Criminal Inmates Incited to Torture Practitioners in Wuhan City Women's Prison

Liu Jianying, in her 50s, the political instructor of the No. 1 Sub-ward, No. 7 Ward at Wuhan City Women's Prison in Hubei Province, orders the guards and incites the inmates to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

Since the beginning of 2011, Liu Jianying has been using her power to torture practitioners even more cruelly. Practitioners are forced to keep a distance of one meter from each other and cannot talk to each other. They can only purchase food and daily necessities in limited quantities. Their families are not allowed to visit or send food or money to them. Furthermore, prison authorities have shortened the practitioners' mealtimes and limited the number of times a practitioner can use the toilet.

Practitioners are stripped of any personal freedom in the prison. In order to do anything, they need to write a report, apply for it and wait for approval. Only when they get approval can they take action. If practitioners violate this rule, they will be tortured, including the use of corporal punishment and being handcuffed. The criminal inmates assigned to monitor that practitioner will also be punished—their demerit points are deducted or their terms of imprisonment get extended. As a result, the No. 7 Ward has become an even more ghastly place and the inmates who are assigned to watch practitioners resort to extreme measures of torture.

Xiong Yan, in her 30s, was in charge of the inmates held in the No. 1 Sub-ward, No. 7 Ward. She aided and abetted the perpetrators. She collaborated with Liu Jianying and stopped at nothing in persecuting practitioners. They increased their efforts to exploit the practitioners by forcing them to do slave labour work at longer hours to increase the production quota. Each practitioner had to finish making 60 trousers per day, with all the production lines making 2,000 trousers every day. The practitioners had to meet their quota or they couldn't go to bed. There would be three assessments a month. The slowest 10 practitioners in the assessment would be punished. They must carry the meals from the first floor to fifth floor for ten days. During that period, guard Ke Yuhong indoctrinated practitioner Ms. Yang Sufen with lies that framed Falun Gong. The guard also incited inmate Yu Xiaoyuan to deprive Ms. Yang of sleep and force her to do slave labour during the day. Ms Yang had to carry the meals for several consecutive months for failing to fulfil the production quota.

Ms. Shi Yingxia, in her 50s, was sentenced to four years in prison by a local court. She was taken to Wuhan Women's Prison between July and August, 2009. She is now being held at the No. 9 Cell, No. 1 Sub-ward, No. 7 Ward.

Guards Wang Juan (30 years old) and Jing Shan have been acting together to persecute Ms. Shi Yingxia in order to try to force her to give up her belief since March 2011. They incite inmates Chen Yin, Sun Xiaoling, and others to closely monitor Ms. Shi's every action and words. The inmates order Ms. Shi to work non-stop while verbally abusing her. They also force her to clean the toilet, make the beds, mop the floor and clean the windows. Ms. Shi had to clean everything according to their standards. Several of the inmates slapped Ms. Shi's face and kicked her because she didn't clean certain spots or fold the blankets properly. If Ms. Shi tried to explain, they would only increase the torture. Practitioners suffer from beatings almost every day, including being pinched in the thighs and berated.

Ms. Yang Sufen, in her forties, is from Xishui County, Hubei Province. She was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and taken to Wuhan City Women's Prison in 2008. She is now being held at No. 1 Sub-ward, No. 7 Ward.

Guard Ke Yuhong, 50s, is directly involved in persecuting Ms. Yang Sufen. She hasn't spared any effort in torturing Ms. Yang. To try to force Ms. Yang to renounce Falun Gong, Ke Yuhong forced her to stand still all night long for three straight months without moving or closing her eyes. Inmates Yu Xiaoyuan, Xiang Qixiang, Shi Xiaolan and Li Xianhong were instigated to monitor Ms. Yang around the clock. Whenever Ms. Yang moved a little bit or closed her eyes, they would kick and punch her while verbally abusing her. Not long after, Ms. Yang suffered from frost bite on her feet and hands due to exposure to the cold winter draft. Her skin cracked and oozed blood and pus. The cracks on her hands and feet were covered with layers of scabs. Due to the extreme pain, she could touch any hard objects with her hands. Her feet and legs were also swollen. As a result, she had a difficult time putting on her shoes and pants, and could barely walk.

Over the years, Ke Yuhong forced Ms. Yang Sufen to do slave labour making garments for export. In the evening, Ms. Yang was forced to watch programmes that slandered Falun Gong. Ke Yuhong also incited inmates Yu Xiaoyuan, Xiang Qixiang, Shi Xiaolan and Li Xianhong to make Ms. Yang mop the floor and clean the toilets, buckets and the windows of the cell in 30 minutes. They also made her carry their meals. If they weren't happy with her work, they would force her to stand still facing the wall for a long period of time and not allow her eat her meals. In addition, they even limited the number of times she can use the restroom. To cover up her crimes, Ke Yuhong rejected Ms. Yang's family's efforts to visit her or send her money or food. Ms. Yang's family travelled a long way to the prison, but the guards wouldn't allow them to visit her.

Ms. Li Peihong, in her 30s, is from Wuhan City, Hubei Province. She was sentenced to four years in prison by the local court. She was taken to Wuhan women's Prison in 2010 and held at the No. 8 Cell, No. 1 Sub-ward, No. 7 Ward. Han Jie, a 28 year old guard is directly responsible for persecuting Ms. Li.

For several years now, Han Jie has forced Ms. Li to watch programs that slander Falun Gong during the day. In the evening, Han Jie incited inmates Gong Yufeng (in her 50s), Zhang Ying (30) and several others to force Ms. Li to stand facing the wall for a long period of time in order to deprive her of sleep

A new round of persecution began in March of this year. Han Jie ordered inmates Gong Yufeng, Zhang Ying and others to torture Ms. Li again. They forced her to stand facing the wall for seven days and nights as a punishment. They also deprived her of sleep, shortened her meal time, physically and verbally assaulted her, and limited the number of times she could use the toilet. In addition to that, the prison authorities didn't allow Ms. Li to buy food or daily necessities, and deprived her family of the right to visit her.

The above cases of torture are only the tip of the iceberg in the persecution of practitioners in Wuhan City Women's Prison.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/10/13/247796.html