(Minghui.org) The husband of a Falun Gong practitioner being tortured in prison while serving time for her faith filed a complaint on September 16, 2019 against the prison guards and inmates.
Ms. Zhang Wei and her younger sister, Ms. Zhang Xiaoping, residents of Donggang City, Liaoning Province, were arrested in April, 2015, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. They were later sentenced to eight-and-a-half years and five years respectively, to be served in Liaoning Province Women's Prison.
Ms. Zhang Wei was tortured because she refused to renounce her faith. She was kept from writing letters or making phone calls to her family. Her family members were denied visitation, and they have not seen her for six months.
Ms. Zhang's family appealed to several government agencies for their visitation rights, but to no avail. It was reported that Ms. Zhang is currently being handcuffed around the clock, and was only allowed to take off the handcuffs during meal time.
To protect her and seek justice, Ms. Zhang's husband submitted a complaint against prison guards, including Liu Yu and Li Tingting.
Summary of the Torture Suffered by Ms. Zhang Wei
Savage Beatings
Ms. Zhang was transferred to the 7th Ward of the First Division on April 5, 2016, where Falun Gong practitioners were forced to renounce their faith.
She was detained in the ward until June 21, 2017. Prison guard Liu Yu ordered a few inmates, including Liu Li and Guan Kun, to monitor her around the clock.
The inmates often beat Ms. Zhang. Other inmates saw several times that Ms. Zhang was forced to stand, with her clothes being stripped off and her body covered with bruises.
Liu Li tortured Ms. Zhang again on March 7, 2017. She kicked Ms. Zhang's back so hard that Ms. Zhang fell and could not get up. Guard Liu Yu had to take her to the hospital for treatment. She was unable to stand straight for more than 10 days.
Ms. Zhang was brutally beaten three times on March 30, 2019.
Inmate Zhang Huijuan, the head of the labor group, beat her in the cell around 3:30 a.m.
Zhang Huijuan ordered inmate Guo Chengming to beat Ms. Zhang again at 6:20 a.m. Zhang Huijuan thought that Guo was too soft on Ms. Zhang, and called four inmates to join the beating. They slapped, kicked and punched her.
When Ms. Zhang was about to do the exercises in the workshop around 10:20 a.m., Zhuan Huijuan saw it and rushed to her to beat her up. Seven inmates followed her and all started to beat Ms. Zhang. They kicked and punched her to the ground. One inmate moved the surveillance camera to a different angle so that it would not show the beating.
Solitary Confinement
Ms. Zhang was put into solitary confinement for two weeks after the beatings on March 30. After she was released for two days, she was taken back into the solitary confinement cell, where she was held until May 3, 2019.
Even though this incident was considered very serious, the prison officials covered it up by ordering the participating inmates to write false statements.
After Ms. Zhang was released from solitary confinement, she was put in handcuffs everyday when she did the exercises. Sometimes, she was handcuffed for close to 10 hours a day.
Sitting on a Small Stool
Guard Liu Yu also forced Ms. Zhang to sit on a small stool (6'' x 2'' x 3'') without moving every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for over a month. Her buttocks were injured.
Force-feeding
Ms. Zhang went on a hunger strike twice to protest the torture, and the inmates force fed her. They pulled and pushed the tube back and forth during the forced-feeding to torture her.
Sleep Deprivation
To prevent Ms. Zhang from doing the Falun Gong exercises at night, Liu Yu ordered the inmates to take turns monitoring her. They beat her whenever she did the exercises. They deprived her of sleep from July 10 to August 12, 2017 by forcing her to sit on a small stool throughout the night. When they spotted her closing her eyes, they slapped her and pulled her hair.
In November and December of 2018, whenever the inmates saw Ms. Zhang doing the exercises at night, they beat her until she fell to the ground.
Since the inmates monitored her during the nights, they could not rest well, but still had to perform labor during the daytime. Ms. Zhang felt sorry for them, so she began to do the exercises during the day in the workshop in 2019. However, the guards became upset, and ordered the inmates to deprive her of sleep. The torture lasted for more than three months this time.
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