Ms. Teng Xiuling Denied Medical Parole Despite Dire Health Conditions

(Minghui.org) The effort to rescue Ms. Teng Xiuling on medical parole was again blocked by Shenyang Women's Prison, where she was illegally sentenced for practicing Falun Gong. After learning of the injuries that she sustained at the hands of prison authorities, her family grew increasingly worried about her health condition.

Ms. Teng's lawyer filed a complaint with the Bureau of Prisons on February 20 after a series of failed visit attempts. Several days later, he was informed that the prison had determined Ms. Teng's health condition had improved; therefore, there was “no need for a medical parole.”

However, he learned from the prison that since her transfer there, Ms. Teng had been detained in the hospital ward, which is notorious for psychiatric abuse.

During a family visit at the beginning of November in Donggang Detention Center, Ms. Teng wrote on her brother's hand: “I am about to go crazy!” Her family learned that she had lost the ability to speak around early July due to torture at the detention center. She was transferred to Shenyang Women's Prison on November 26 despite her poor health condition.

Former Mental Facility Adapted to “Transform” Practitioners

The prison hospital ward where Ms. Teng is detained served as a mental hospital originally.

Since the inception of the persecution in July 1999, a large number of practitioners have been sent to the prison hospital, where guards used many forms of torture to “transform” practitioners, i.e. force them to give up their beliefs.

To house the increasing number of practitioners detained at the prison hospital, the Liaoning provincial government funded a new building in 2005 and designated it a “training center” for Falun Gong practitioners, a facility for the purpose of “transforming” practitioners through torture.

Arbitrary Sentencing and Visitation Rules

Ms. Teng's lawyer and her sister tried to visit her on February 20, but a lead guard surnamed Yuan denied their visitation request. Because Yuan had her badge flipped over, her full name could not be seen.

Yuan told Ms. Teng’s sister, “Your sister refuses to admit her guilt. If she admits her crime, she can be sent to work in the workshop and apply for a sentence reduction. If she insists on her innocence, she has to serve the full sentence.”

Ms. Teng refused to take medications supplied by the Dandong Detention Center while she was detained there. But now, Guard Yuan told Ms. Teng’s sister that she started taking the same drugs willingly and said the drugs are working. When Ms. Teng’s sister asked what the drugs were, Guard Yuan replied, “Oh, the name's too long for me to remember. I'll tell you next month when you come again.”

When Ms. Teng’s sister promised that she will definitely return next month, Yuan added that in order to visit again, she needed a certificate from her local police station saying that she is not a Falun Gong practitioner.

When Ms. Teng's sister pointed out that the “Visitation Requirements” posted on the wall does not include such a requirement, Yuan replied, “Falun Gong practitioners can't visit. They will encourage her, and it will make it harder for us to transform her.”

Abuse in Prison

Ms. Teng was arrested last year in Donggang, Liaoning Province for practicing Falun Gong. While in custody, police beat her so badly that she suffered a seizure and lost her ability to speak (see Ms. Teng Xiuling in Serious Condition, Lost Ability to Speak in Police Custody).

In a secret trial on September 16, 2013, the Donggang City Court sentenced Ms. Teng to three and a half years in prison. Despite her severe injuries, the Dandong Detention Center issued a falsified certificate of health and transferred her to Shenyang Women’s Prison.

During visitations by family members, a guard and an inmate would always watch her from behind to make sure she could not tell her family about the abuses she suffered in prison. Ms. Teng's family reported that she was emaciated, her limbs trembled, and she appeared to be very nervous.

Responsible Parties:Ms. Yuan (袁), Prison Ward head: [phone] (Office)Zhang Zhenxi (张振喜), Donggang City Police head: [phone] (Office), [phone] (Cell)Ma Guangyuan (马光远), public prosecutor section head, Shenyang Prosecution House: [phone] (Cell)Li Xintian (李新田), chief judge: [phone] (Office), [phone] (Cell)Wang Runlong (王润龙), head of Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Office), [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Home)Gao Feng (高峰), political director of Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Office), [phone] (Cell)Lin Yongquan (林永全), deputy head of Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Office), [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Home)

(For more perpetrators' contact information, please refer to the original Chinese article.)