Human Rights Abuses at Wuhan Women’s Prison in Hubei Province

(Minghui.org) Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, is home to three women’s prisons, including the Hankou Prison, Wuhan Women’s Prison, and Jiangcheng Prison. Many Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison for their faith in Hubei are sent to the first two prisons and tortured for not renouncing Falun Gong.

In this report, we present information about the human rights abuses at the Wuhan Women’s Prison.

Newly-admitted inmates are first held at the “New Admits Division” headed by Yang Fan. As soon as they are brought in, they are forced to take off all their clothes and squat three times while being searched. The prison has strict rules regarding inmates’ daily activities. Those who failed to recite the rules are given only rice or steamed buns to eat (with no meat or vegetables), deprived of sleep, barred from washing themselves, or forced to stand for long hours.

The guards sometimes force the inmates to squat and then quickly stand up many times in a row, causing some to faint.

They also face constant abuse after later being assigned to the regular divisions. The prison also has death quotas each year, and guards aren’t held accountable if Falun Gong practitioners or other inmates are tortured to death there. Miserable screaming can be heard almost every night.

The detainees are forced to get up before dawn and do hard labor inside the workshop for over ten hours each day, and it is often dark by the time they are allowed to return to their cells. They are lucky to see any sunshine. In order to finish the heavy workload, they all try to limit their water intake and reduce use of the restroom. Many suffer kidney stones or constipation as a result. One inmate even died from intestinal obstruction after having constipation for a week. Some inmates have bribed the guards in exchange for easier tasks in place of the hard labor work.

The so-called doctors in the prison work with the guards to abuse the inmates and practitioners. The doctors often ask if there is any money in their commissary accounts. If yes, they often prescribe expensive medications which are to be paid by the inmates. If the detainees reject the “treatment,” the guards find ways to punish them. If an inmate does not have much money in her account, the doctors may accuse her of faking illness, a label that invites punishments from the guards.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many guards and inmates died, yet the prison reported zero deaths. One inmate became fearful of the situation and suffered a mental collapse. Another inmate, who had asthma, was pepper-spraryed and almost died.

In addition to the eight regular divisions, the prison established an “insane” team for detainees who refused to be brainwashed by the guards. Those who are taken to the “insane” team are locked in a metal cage and denied bathing. The guards also forbid them from washing their bowls between meals. As time went by, many of them indeed suffered mental collapses due to the abuse and became confused about what’s truly “just” or “upright.”

Another team of male guards are professionally-trained hitters. Many of the inmates who were beaten by them became disabled and unable to work. The beatings take place in corners, out of surveillance camera range, and the victims aren’t allowed to scream despite the pain or tell others about it.

These are the abuses suffered by regular inmates. Falun Gong practitioners face even more brutal torture if they refuse to renounce their faith.

Ms. Chen Ronglian, around 80 and from Zaoyang City, was tortured by Liu Lizhen, the director of Division Four. Liu ordered the inmates to monitor Ms. Chen around the clock. They denied her restroom use and didn’t allow her to eat. She was forced to stand for long hours and wear thin clothing and sandals during the winter.

Ms. Lu Xiuying, an elderly practitioner who served time in Division Five, was also tortured. Even some regular inmates found the torture too brutal.

When Ms. Zheng Rongzhen of Xianning City was released from the prison in September 2024, after serving a six-month term, she was incapacitated and unable to walk on her own. She was also in a confused state and didn’t recognize her family members.