Ms. Du Juan Persecuted to Near Death at Beijing Women's Prison

Name: Du Juan
Gender: Female
Age: Close to 50
Address: Chaoyang District, Beijing
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 6th, 2010
Most recent place of detention: Beijing Women's Prison
City: Beijing
Persecution Suffered: Detention, imprisonment, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, forced labour, beatings.

Ms. Du Juan has been tortured to the point of near death at Beijing Women's Prison. She suffers from late-stage cancer that has spread throughout her body and relies on taking painkillers daily to relieve the pain. Her family requested a medical release, but prison officials have refused to release her because she has not given up her practice of Falun Gong. Meanwhile, they also claimed that her illness is terminal and attempts at curing her are futile, so they do nothing more than offering painkillers and refuse to let other hospitals treat her.

Ms. Du was arrested and detained at Chaoyang Detention Centre on May 6th, 2010. She was sentenced and sent to the Beijing Women's Prison thereafter. She developed cancer while being persecuted in the prison.

Ms. Du has a disabled son, who has been left homeless since his mother's imprisonment. The child was also separated from his mother in 2004, when Ms. Du was arrested for distributing leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong and sent to Beijing Women's Prison for the first time. Liu Yingchun, director of the No. 4 Prison District, instigated criminal inmate Zhang Ping and others to deprive her of sleep and to physically abuse her. She was also kept in solitary confinement for several months. Because of the long-term persecution, forced labour, and being forced to stand for long periods, her legs and thighs became swollen. Her tail bone oozed a watery pus as a result of kicks from drug-addict inmates, and her whole body was covered with bruises from the beatings. Liu Yingchun later sent Ms. Du's homeless son to an orphanage, shot a video of his plight, and claimed that Ms. Du was responsible for his son's condition. Afterward, they released a video of Ms. Du's son to the entire prison population, causing Ms. Du to suffer ridicule, personal attacks, and insults from other prisoners.

Party involved in the persecution:

Beijing Women's Prison: Qingfeng Road, Tiantanghe No. 8 Prison District: 86-10-60276833

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mharticles/2011/5/30/241648.html