Ms. Zhang Fengzhen Paralyzed as a Result of Beatings Suffered at Liaoning Women's Prison--Dies after Five Years

Name: Zhang Fengzhen
Gender: Female
Age: 63
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: March 9th, 2010
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2001
Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women's Prison
City: Shenyang
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: Beatings, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion
Key Persecutors: Guo Haiyan, An Rui (prison guards); Shan Xia, Yang Jing, and Zhang Yingying (inmates)

Ms. Zhang Fengzhen died in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, on March 9th, 2010. For five years, she was paralyzed and suffered pain as a result of vicious beatings she was subjected to while held at the Liaoning Province Women's Prison, for refusing to renounce her belief in Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance.

Ms. Zhang was arrested in 2001 for distributing Falun Gong-related materials. The Heping District Court in Shenyang City sentenced her to three and a half years in prison. In March 2003, she was taken to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison (then known as Dabei Prison). Prison guards ordered inmates to beat her nonstop for six hours. As a result, her liver was ruptured. She was extremely weak when she was released in 2005. Shortly after her release, she became entirely paralyzed, and later lost the ability to speak.

A description of what she suffered in prison was previously published by the Chinese Minghui site in 2006:

"I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I was placed under arrest by the Heping District Court in Shenyang City in 2001 for distributing Falun Gong materials. During the trial, I was ordered to sit in the defendant's seat. I told them that the seat was reserved for Jiang Zemin [the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head who initiated the persecution of Falun Gong]. I was then told to just stand there. The attorney assigned to me did not even try to defend me. I was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. I was taken to Dabei Prison in March 2003, which has since been renamed Liaoning Province Women's Prison."

"When I arrived at the ward, Guo Haiyan, a section head of the No. 3 Division, asked me whether anyone else in my family practised Falun Gong. She then ordered me to memorize statements inmates were required to recite whenever they were to enter the guards' office. I told her, 'I am not guilty and will not recite those statements.'"

"Guo was angry when she saw me standing firm with my arms behind me. She cursed me, then asked again in a threatening tone, 'Are you going to do as you are told?' She told a guard named An Rui to take me out of the office. An called over an inmate called Shan Xia, who had been convicted of theft. An gave Shan a few orders and left."

"Shan took me to a warehouse for stacks of cloth. Then another criminal inmate, Yang Jing, came in. They immediately asked me whether I would recite the statements and I told them no. They started punching and kicking me as they had been ordered to do by the guards. Shan started to kick me in the head. When I fell down, they dragged me upright and kicked me in the head again."

"A third inmate, Zhang Yingying, later joined Shan and Yang. All three were in their early 20s. They cursed while attacking me, 'Who do you think you are? We've taken care of stronger ones.' They stripped off my clothes, whipped me with electric wires, and smeared slanderous words about Falun Gong on my back. The three took turns beating me from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., nonstop."

"I suffered severe injuries. My face was bruised and swollen. I felt excruciating pains in my internal organs, as well as when urinating. I was not able to stand with my back straight. A bitter taste filled my mouth. Even breathing caused pain all over my body. I was not able to turn over in bed. It hurt whenever someone bumped into me. I demanded a physical examination, but the guards did not heed me. I went on a hunger strike for over a week to protest. The guards tried everything to make me eat, but I refused to cooperate. They ordered four or five people to force-feed me, but I refused to swallow. There were spills all over my clothes. There were numerous cuts around my neck, although they had wrapped neck with a towel during the force-feeding.

"After eight or nine days on a hunger strike, I was taken to the prison hospital for an examination. It turned out that my liver was severely ruptured, my lungs and heart were functioning abnormally, and my blood pressure was high. To cover up their crimes, the guards lied to me and told me that I had a liver tumor. They told my family that I was not in good enough health to be able to see them, but they refused to release me on medical parole. They took 1,000 yuan¹ from my family 'to cover medical expenses.'"

A fellow Falun Gong practitioner in the prison at about the same time as Ms. Zhang gave another account, which was published on July 24th, 2008, by the Chinese Minghui website:

"Ms. Zhang Fengzhen was in her 50s. When I first saw her, she had to be supported by others to walk. At night, she needed help to slowly lay down on her bed, and she had no strength to even turn over. At one point, the guards ordered three criminal inmates, Yang Jing, Zhang Yingying, and Shan Xia, to beat her for six hours. Ms. Zhang still refused to renounce Falun Gong.

March 16, 2010

Related article:
"Account of Persecution in the Liaoning Province Women's Prison" http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/8/6/99576.html

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/3/16/219884.html