Female Teacher from Inner Mongolia Severely Persecuted, Now “Nothing But Skin and Bones”

Name: Wu Guohui
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Inner Mongolia
Occupation: Teacher
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 5th, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Hohhot Women's Prison
City: Hohhot
Province: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, brainwashing, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Ms. Wu Guohui, a teacher at the Inner Mongolia Balinzuoqi Elementary School, was arrested on her way to the market for groceries, and later sentenced for following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and trying to be a good person. As a result of brutal persecution, Ms. Wu is now emaciated.

The day after Ms. Wu was released from prison, officers from the Balinzuoqi Police Department Domestic Security Division, including leaders Tian Licheng and Li Hongzhu, personally led more than 10 people from the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), the police department, the police station, and the community residential committee to break into Ms. Wu's home on May 14th, 2012. They attempted to take her to a hospital for a physical so that she could be persecuted further.

Ms. Wu's weight had dropped from about 165 pounds to less than 66 pounds. When the officers arrived at her home, she was in bed, barely alive. Seeing her in that condition, Li Hongzhuo said, “We cannot touch her.” The group of more than 10 people then backed out of the house one by one.

Ms. Wu has been repeatedly arrested, her home has been ransacked, she has had money extorted from her, and she has been monitored, spied on, and followed for long periods of time. She has been detained at the brainwashing centre and undergone intense brainwashing. The community residential committee even went to her house and harassed her on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Since 2001, a person named Zhao from Ms. Wu's community has been monitoring her and often drops by her house to check her household registration. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) long-term persecution of Ms. Wu has affected the entire family. Family members live in constant fear, worry, and humiliation. They have had little peace in their lives.

Arrested by SWAT Team on Her Way Grocery Shopping

While driving with her husband to the market for groceries on the morning of June 5th, 2011 (the day before the Dragon Boat Festival), a man dressed in black made Ms. Wu stop the car. There were many people on the street, and she thought she might have hit someone. After Ms. Wu got out of the car, the man asked for her car key. While he was talking he grabbed the key. Five or six men also dressed in black came up to them. Then a plainclothes man in his 50s approached Ms. Wu. Later, she realized the man was Qi Bolin of the Balinzuoqi Police Department Domestic Security Division. He took out a small book and said, “I work for the police department and this is my work permit.” Then he quickly closed the book.

Ms. Wu saw the letters “SWAT” printed on their clothes. Without showing a warrant, the SWAT team brutally twisted Ms. Wu's arms behind her back and pushed her into a vehicle. When her husband asked them what they wanted, one of the team members grabbed him around the neck, and he couldn't breathe. They took Ms. Wu to the Balinzuoqi Police Department.

Ms. Wu's husband went home after her arrest. Just outside of their apartment building, he was approached by Li Hongzhu of the Domestic Security Division and Li Haili of the Lindong Township Police Station. They arrested him and took him to the police station. Later, more than 10 officers, including Li Bing and Li Hongzhu of the Domestic Division and Li Haili and Wang Zhiwei of the Lindong Township Police Station, forced him to open the door. The police then ransacked their home. They confiscated personal belongings such as Falun Gong books. Among the officers who participated in this operation were officer Gao Yanguo of the 610 Office and Wang Huanyong and Wang Dongmei of the Lindong Township Xicheng District.

Ms. Wu's home was ransacked again from 10 a.m. to noon on the morning of June 10th. A group of people including six police officers, a man, and a woman, took Ms. Wu's husband's key and entered the home. More personal belongings were confiscated, including a camera. Ms. Wu's husband was released on bail after being detained for 12 days.

Brutally Tortured and Given Unknown Drugs at the Police Station

At the police station, the SWAT team members dragged Ms. Wu into an interrogation room and bound her to an iron chair. There was a metal desk in front of the chair with two fixed handcuffs on top and two fixed shackles underneath. The police officers put Ms. Wu's hands and feet into the handcuffs and shackles. She nearly passed out. Xu Wenhui, a female officer with the Domestic Security Division, searched Ms. Wu while insulting her with vulgar language. Ms. Wu was then tried by Qi Bolin. During the entire process, Ms. Wu urged them not to do bad deeds. She told them the moral principle of good being rewarded with good and evil being repaid with retribution. She explained that Falun Gong is not a cult, and that freedom of belief is not a crime. The police gloated over her misfortune and didn't listen to her kind words of advice.

After being tried, the police handcuffed Ms. Wu's hands behind her back with one hand over the shoulder and the other hand against her lower back. They pushed her into a police car and escorted her to the detention center. Doctors were waiting for her at the detention center. More than 10 people held her down and examined her. They drew blood, and measured her blood pressure. After Ms. Wu was put into a cell, she was given a shot of an unknown drug. Because of the drug and the cruel treatment, Ms. Wu was very thirsty. She started lose consciousness and become very disoriented. After she was taken back to the cell, she heard one of the police officers tell the other inmates in the cell to “watch her and make sure she is breathing.”

The next day, Ms. Wu ached all over. She couldn't see clearly, her heart was beating very fast, and she felt lightheaded and very weak. After being shackled and handcuffed at the police station, her hands, feet, wrists and ankles were severely swollen. As a result of the brutal treatment by the SWAT team, Ms. Wu's thighs, shoulders, and upper body were swollen and she was severely bruised. Many of the dark bruises all over her body didn't heal for more than a month. A guard said that she was anemic. After a few days, another guard told her, “You have high blood pressure.” Ms. Wu said, “I practise Falun Gong and haven't been sick for over 10 years. My current poor health is due to the persecution inflected on me by Qi Bolin and others from the police station.”

Ms. Wu grew weaker and weaker. She didn't have any strength and her heartbeat got faster and faster. One night, the prison doctor that was on duty measured her heart rate at more than 140 beats per minute. Ms. Wu lost consciousness and started to go into spasms. The guard called for an ambulance. She was taken to the hospital and injected and administered IV fluids. The next morning, she was escorted back to the detention center. She could hardly eat anything. Three days later, she was again in critical condition.

Unjustly Sentenced

Officers including Qi Bolin and Li Hongzhu of the Balinzuoqi Police Department Domestic Security Division were unconcerned whether Ms. Wu lived or died. They fabricated evidence and imposed charges against her. Twice they petitioned for her arrest but were turned down due to lack of evidence. Qi and the others involved did not give up. They collaborated and somehow were able to adjust the number of searches to the minimum allowed for arrest. They submitted Ms. Wu's dossier to the Chifeng Procuratorate for a third time, asking to “coordinate” an arrest. Because a judge with the Chifeng City Intermediate People's Court said, “I think it's enough to convict,” the Chifeng Procuratorate allowed the Balinzuoqi Procuratorate to grant the arrest. Ms. Wu was formally arrested on July 21st, 2011. The whole process took 46 days.

The day she was arrested, prison doctor Wang Jila gave Ms. Wu some orange juice. Ms. Wu told the doctor that she had already drunk a mixture with dried milk and couldn't drink anymore. Wang and the guard escorted Ms. Wu to the hospital and attempted to force-feed her. The doctor at the hospital said that it was not necessary to force-feed her. Wang said, “No. We must force-feed her.” In the end, five or six people pushed her down and tried to insert a tube in her mouth. Ms. Wu clenched her teeth tightly to prevent the tube from being inserted into her mouth, so they inserted the tube into her nose. The guards took Ms. Wu back to the detention centre with the tube still in her nose, and it stayed there for three days and nights. She was also handcuffed behind her back with one hand over the shoulder and the other hand against her lower back for three days and three nights. During this time, she was repeatedly force-fed food and medications.

After Ms. Wu was so severely mistreated, she not only became anemic and had a high heart rate, but she also suddenly started to have continuous vaginal bleeding. Her face was swollen and she became physically weaker, until she didn't even have the strength to talk.

After being detained for five months, Ms. Wu was tried by the Chifeng City Balinzuoqi Court. A defence lawyer from Beijing represented her and entered a not-guilty plea. Before the trial, the Balinzuoqi Judicial Bureau deputy director, Li Wei, called to harass, threaten, and intimidate the lawyer. Ms. Wu was sentenced to three years in prison on October 25th, 2011, and was sent to the Hohhot Women's Prison on December 13th.

Torture Continues in Prison, Ms. Wu Is “Nothing But Skin and Bones”

The Falun Gong practitioners who are new arrivals at the Hohhot Women's Prison are sent to the “attack” division. This unit has been set up specifically to intensively brainwash and persecute unyielding Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] them. Each practitioner is monitored and watched closely by two “collaborators”¹ and three criminal inmates. On the second and third days after arriving at the prison, Ms. Wu got up early and did the exercises. The inmates who were monitoring her pushed her down and restrained her so that she couldn't do them. They beat her and verbally insulted her. On the morning of the third day, a male leader name Kang ordered an inmate to bring Ms. Wu into a big room. First he shocked Ms. Wu with a small electric baton. Later, he switched to a big electric baton. He shocked her face, head, mouth, hands, and arms and other parts of her body. Right away, her mouth was almost sealed shut from being shocked so severely. Ms. Wu couldn't eat anything and it took a lot of effort for her just to drink some water. After a few days, the skin on her face and hands started to peel and a layer of burnt dark skin came off.

After being shocked with the electric baton, Ms. Wu's health deteriorated. She had a high heart rate and a high fever, and she couldn't eat. After an examination, the doctor said her condition was caused by anemia and she was forcibly given injections, medications, and IV fluids. During this time, the inmates that were monitoring Ms. Wu subjected her to verbal abuse and beatings. Inmates Liu Yan, Shi Zhuo, and Liang Shuhua held her down and force-fed her medication. They pinched her nose and Liu pried her teeth open with a spoon, which almost broke one of Ms. Wu's teeth. The inmates took away Ms. Wu's bedding, so she was sleeping on a wooden bed frame during the winter cold. Ms. Wu had nonstop vaginal bleeding, and sometimes blood would gush out. She had no strength to sit or stand. The inmates who were monitoring her beat her, cursed at her, and said that she was faking. They would drag her and leave her on a terrazzo floor, sometimes for more than 12 hours at a time. Inmates would kick her or curse at her.

The two times that Ms. Wu was sent to the prison hospital, a male leader named Liu Gong beat her and cursed at her. He threatened her and said, “Wait until you come back. You will see how I am going to fix you.”

Due to severe physical and mental torture, Ms. Wu's health continued to worsen, despite treatment by the prison medical staff. As a result, she is now “nothing but skin and bones” as described by the guards of the prison hospital. The results of the hospital exam show that she has severe anemia, severe potassium deficiency, superficial gastritis, gastric ulcer, lung infection, cholecystitis, and uterine endometrial cancer. After being detained and treated at the prison hospital for four months, Ms. Wu is now near death. The Hohhot Women's Prison authorities finally notified her family to come and take her home.

Parties Responsible for the Persecution of Mr. Ning Shijiang:

Wang Yushu, secretary of Balinzuoqi Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): +86-13304767988 (mobile)
Tian Zhongcheng, secretary of Balinzuoqi Political and Legislative Affairs Committee: +86-13804766783 (mobile)
Hou Zhijun, director of Balinzuoqi 610 Office: +86-13804766827 (mobile)
Zhang Wenkai, director of Balinzuoqi Police Department: +86-18604767333 (mobile)
Tian Licheng, leader of Balinzuoqi Domestic Security Division: +86-15147628887 (mobile)
Li Bing, leader of Balinzuoqi Domestic Security Division: +86-13804766281 (mobile)
Li Hongzhu, political director of Balinzuoqi Domestic Security Division: +86-13789763008 (mobile)
Qi Bolin, officer of Balinzuoqi Domestic Security Division: +86-13604765850 (mobile)
Qu Guofeng, chief procurator of Balinzuoqi Procuratorate: +86-476-7862740 (office), +86- 13704764022 (mobile)

Note

1. "Collaborators" (former practitioners, brainwashed against Falun Gong, made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners)