Ms. Song Yayun Persecuted at Heilongjiang Women's Prison After Learning Falun Gong While Imprisoned

Name: Song Yayun
Gender: Female
Age: 53
Address: Limin Village, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Most Recent Arrest: Unknown
Most recent place of detention: Heilongjiang Women's Prison
City: Harbin
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Imprisonment, beatings, solitary confinement, torture, denied visitation.

On November 8th, 2000, Ms. Song Yayun was sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment by the Heilongjiang Superior Court as the result of a criminal case. She was transferred to the No. 3 District of the Heilongjiang Women's Prison (Harbin Women's Prison) on September 4th, 2001, where she began having contact with Falun Gong practitioners. She came to understand that Falun Gong practitioners are kind and honest people. Ms. Song Yayun decided to completely change herself, and she began cultivating in Falun Gong in an open and upright manner. During the past ten years, Ms. Song Yayun has followed the teaching of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and has endured all kinds of persecution. She is currently still jailed in the No. 5 District of the prison.

1. Kind-hearted Ms. Song Yayun Punished for Helping Falun Gong Practitioners

In the winter of 2003, it was colder than -30°C (-22°F). Many districts of the jail dragged and forced Falun Gong practitioners outdoors in the shade as a way of abusing them. Many people at the prison were aware of this situation, and the then-prison director was Wang Xing.

Zhang Yan, a practitioner who was in her fifties, was dragged down from the fourth floor by her feet. Her head was bumped down the stairs one after another. As a result, this practitioner lost control of her bladder and was left in the cold with her wet trousers. She was not allowed to put on her winter coat, or to move around, and she was forced to stretch out her bare hands. Prisoners Liu Wenge and Li Mei were instigated to slash practitioners’ hands with a wicker switch. If the practitioners moved around, they were beaten with electric batons. At noon, they had their lunch outdoors. In the extreme cold, they had to eat their cold meals, and they were kept frozen from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

After they returned to the cells, they were still not allowed to rest in bed. They were forced to sit on the cement floor in the hallway. They were not allowed to use mattresses and were forced to sit there until 2:00 to 3:00 a.m., then forced to get up at around 5:00 a.m. Eventually team leader Kang Yazhen placed seven practitioners including Cheng Peiying and Jia Yarong in “solitary confinement.” After they got out of solitary confinement, they were put in the clothing storage room. When they got up at 5:00 a.m., they were handcuffed to the bed until 10:00 p.m., and not until then were they allowed to sleep. They were tortured this way for six months.

One day when Ms. Song Yayun saw that the prisoners were giving too little food to the frozen Falun Gong practitioners, she added some to it. When prisoner Guo Qingxia saw this, she scolded Ms. Song for two days. Also one midnight when Ms. Song Yayun gave some food to the practitioners, it was seen by a criminal prisoner named Ms. Yang Huanying, who reported it to prison director Kang Yazhen. Another time when Ms. Song Yayun brought some cold noodles for the practitioners, she was again reported by the prisoners. Since Ms. Song Yayun had helped the practitioners many times, Kang Yazhen and Wu Yanjie punished her by deducting from her some credit points for time off for good behaviour.

2. From Refusing to Defame Falun Gong to Openly Declaring that Falun Gong Is Good

On November 12th, 2004, Wu Yanjie and Tao Shuping talked to Song Yayun, demanding that she curse Falun Gong. Ms. Song Yayun told them that “cursing is not right. I won't say what you want me to say.” As a result, she was beaten, and that same day placed in solitary confinement.

During her solitary confinement, the visitation room notified Ms. Song Yayun that it was time for her family visitation. Wu Yanjie disallowed any visitation, bringing pain to her family. At this moment all the practitioners at No. 3 District went on hunger strike to protest for Ms. Song, demanding her release. Deputy director Tao Shuping went to the cells and talked to Ms. Song Yayun. She said, "You can be released only if you write a repentance letter to renounce Falun Gong." Song Yayun talked to her about the truth of Falun Gong. Instead of listening, Tao Shuping tried to stop Song Yayun, and she also slapped Ms. Song dozens of times. Eventually Ms. Song Yayun said, “Tao, even if you beat me to death, I will still cultivate Falun Gong.” Tao then stopped.

By that time, Ms. Song Yayun had been beaten almost to the point of losing her senses. When she saw a door, if she tried to walk toward it, she bumped into a wall. Tao Shuping ordered Ren Xiuli to drag Song Yayun to the dampest and coldest room to keep her frozen there. Her hands were handcuffed to the floor, and the back of her hands were bruised from the handcuffs. She had very thin shoes. She was tortured for thirty-four days, until November 12th, 2004. When they realised that she was determined and nothing could change her, they had no choice but to release her back to the cells. Ever since then, Ms. Song Yayun has stepped forward to cultivate Falun Gong in an open and honest manner.

3. The Jail Continues the Persecution--Ms. Song Yayun Stops Doing Forced Labour to Protest the Persecution

A series of persecution started against Ms. Song Yayun:

No. 1: They took away her credits from doing forced labour that would have reduced her sentence. All the credits she had already earned were voided.

No. 2: Prisoners were ordered to monitor Ms. Song Yayun around the clock. It was first called “five jointly monitoring,” and later called “personal monitoring.” The monitors followed her every step, not allowing her to study the Falun Gong teachings or do the exercises. A prisoner named Yan Lili snatched away Master Li’s new articles from her.

No. 3: Ms. Song was not allowed to talk to other practitioners. Monitoring books were set up to record her behaviour. While being treated like this, Ms. Song Yayun still continued doing the labour work for almost two years. In September 2006, to protest the persecution and unlawful treatment (it violated the law for prisoners to monitor others), Ms. Song Yayun started a work strike. Kang Yazhen for the second time placed her in “solitary confinement.” Her hands were handcuffed to the floor for fifteen days. After being released, Song Yayun refused to do the labour job.

4. Being Persecuted by “Personal Monitors,” “Solitary Confinement,” and “Being Locked to a Ring on the Ground”

Ms. Song Yayun was followed closely by her personal monitors: prisoners, Guan Yuxiang and Ao Xuechun, who watched all her movements and punished her physically by forcing her to sit on a small stool.

Torture Demonstration: Punishment by forced sitting on a plastic stool in one position for long periods of time, while prisoners monitor. Sometimes the practitioners could hardly sit straight. Some practitioners developed bruises on the buttocks. The edge of the stool caused bruises and open sores.

On July 23rd, 2007, the prison guards transferred Ms. Song Yayun to No. 1 District, surrounded by prisoners Li Yamei and Sheng Qiaomei, and she was forced to sit on a small stool. On November 1st, 2007, the prison guards transferred Song Yayun from No. 1 District to the No. 6 District. There she was surrounded by personal monitors Chen Lang and Deng Xiaomin. Zong Bin, director of the No. 6 District, placed her in solitary confinement again on November 8th, and her hands were locked to a ring on the floor for over fifteen days.

Yan Xiuhua from the No. 6 District again placed Song Yayun in solitary confinement on June 12th, 2008, for doing the exercises. This time her hands were again locked to a ring on the floor, for twenty-five days. Ms. Song Yayun has been placed in solitary confinement four times.

On July 5th, 2008, when Song Yayun was released for the fourth time from solitary confinement, the prison guard transferred her directly to the No. 5 District, where she has since been monitored by a prisoner named Du Yinhui.

In February 2008, when Song Yayun wanted to talk to the prison guard Li Xiao, Du Yinhui stopped her by cursing out loud. Ms. Song Yayun went on hunger strike for seven days to protest, insisting that the unlawful use of personal monitors be stopped. A prison guard named Xu Bo who was in charge of the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) talked to Song Yayun. On the surface he agreed, but he did not keep his promise. There are still prisoners monitoring Song Yayun, persecuting and watching her. When a monitor feels that something does not conform to what he likes, he will curse and harass her.

Wu Huili, Yuan Jing, directors of No. 5 District
Xiao Lin, Lu Jinghua, Zou Qi, 610 prisoner guards

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/3/25/237690.html