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Harbin Women's Prison Brutally Persecutes Falun Dafa Practitioners

December 14, 2004 |  

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Liu Lihua, a Falun Dafa practitioner from Daqing City in northeast China, was an English teacher. She was arrested because her younger brother, a policeman, cooperated with government officials. Ms. Liu persisted in practicing Falun Gong and was detained without due process. What's more, the officials also took away her child's right to an education at a university. Ms. Liu was kept in the "small cell" (1) for as long as six months. The prison guards also tortured her with the so-called "big hang up" (2) and being "handcuffed behind the back" (3). Ms Liu was badly beaten up by the prison guards and other inmates. Her body was covered with cuts and bruises, and she could not move her limbs. The prison guards also used electric batons to shock her face. However, Ms. Liu remained steadfast.

Ms. Xie Xiuying was forced to run in circles in the prison yard for more than ten hours a day for not wearing a prison uniform and not answering roll call. If she slowed down, she would be beaten with electric batons or punches and kicks. Ms Xie refused to sign the so-called Guarantee Statement (4). The prison guards crippled one of her legs, which swelled to twice its size, and she was unable to walk. When prison authorities saw the seriousness of the injury, they sent her to a hospital. However, they deducted the three hundred-yuan hospital expenses from Ms. Xie's daily expenses card (5). Ms. Xie and others went on a hunger strike for one month to persuade the prison authorities to release those practitioners who had been held in small cells. She was tortured by such methods as the "big hang up" and being "handcuffed behind the back," among many others. She was released on September 15, 2004, after being held for three years.

Ms. Shang Xiufang was tortured with the "big hang up" for three consecutive days on March 11, 2004, for not answering the roll call and refusing to wear a prison uniform. When she was released from the torture, she could not walk by herself. When she went to the toilet, the prison guard Zhang Chunhua incited criminal Song Lipo to beat her up. As a result, Ms Shang fell into the latrine pit and lost consciousness. After she came to, she was on the "big hang up" once again.

Ms. Wang Xiuyue wanted to go to the toilet while being tortured with the "big hang up." The prison guards refused to let her go, and when she wet her pants she was not allowed to change her clothes. When she was finally released from the "big hang up," the prison guards forced her to sit on the cement floor and handcuffed her hands behind her back.

Ms. Lu Yinghua was originally a criminal. Practitioners clarified the facts to her. When she learned the truth, she began to study the Fa with other practitioners right away and was determined to become a steadfast Falun Dafa practitioner. She followed the actions of other practitioners, so the prison guards and criminals persecuted her the most. She was beaten up every day. She was also tortured with the big hang up and handcuffed from behind. However, she was very steadfast and determined to cultivate through to the end.

Ms. Liu Wenjun had been bedridden for 10 years before she learned to practice Falun Dafa. When she was unable to take care of herself, her husband left her. She was dependent on her children picking odds and ends from refuse heaps. Not long after learning Falun Dafa, Ms. Liu was able get up from her bed and began to walk normally. At first no one could believe it. So many people, including the local leaders, went to her home to see her in person. Hearing the story, her husband returned home. After former Chinese President Jiang Zemin began to persecute Falun Gong, Ms. Liu went to Beijing several times to validate the Fa and was arrested several times. One day, the police beat her very badly when she was detained at a police station. Thinking she was dead, the police sent her to the mortuary. The police planned to cremate her secretly, but when they went to the mortuary, they found that Ms. Liu was doing the sitting meditation. The police were very scared. Later on, Ms. Liu was sentenced and locked up in a women's prison. While in prison, she refused to cooperate with the prison guards and as a result she suffered from all kinds of tortures. She is now being held in a small cell.

Ms. Zhang Shuze, Ms. Wang Hongjie and Ms. Lu Yinghua have been confined in the small cells since March 1, 2004. They have refused to cooperate with the prison guards and went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal persecution. The prison guards and the criminals force-fed them through a nasal tube, which caused a lot of bleeding.

Ms. An Ling and Ms. Zhou Chunzhi were tortured with the big hang up and were handcuffed behind their backs.

Eighteen practitioners from the No. 8 Prison Ward refused to wear prison uniforms or go out for roll call, requesting the release of fellow practitioners from the small cells. They went on a hunger strike for one month. During that period, they were force-fed three times a day. In the morning, they were force-fed milk powder and a bag of salt. In the afternoon and in the evening, they were force fed corn porridge. The prison guards also forced them to be fed intravenously and added hallucinogens the solutions. The practitioners could not walk afterwards. The Head of the No. 8 Ward Zhang Chunhua also incited the criminal Song Libo to strip the clothes off of 18 practitioners and throw them into the stove in the hot water room. When Lu Yujun refused to cooperate, Zhang Chunhua punched and kicked her badly and pulled out several clumps of her hair.

Notes:

(1)"Small cell"- The small cell is one of the methods of torture used to brutally persecute practitioners. The guards handcuff practitioners behind their backs in a fixed position in which the practitioners can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp and no sunshine comes in. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Only half of a regular meal is served to detainees locked up in a small cell during the daytime. During the night the rats run around. The stench in the small cell is so bad that it is difficult to breathe.

(2)"Big Hang Up"- There are two forms in this torture: (1) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frames; (2) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. The pain is extreme as the body is pulled apart.

(3)"Handcuffed behind the back"- In order to prevent practitioners from doing the exercises, the police handcuff practitioners hands behind their backs for a long time. Practitioners handcuffed in this way cannot use the bathroom, eat or sleep.

(4) "Guarantee Statement"- A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

(5) "Daily Expenses Card" -- The detainees in the prison are not allowed to have cash. They have to deposit the money into a prison system called the "Daily Expenses Card." If they need to buy any daily necessities they can only buy from the prison shops using this card. The prison shops sell poor quality goods at much higher prices.