(Clearwisdom.net) Since the persecution began on July 20, 1999, nearly a hundred Falun Gong practitioners from Ningxia and nearby areas have been incarcerated at the Yinchuan Women's Prison. The guards often bragged, "I didn't hit you." What they did do, however, was even more evil.

The prison treated prisoners with hypocrisy. From the warden to the ordinary staff, they all espoused "civilized law enforcement, treating prisoners as human beings." Hiding behind this slogan, they used tactics such as not allowing them to see their families or not allowing them to receive daily necessities or money. Their version of "civilized law enforcement" and their hypocritical methods devastated the practitioners, harming their spirits and their bodies and destroying their wills.

After eight years, one of the practitioners imprisoned here was tormented until she had a mental collapse, several others nearly collapsed, and many were extremely depressed after being released. There are still practitioners being tortured here.

Ms. Tuo Meiling

Ms. Tuo Meiling was in her forties, and a former Lingwu Pharmacy staff member. She was cheerful and honest, and her family lived in harmony. She was sharp and competent. After she cultivated Falun Dafa, she become even better and was recognized as a very kind person by her company and family. In 2003, she was seized and dismissed from public service. She was sentenced to three and a half years at Yinchuan Prison.

When the prison guards tried to "transform" her, she refused to wear the prison uniform or recite the regulations. She was shut up inside a small cell for a long time, handcuffed, and could not talk to anyone. Under this extreme physical and mental torture, she was not always clear headed. The guards did not release her even when her condition no longer met the minimum prison standards. On the contrary, they gave her pills that damaged her nerves and caused dementia.

On May 16, 2006, when she was released from prison, her husband and family members picked her up. Because they did not understand the facts of the persecution, her husband even threatened to divorce her if she kept practicing Falun Gong. That same day, Tuo Meiling's younger brother reluctantly took her back to her mother's house. On June 9, 2006, her husband and her father delivered her to the Ning'an Mental Hospital in Ningxia Autonomous Region. (This was the same hospital where Ningxia practitioner Lu Hongfeng was tortured to death in 2000.) During her stay in the hospital, she was given massive doses of medication every day and she slept most of the day. Her condition was much worse than when she was released. She was so thin that it seemed the wind could have blown her down.

Recently, her husband divorced her and got custody of their child. Her husband left her only several thousand yuan. She returned to the home of her parents in northern Shaanxi. She has no income and is unable to work. She has to depend on her parents for her living expenses. Her parents are peasants who work the farm. In their 70s, they are feeble and have multiple chronic diseases.

Ms. Pan Yiyuan

Because Ms. Pan pointed out that the article attacking Falun Gong in the newspaper was all rumors and lies, they forced her to sit on a "small stool." She had to sit on a palm size wooden board without moving from 6:00 a.m. in the morning until midnight for 14 days. Her spirit was devastated.

Ms. Tan Xiuxia

At a symposium, when the police made everyone sing songs that eulogized the Communist Party, Ms. Tan spoke about the evil nature of the Party. As a result, the police frequently questioned and insulted her while pounding on the table. They made her her sit on a "small stool" and reflect. They also instructed the "clipman" (criminal who watched Falun Gong practitioners) to monitor her closely. They followed her to the dining room, restroom, and workplace. They repeatedly forced her to write her understanding of the Party, and she was not allowed to see her family. Her spirit nearly collapsed.

Ms. Mo Huiping

To force her to "transform," Ms. Mo was confined in a small cell for a long time and not allowed to see her family. Because of this she was short of daily necessities for a long time and was poverty-stricken.

Ms. Chen Shuxian

Ms. Chen labored like a slave weaving and tailoring every day in prison. She had a blocked tear duct and an inflamed hair-follicle. The right side of her face withered. Seeing that she was in unbearable pain, the guards deceived her, promising that if she was "transformed," they would give her treatment, reduce her term, and let her go home. Chen Shuxian hesitated. The prison doctor treated her carelessly and there was no improvement at all. Later she recognized the guards' deceit, and she then restated that she would persist in her belief. As a result, the prison authorities canceled the reduction in her term and intensified their ill treatment of her. With her health deteriorating, they still forced her to do heavy weaving. During the three years of her illegal imprisonment, the guards didn't allow her to see her family members even once. In 2006, she was supposed to be released. Her brother brought her clothes and came to visit her, and prepared to take her home. The prison did not let her see her elder brother nor did they deliver the clothes. Instead, they called 610 Office of Gansu Province where she resided before and asked them to pick her up. What happened to her later is unknown.

Ms. Xi Hua

Ms. Xi was illegally imprisoned for several years. She didn't receive any of the clothes her family sent to her. The clothes she wore were given to criminal inmates when she was released.

Deception by the Guards

All the prisoners had to do more than ten hours of forced labor each day. They were not allowed to stop until 10:00 p.m., and they had to weekends as well. If there was a visiting group, the prisoners only had to work eight hours a day. This practice deceives people from the outside. When there are visitors, the guards change the menu on the blackboard to show a balanced variety of meat and vegetables. In fact, the food is very limited and inferior. There is hardly any meat in the meat dishes.

In the spring, fall and winter, there are only potatoes and pickles. In the summer, occasionally prisoners can have eggplants that they grow themselves. When there were visitors, pepper oil, salt and vinegar are put on the table. After the visitors leave, these things are taken away. In the prison, guards of all ranks talk about "civilized law enforcement and being humane." In actuality, the guards mistreat the inmates using all kinds of tactics at will, including putting handcuffs and shackles on them, forcing them to sit on a "small stool," shocking them with electric batons, confining them in a small cell for a long time (where the victim is given barely enough food to survive), making them bend at the waist in a 90-degree angle and hold that position for several hours, and hanging them on the door frame for several hours. There are no term reductions for practitioners, but the guards keep saying there is.

Forced Labor

One kind of forced labor is peeling beans. The peel of the beans with has to be cut with a knife, and every day there is a quota to finish. Peeling the beans soaked in water for a long time causes both hands to blister and swell. It is unbearably painful. Another kind of forced labor is tailoring clothes and doing piece work. The quota assigned to each person is very high. They don't have time to raise up their heads. By the end of day, their backs, waists, and legs ache. No matter which kind of labor one is assigned, one has to work more than 10 hours per day, with no holidays, and no weekends off. When there are visitors, they only have to work eight hours per day. They are frequently tricked into working extra hours under the promise of compensatory leave, but the compensatory leave is never given. They have to work even when they were sick or feel bad., and if the quota is not met, there is a meeting where they have to "bend at the waist" and be criticized and verbally abused. In addition, they have to make up the difference the next day.

Prison Blackmail Store

Family members are not allowed to bring daily commodities. Thus, the prison store became the only resource for these things. Instant noodles, ham, fruit, snacks, and daily necessities were very expensive. When visitors came, the prisoners were required to stand in a queue wearing a uniform. The guards forced them to buy black cloth shoes from the prison store. They were sold for more than ten yuan while they cost only a few yuan outside. These shoes do not last long and wear out after being worn several times. Therefore, they had to buy shoes again the next time visitors came.

Before 2006, Falun Gong practitioners could have family members visit. However, their visits were shorter and less frequent than allowed by the regulations. A guard sat beside them, monitoring their visits. After 2006, the visits were canceled. Practitioners were not allowed visitors or to receive things from their families or retain money. Some imprisoned practitioners hadn't seen their families for several years. The guards attempted to destroy the will of the practitioners in this way.

Prison warden Du Xiulan was normally not on site, but occasionally she would participate in a meeting. She would slander practitioners at the meeting as "special criminals." She instigated the guards to use both torture and threats to break down the practitioners. Practitioners' family members tried to talk with her but never found her in the office. Deputy Warden Zhou Yinsheng frequently slandered Dafa and Master at the so-called "exposing and criticizing Falun Gong" meetings. They used the promise of term reduction to try to seduce practitioners to "reform." Tang Jie, Ding Lei, and Mr./Ms. Ruan are all very evil and hypocritical. A small mistake by a prisoner, such as finding a piece of hair or thread on the floor during inspection, would incite a long diatribe of abuse, deduction of points for term reduction, confinement in a small cell, being made to bend at a 90-degree angle, or shocks with electric batons.

Du Xiulan, warden of the prison: 86-951-4098025
Ruan, political head: 86-951-4098107
Zhou Yinsheng, deputy warden
Tang Jie, prison affairs section head: 86-951-4098021