Ms. Chang Guiyun from Jiaohe City, Jilin Province Partially Paralysed Due to Torture in Prison

Ms. Chang Guiyun, 62, is retired, and was previously healthy. However, she was so brutally abused while incarcerated in Heizuizi Women's Prison that she became partially paralysed. All of her teeth fell out, and her hair turned grey. Her mouth became crooked, her eyes are now dull, and she lisps when she talks. She is currently on medical parole, but her son is still forced to report her condition to the prison every month.

After she began practising Falun Gong, Ms. Chang Guiyun's former diseases were completely healed. She went to Beijing twice to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. In 2007, Ms. Chang was arrested by officers from the Changan Police Station. Her home was ransacked. While she was in a detention centre, her health deteriorated quickly. She escaped when she was sent to a hospital. After that, she was constantly harassed by the local police and the neighbourhood association.

Ms. Chang was arrested on March 21st, 2008 in Jiaohe City, by officers from the Changan Police Station and the Domestic Security Team of Jilin City. She was then jailed by the Riot Police Team. Her TV, DVD player, and satellite TV receiver were taken from her home. She was tortured with the “big hang up” torture and the tiger bench¹ as she was being interrogated. In the detention centre of Jiaohe City, she was tortured until she was partially paralysed and lisped. Instead of sending her to a hospital, Jiaohe City Police Department transferred her to another prison.

The Jiaohe City Court on July 4th, 2008 sentenced Ms. Chang to eight years in Heizuizi Women's Prison. Before the trial, her family members were threatened by the Jiaohe City Procuratorate in an effort to prevent them from defending her. After being transferred to the prison, Ms. Chang was tightly monitored by collaborators² in the prison and forced to watch programmes that slandered Falun Gong. She had to sit on a plastic stool 15 hours a day for many weeks while watching video programmes that defamed Falun Gong. She was forced to write reports and say words to slander Falun Gong. Otherwise, she was deprived of sleep.

After one year of this kind of treatment in the prison, Ms. Chang's arm was fractured and her hair turned completely grey. The left side of her body was paralysed. All her teeth fell out and she could no longer speak clearly. Because of the paralysis, she could not take care of herself and no one wanted to feed her. She was constantly in a state of starvation. Because no one was willing to help her use the toilet, her pants were often wet. Her bed and clothes were soiled and smelled bad. The prison workers asked her family to send adult diapers for her. Many boxes were delivered, but they were consumed quickly.

Despite her condition, the guards still arranged for collaborators to monitor Ms. Chang closely. Other Falun Gong practitioners in the prison were not allowed to talk to her or help her. The prison told her family to pay the medical expenses. However, she became even worse after she was given medical treatment in the prison, so her family asked for a medical parole. The prison always refused.

Ms. Chang's health became so dire in late 2011 that the prison officials were confident that they could ease up. After collecting 10,000 yuan³ and several guarantee statements from her family, the prison finally let Mr. Chang Guiyun's son carry his mother home.

Everyone who saw her was shocked by her appearance, “Why did a healthy person change so much after three years in prison? Why is she bedridden, partially paralysed with no expression, and unable to take care of herself?”

Although Ms. Chang has been home for nine months, her health is still worrisome. What she endured in prison damaged her health very severely.

Contact information for those responsible:
City 610 Office
Sun Hongcheng, deputy director: +86-432-67250977, +86-13804444326 (Mobile)
Pan Honglin, deputy director: +86-432-67248610, +86-432-67753699

Related article:
“Chang Guiyun is Tortured at the Heizuizi Women's Prison”
http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2010/1/19/114003.html

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

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

3. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.