Ms. Ma Jun Being Held in a Small, Dark Cell in Lanzhou City Women's Prison

Name: Ma Jun
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Employee of the Lanzhou City Pump Factory
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Lanzhou City Women's Prison
City: Lanzhou
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, interrogation, detention, starvation

Lanzhou City Women's Prison started incarcerating Falun Gong practitioners in 2002. The first practitioner who was subjected to persecution in this prison was Ms. Ma Jun from Lanzhou City. She was sentenced to three years in prison at the time, but later she was given another sentence of ten years imprisonment. As of today, she is still being held in a small, dark, and damp cell in the prison.

In early 2006, the prison set up a section office specifically designated for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. More than 40 practitioners are currently being held there. The officers from this section are the most brutal of the prison. In order to "reform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] practitioners and attempt to get them to renounce their belief, the officers force the practitioners to watch slanderous videos and read materials against Falun Gong. They also force practitioners to stand for long periods of time, and do not allow them to brush their teeth or wash their faces. They also place practitioners in solitary confinement.

Ms. Ma was once placed in solitary confinement for more than a month. The guards gave her only a cup of water every day, and a steamed bun for each meal. They forbade her to wash her face or brush her teeth. Ms. Ma was later transferred to the No. 4 Ward. In winter, the guards removed the bedding from her bed, and she had to sleep on the cold wooden board for a month. Participating in the persecution of Ms. Ma were guard We Yaqin, and criminals An Li and Li Xiaohong. When the other criminals left their cells to do labour in the daytime, An Li and Li Xiaohong beat Ms. Ma. The severe beating left Ms. Ma unable to straighten her lower back for more than two months. A criminal on duty saw that Ma's body had become deformed as a result of the abuse and mistreatment, and that she was in critical condition, so she refused to be on duty out of fear of being held responsible.

When other practitioners asked the guards why they beat Ms. Ma so severely, the guards stopped abusing her. Instead, they placed her in a small, dark, and damp cell with two inmates monitoring her. The cell is so small that there is only enough room for a bed. Ms. Ma has been under surveillance around the clock. The room is so damp that the two inmates have subsequently developed rheumatism. Ms. Ma is still suffering there as of now.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/8/21/228601.html