Falun Gong Practitioners Severely Abused in the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province

Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Song Xia and her mother Ms. Lu Fenglan were arrested on March 23rd, 2006, by the police from the Heping Police Station of Fushun City, Liaoning Province. They were held in the Second Detention Centre of Fushun City, and later sentenced to imprisonment. The trial was secret, as the court did not inform any of their family members, or lawyers. The whole process lasted less than 2 minutes when the judgement was handed down.

Later, Ms. Lu and Ms. Song were sent to the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province. Because of the mistreatment, Ms. Lu suffered from heart failure and her blood pressure rose to 220, after which the prison refused to accept her. Ms. Song was detained in the 10th prison section. Later, she was transferred to a dark storehouse, where she was closely monitored by two prisoners 24 hours a day. In the prison she was tortured and subjected to brainwashing for over 6 months, which led to poor eyesight, acute pain in her ribs, difficulty breathing and finally, unconsciousness.

The prison guards of the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province mistreated Falun Gong practitioners cruelly. Among them, the 8th prison section mistreated practitioners the most severely. The name of the chief of the section is Zuo, and the group head and the deputy group head are extremely cruel. In April 2008, before the Beijing Olympic Games, a Falun Gong practitioner was killed in the 8th section. His body was seen covered with blood and dragged out by a prison guard.

Falun Gong practitioners are also persecuted in the 9th, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 10th, and 6th sections. The most widely implemented mistreatments are sleep deprivation for a long period and starvation. The practitioners are provided with only very small amount of food-- one spoon of boiled rice every day, and they are not allowed to drink water. In winter they are forced to go barefoot with only a shirt on them. They are constantly shocked with electric batons and their arms are bound behind their back with strips torn from bed sheet. They are subjected to all kinds of torture by prison guards, including pricking finger nails with toothpicks, stepping on the feet and palms forcefully, punching the chest and ribs, dragging them by the hair and hitting their heads against the wall, not allowing them to go to the toilet (which led to intestinal diseases), hanging and suspending them in the air, and deep squatting with the head in the lap. Many practitioners were injured and crippled as they were forced to give up Falun Gong. Besides the physical torture, the prison guards also carried out mental torture audaciously. They locked the practitioners in a dark room to watch homicide and suicide videos and forced them to write their understandings about it. All the methods they used were extremely cruel.

Following are tortures the practitioners suffered when they were subjected to the coercive "transformation¹" process, in which they were forced to give up Falun Gong.

Ms. Li Guiqing was forced by monitoring prisoners and prison guards to have dinner every day, but was not allowed to go to toilet. As a result, she suffered from intestinal obstructions and her life was in danger.

Ms. Li Meifeng resisted the mistreatment on her. In the four years of imprisonment she had been locked in a solitary confinement cell two times and tortured cruelly. For several months, the prison guards continuously beat her, exposed her to the freezing cold, prevented her from drinking water, bound her with ropes and subjected her to starvation. She was badly disfigured, emaciated, and one of her arms was broken when she was beaten. Later, Ms. Li broke out of prison.

Ms. Du Jingqin was cruelly beaten, deprived of sleep and subjected to starvation. The prison guards forbid her from putting on cotton-padded shoes in the cold winter, dragged her by her hair and hit her head against the wall.

Ms. Liu Cuiping was hung up and beaten for several days. The prison guards shocked her mouth and lower half of her body with electric batons. As a result, she became unable to walk for many days and was badly disfigured.

Ms. Zhang Xiujuan was crippled for many days because of being tortured.

Ms. Teng Hongtao was forbidden to go to the toilet for 18 days, even during her period. In the cold winter she was not allowed to put on warm clothes, and had cold water poured over her body. She was deprived of sleep for 18 days. She was hung up with her hands cuffed behind her back for many days. Because of this torture her legs were badly injured.

People involved in the mistreatment of practitioners:
Dai Jing, chief of the 10th prison section;
An Rui, group head of the 10th section;
Zhang Yan, Wu Ya, and Ma, deputy group head of the 10th section.

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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/5/26/201651.html