. Wang is from Pei County of Xuzhou and worked at Pei County Educational Department before her arrest.

Note

1. "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.

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/2007/12/31/169345.html