Firsthand Account: Ms. Zhou Ling Tortured in Hunan Women's Prison (Photos)

Name: Zhou Ling (周玲)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Huaihua
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 27, 2008
Most Recent Place of Detention: Hunan Women's Prison (湖南女子监狱)
City: Changsha
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, forced labor, brainwashing, brutal beatings, torture, sleep deprivation, home ransacked.

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhou Ling was illegally arrested by local police on May 27, 2008. She was sentenced to three years in Hunan Women's Prison, where she was subjected to violent brainwashing sessions, beatings and torture. She was forced to stand for 49 straight days.

The following is her personal account of the persecution she suffered:

I suffered from numerous diseases before I began practicing Falun Gong. I was in great pain for many years from hemorrhoids, along with gastritis and gynecological problems. I spent a great deal of money on medical treatments, but never obtained relief from my symptoms. I was also addicted to Mahjong gambling, and was arrested twice and fined heavily for my addiction. After I began practicing Falun Gong, I no longer played Mahjong, and all of my illnesses were healed.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, I persistently clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the public.

I was arrested in March 2001, by Hongjiang police in Huaihua and sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. I resisted the “transformation” program there, so the forced labor camp officials extended my sentence for eight additional months.

I was arrested again on May 27, 2008, by officers from the Chengdong Police Station in Hecheng District, Huaihua, including Zen Qilian, Shi Kaihui, Peng Fang, Tan Shaolong, Zen Chunlin, Lei Wen, and Song Dongning. They broke into my home and took me to the police station. I was later sentenced to three years in prison.

Hunan Women's Prison

Falun Gong practitioners in the prison suffered tremendous abuse, both emotionally and physically. All of the practitioners were held in the No. 6 Division, which was further subdivided into two areas. A brainwashing center was located within these two areas. In the last seven to eight years, brainwashing center staff have utilized brutal, violent means to “transform” practitioners.

The brainwashing center was located above the cafeteria; five rooms were used for holding practitioners. Each room had three to four bunk beds. One practitioner was placed in one room along with 3 to 4 inmates, who were assigned to monitor the practitioner. The guards instructed the inmates on how to torture the practitioner. In March 2010, the brainwashing center was relocated above the solitary confinement floor in order to better conceal the noise.

On September 1, 2009, a fellow practitioner and I were taken to a room with the inmates who were ordered to monitor us. They tried to force us to write out the prison rules, regulations, and songs praising the CCP. I refused to cooperate, so they surrounded me and began kicking and punching me. They were afraid that I'd influence the other practitioner, so they took me to another room. The three of them took turns brutally torturing me for eight months. I was forced to stand for long periods of time and was deprived of sleep for the first 12 days. For the next 37 days, I was forced to stand 24 hours a day.

I began hallucinating and no longer knew where I was – I had no sense of direction. When I passed out, they poured cold water on me and smeared ointment on my eyes to make them burn. My legs were so swollen that they looked like water barrels, and had split open due to the pressure. My back was also injured during the process. The skin on my heels was peeled off and raw. I couldn't tell if it was day or night, and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I lost my memory, couldn't think and became delirious.

I was forced to stand for 49 days. The agony I felt in my mind and body was beyond description. Since I didn't succumb to their torture, they forced me to squat for nine days, which didn't work either. They then intensified the torture by cuffing my hands behind my back, one hand bent upward and the other facing down. After three hours, I felt severe chest pain – it felt like my heart and lungs were torn open. My body felt like it was split open, with an enormous weight on my back. My back was injured, and I was soaking wet with sweat. I lost all feeling in my hands and arms for two weeks as a result of this torture.

Torture demonstration: Handcuffing behind the back

Guards Li Jun and Zou Yonghong made statements such as, “No matter how stubborn you are, even if you die, we aren't responsible.” All of the practitioners at the prison suffered terrible torture, including Wen Huiying who was tortured to death, Zhou Yunxia who became psychotic due to the torture, and numerous practitioners who became disabled.

In the dark den of the brainwashing center, inmates were ordered to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, and did everything possible to slander Falun Gong, threaten practitioners, and assault and humiliate them. In order to achieve a high “transformation” rate, they utilized multiple methods to torture practitioners.

Parties involved in the persecution in Hunan Women's Prison:

Zhou Wu, warden
Long Guifang, assistant warden
Xue Fang, education director (Police # 4321523)
Xiao Ping, No. 6 Division director

No. 6 Division:
Zhou Chan, guard, former assistant director: [phone]
Li Jun, assistant director: [phone]
Deng Jin, director: [phone]
Yuan, team leader: [phone]

Inmate perpetrators: Huang Ping, Chen Qun, Liu Yan, Huo Rong, Xiang Lianhua, Chen Zhili, Zhou Qiufang, Zen Linglian, Yang Zhihui, Yuan Youling, Jiang Aijun, Li Lihui, Wu Caihong, Tao Haiyan, He Pingzhu, Liu Zhonglan.