Older Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Liu Zhi in Critical Condition from Torture at Liaoning Province Women's Prison

Name: Liu Zhi
Gender: Female
Age: 51
Address: Shenyang City Liaoning Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 12th, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women's Prison
City: Shenyang
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: brainwashing, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, imprisonment, torture

Ms. Liu Zhi, a Falun Gong practitioner from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province was arrested on July 12th, 2011, taken to Liaoning Province Women's Prison and tortured. Her physical condition is deteriorating. She is emaciated, suffers from fecal incontinence, lost her clear speaking ability and is paralyzed. Warden Xu Min refused to release her, claiming “Ms. Liu Zhi does not transform [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] or acknowledge her crime.” Family members have been worrying about Ms. Liu Zhi's safety, and demand her release.

There have been two deaths from torture of women practitioners at Liaoning Province Women's Prison. The prison authorities stopped family visits of the entire prison population. On November 28th, 2011, Ms. Liu Zhi's family was given family visit rights. Ms. Liu was in a reception area, and looked emaciated and unable to speak clearly. Her hand joints were swollen, so she couldn't hold the phone for communication with her family. She has been suffering from faecal incontinence for over 20 days. Ms. Liu Zhi told her family that there was a bowel movement in her trousers and she was provided only paper for protection. She was paralyzed, couldn't turn her body when sleeping, is thrown into bed by prisoners and has to sleep in one position. During the day, she sits on a chair, but can't sit still for an entire day and falls out of the chair. Her feet were very swollen and increased from a shoe size of 38 to 42. At the end of September, her family brought a sweater, shirt, socks, underpants, laundry powder and other goods, as agreed to with her team leader, but she did not receive these goods even after two months.

On December 5th, her family reported the situation to Liaoning Province Prison Administrative Bureau. The official told them to report the details to the prison, and provided an introduction letter for the family. Her family visited the Liaoning Province Women's Prison office building. It was difficult to finally meet Warden Xu Min (female, in charge of medical parole). Xu Min claimed that Ms. Liu Zhi did not “transform” or acknowledge that she committed a crime in practising Falun Gong, so she could not approve her release for medical treatment.

Ms. Liu's family is shocked because in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) environment, believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and being good people, which benefits society, has suddenly become a crime. They wonder why Warden Xu Min can state such falsehood, especially since Falun Gong is practised in over 100 countries? Xu Min stated that she would not submit a request for releasing Ms. Liu for medical treatment to higher authorities, and shifted responsibility to others. She said, “I am not in charge of medical issue details. You need to speak to vice-warden Wang Yan.” When the family member asked Wang Yan for medical release, her only comment was that she would ask about the medical issue, and take Ms. Liu Zhi for a health examination.

Ms. Liu Zhi's health is deteriorating and her family still hasn't received any response. They decided to visit the prison frequently and demand her release.

Ms. Liu Zhi is now 51 years old and has practised Falun Gong for 16 years. She had a difficult life before practising Falun Gong. When her daughter was 18 months old, her husband died on the job. She raised the young child and came down with several illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure and asthma, due to her stressful life. Her relationship with her parents-in-law was not going well because of her husband's job compensation issue. They did not see each other for over 10 years.

After she began to practise Falun Gong in 1995, she became a good person and lived by the principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, looked inwards during conflicts and considered the needs of others first. She became healthy without any medical treatment, her conflicts with her parents-in-law were resolved and she also often looked after her sickly elder sister and younger brother. She voluntarily cleaned the public hallway and the snow during snow days. People said that she had changed into another person, became healthy and warm-hearted.

Since the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP in July 1999, Ms. Liu Zhi has been repeatedly persecuted for explaining the facts about Falun Gong to people. On October 22nd, 2009, the police of Xinxing Police Station in Heping District, Shenyang City broke into her home and arrested her. In the Shenyang Detention Centre, she was tortured by the torture method Death Bed¹ for over 40 days, wasn't allowed to go to the toilet, and was injected with unknown drugs. Her entire body twitched from the torture.

The Shenyang City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and the judicial and public security organs prevented two Beijing attorneys from defending her at Heping District Court. She was sentenced to a four-year prison term. When Ms. Liu arrived at Liaoning Province Women's Prison, she was on the verge of death, and had fallen into a coma many times. During the prison health check, guards injected her with unknown drugs, claiming it was a tranquilliser. The prison refused to accept her because of her health condition.

On July 5th, 2010, critically ill Ms. Liu Zhi was released and taken home by her family. On July 12th, 2011, she was arrested again as her health had begun to improve.

As the Liaoning Province Women's Prison tightly blocks information, her family is very worried about her safety.

Liaoning Province Women's Prison
Mailing address: Baixintai Village, Pingluo Town, Yuhong District, Shenyang City
Liaoning Province Women's Prison postcode: 110145

Warden in charge of persecution: Xu Min (female, about 50 years old, was the head of prison 610, then promoted to warden)
Vice-warden: Wang Yan (female)
Team leader in charge of persecuting Liu Zhi: Liu Jie, female, about 50 years old, chief of correction district, director section chief

Note

1. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/12/9/250350.html