Changsha City Women's Prison in Hunan Province Tortures and Enslaves Falun Gong Practitioners

Changsha Women's Prison of Hunan Province is located in Jingwanzi, Changsha City. It is an evil den where female Falun Gong practitioners are brutally persecuted. Since 1999, prison staff have been using a variety of torture methods to "transform¹" detained practitioners. Torture methods include such brutal methods as hanging people by handcuffs, forced standing for long periods, forced running, long-term solitary confinement, force-feeding, sleep deprivation, forced labour, etc. These are just a few methods used to coerce Falun Gong practitioners to give up their practice. Also, prison staff are ordered to encourage the criminal inmates to assault and torture Falun Gong practitioners.

Torture Used as a Means to "Transform" Practitioners

There are detailed persecution tasks assigned to the prison staff. These staff members include: Prison Chief Zhao Lan (female), the Sixth Branch director Xiao Ping (female) and Deputy Director Zhou Chan (female), the First Ward warden Li Jun (female) who is responsible for "education and transformation," the Second Ward warden Luo Jian (female) also responsible for "education and transformation," "Crucial Task Team" leader Mao Huiping (female), and Deng (surname, female).

When practitioners are least suspecting it, the guards will use something to cover their head, and then drag them to an empty cell where they are tortured by inmates 24 hours a day. These inmates often handcuff practitioners and hang them up so that only their toes can reach the ground. Such torture causes people to lose control of their normal bodily functions and they soil their clothes. They would then be made to remain in their soiled clothes. This torture could last for a long time, up to a few months. Ms. Leng Xuefei from Yueyang City, Ms. Zhang Furong, Ms. Yan Hong from Changsha City and Ms. Chen Chujun from Huaihua City are victims of such torture.

Ms. Leng was taken to the "Crucial Task" team immediately after she got to the prison. Four months of being hung from handcuffs brought on multiple diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, as well as cervical and spine problems. Even so, the guards still tried to force her to write the "four guarantees²". Currently, every month one or two Falun Gong practitioners are taken to the "Crucial Task" team to be "transformed." Ms. Yan Hong has been taken to the "Crucial Task" team four times already. Every time, she was handcuffed and hung up for more than one month. Only when their physical body was nearly devastated, would practitioners be released. Under this intense persecution, practitioners have been severely injured, both physically and mentally.

Forced Labour

The prison staff have forced older practitioners over sixty years of age into slave labour. They force practitioners to peel fava beans. Each practitioner is assigned to work on thirty to fifty kilogrammes of fava beans. Their tiny cells are their place of work. There is water everywhere, all over the ground and even on the beds. These practitioners have been living in dark and humid cells for a long time. Because Falun Gong practitioner Mrs. Mao Siyuan didn't call out her name to report her arrival, she was forced to work eighteen hours straight. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Lanhui had a blood pressure reading of 220 to 300, and yet the guards still forced her to work. The repetitive work destroyed the flesh on her fingers, but she was still forced to peel beans.

After practitioner Ms. Miao Cui had suffered all kinds of torture, she started to show symptoms of uterine cancer. Hospital examinations concluded that she only had a few months left to live. Only then did the prison release her. After Ms. Miao got out, she has no money for hospital treatment or even food. She could only survive with the help of her family and friends..

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. "Four Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write the "four statements" as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the 610 Office, they consist of "a letter of repentance," "a guarantee" to never again practise Falun Gong, a "Dissociation Statement" to declare a dissociation with Falun Gong and promise not go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/2/7/171937.html