Practitioners Brutally Tortured and Brainwashed in Heilongjiang Women's Prison

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu Jiayu was sent to the newly built 13th prison ward in the Heilongjiang Women's Prison on December 27th, 2006. The 13th prison ward was built specifically to hold Falun Gong practitioners. The guards took four practitioners including Ms. Xu, Ms. Wang Liwen, and Ms. Zhong Yajun to isolated rooms and confiscated all their Dafa materials on December 27th, 2007.

Guard Xu Zhen and a prisoner began brainwashing Ms. Xu Jiayu on December 28th. Ms. Xu talked to them about the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong and they became angry. The guards set up a TV and VCR. They put in a tape slandering Falun Gong. From 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., the guards took turns asking non-stop questions. This created a tremendous mental pressure that lead some to succumb to the authorities demands to renounce their practice of Falun Gong.

The camp tells the guards that those who criticize Falun Gong have healthy minds. The camp encourages the guards to act irrationally and to provoke the practitioners. Guard Xu Zhen had prisoners criticize Dafa, practitioners, tear up Falun Gong books and then stomped on them.

Prisoners in the 13th prison ward decide what kind of chairs practitioners get to sit on. Lu Xiaohua, Zhang Yuenan and Zhang Dongxue constantly played videos that slandered Falun Dafa. They forced practitioners to sit on small stools that required them to look up to watch the tapes. Practitioners that closed their eyes had their hair pulled and eyes forced open. The mental torture and swearing never stopped.

The prisoners tied up practitioners Hu Xiaoguang and Zhang Yanhua and hung them from the rafters for seven days. They forced practitioners to put their fingerprints on the depositions the guards had contrived. Prisoners Xue Shuhua and Li Meilan beat practitioner Zhang Yanhua during March of 2007. The guards didn't interfere. On March 28th, 2007, Zhang Yanhua was transferred to the 13th prison ward. Four prisoners searched her body, bed and luggage before she left. They tore open bags of instant noodles and milk powder. They even stripped Zhang. Prison guard Qin Ling watched it all, but did nothing to stop it. Zhang arrived at the 13th prison ward and was forced to sit on a short stool from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. with limited time periods to eat and use the toilet. Five to eight people took turns talking to her, playing the video tapes that slander Dafa and swearing at her continuously. Zhang was then transferred to the 3rd prison ward. Practitioners who refuse to renounce Falun Gong are moved there. Practitioners were not allowed to talk to each other in the 3rd prison ward.

A practitioner describing her experience in the prison follows.

"On November 28th, 2006, the Heilongjiang Women's Prison intensified its torture against practitioners. I was at the 4th prison ward. The head of the ward was Zhao Bin, the deputy head was Dong Lihua and the "educator" was Yan Yuhua. There were one or two practitioners locked in each of the eight prison cells. The guards who participated in torturing practitioners were Lu Ruihan, Chen Chao, Lin Jia, Zhao Lisha, Qin Ling and Wang Lihong. Practitioners from different cells were not allowed to see each other. The guards had practitioners take turns going to the toilet. The prisoners in charge of watching practitioners decided when they ate and washed. From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday practitioners sat on stools made for children. They could only rest 5-10 minutes out of each hour. Practitioners must lay down once they got on a bed. They had to listen to talks and read articles that slandered Falun Gong all day long.

"I refused to cooperate with the constant insults to my mind and body. Guards Zhao Bin, Lin Jia, Zhao Lisha and prisoner Xue Shuhua tied me onto a bed frame in such a way that I couldn't squat down or stand up. If I wanted to sit on a stool, I had to bend my back all the way down, causing my shoulders and arms tied to the bed frame excruciating pain. Zhao Lisha ordered prisoners Hu Xiaoguang and Kang Guifen to release me and took me to her office around 11 a.m. on November 29th, 2006. Zhao wrote down our conversation, but what she wrote down wasn't what I said. It contained negative information about the practice of Falun Gong. Zhao wanted me to sign it, but I refused. Zhao had prisoners Xue, Hu and Kang tie me up and try to force me to eat. I went on a hunger strike in protest.

"Not only was I tied up around the clock on December 2nd, but Zhao refused to let me use the toilet. She had prisoner Kang strip me and put me on a bin to defecate in. The bin was in a cell with nine other prisoners in it. Other prisoners couldn't eat or stay in the room when I used the bin. Zhao did this to humiliate me. I refused to do this. I fainted after four days of hunger strike, sleep deprivation, being tied up and 24 hours of not being able to use a toilet. I was still tied up on the bed frame even in such a dangerous physical condition. The excruciating pain in my shoulders and arms woke me two hours later."

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/2/4/171739.html