(Minghui.org) There are a total of 12 divisions in the Beijing Women’s Prison, and the Third Division is the most severe in its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The guards usually don’t torture the practitioners themselves, but instigate the inmates to do so. Most of the selected inmates are convicted murderers, drug addicts, and white-collar criminals. Those who “transform” a practitioner are allowed more family visits or receive term reductions.
These inmates are required to constantly read books and watch videos demonizing Falun Gong. They also have to write thought reports after “studying” the materials. They then use what they “learned” to work on practitioners, attempting to force them to renounce their belief.
After a Falun Gong practitioner is admitted to the Third Division, she is watched by two inmates around the clock. If she “violates” the prison rules and has her points deducted, her monitors are implicated as well.
Every practitioner is forced to write a diary every day, in addition to weekly thought reports and monthly repentance essays of at least 400 words. Everything is reviewed and documented by the guards.
In addition, practitioners are forced to watch propaganda news every night. Those who doze off have their points deducted. Saturday is “education day,” and practitioners are required to attend “classes” all day.
The inmates record the practitioners’ daily activities. The guards use these records and the practitioners’ dairies to create a customized persecution strategy for each practitioner.
When a practitioner goes to bed, she has to sleep on her side facing the inmate on night duty. She must also keep her legs straight, or she will be suspected of crossing her legs to do the Falun Gong sitting meditation.
There are 11 teams in the Third Division. Every guard must “transform” the practitioners in each team according to an assigned quota. Those who don’t do much to meet their quota are transferred to other divisions. The guards who remain in the Third Division are very active and brutal in carrying out the prison’s persecution policies.
Strict Prison Rules and Monitoring
On the first day of every month, the prison holds a ceremony to raise the red flag of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Everyone is forced to watch the ceremony, sing CCP songs, and raise their fists to pledge allegiance to the CCP.
The practitioners aren’t allowed to talk to each other, or even make eye contact. If they absolutely have to talk to each other, an inmate has to be present to monitor the conversation.
The inmates cover up the persecution very well and most practitioners don’t know the persecution that other practitioners are suffering.
There are many surveillance cameras in the prison, including in the restroom and hallways. The restroom doesn’t have a door. When a practitioner uses the restroom, an inmate must go with her.
Every night, the guards randomly pick some practitioners and order them to recite the prison rules. If they cannot recite all the rules, they lose six points. They also have to write a self-criticism report of at least 800 words, and then read it in front of the other inmates. If the guards aren’t satisfied with the reports, the practitioners will lose more points.
Practitioners are allowed to have one family visit every month. The entire visit is closely monitored by the guards. They can’t say anything about how they are tortured or otherwise abused, nor can they reveal the names of the inmates who are monitoring them; otherwise the guards may terminate the visit.
If a practitioner’s family files a complaint against the prison for the persecution, the practitioner will be denied visits with her family for three months and is forced to write self-criticism reports.
Selected Persecution Cases
Ms. Dong Shirong, in her late 70s, struggles with very poor vision and hearing. Whenever she uses the restroom, she is first forced to denounce Falun Gong and praise the CCP. She has sometimes tried to not use the restroom in order to not say such words against her will. When she wet her pants as a result, the inmates would verbally abuse her. She once rushed to the restroom without getting prior permission, and the inmates dragged her out immediately. She tried to clarify the facts to them, but they responded with more severe persecution.
Ms. Zhao Liuji, in her 70s, was admitted to the Third Division in January 2023. The guards forced her to take a drug that is toxic to the nervous system, causing her to be constantly groggy and sleepy. If the guards notice that she has become more clear-headed, they increase the dose of the drug.
Sometimes, when Ms. Zhao shouted, “Falun Dafa is good” in protest, the inmates would cover her mouth and accuse of having a mental disorder. They constantly move her to different cells and have different inmates persecute her.
Ms. Gong Ruiping, in her 60s, was admitted to the Third Division in January 2023, to serve a 5.5-year term. Because she remained firm in practicing Falun Gong, the guards punished all of the inmates in the cell by denying them TV priviledges except on Sundays. The inmates all turned against Ms. Gong and deprived her of sleep and restroom use. She became urinary incontinent as a result.
In another attempt to “transform” Ms. Gong, the guards printed many photos of Falun Gong’s founder and distributed them to the inmates. The inmates would place one photo in the toilet before using it.
Ms. Sun Mingjie, in her 30s, was admitted to the Third Division in the summer of 2024. Li Wen, the head inmate in her cell, is very experienced in “transforming” Falun Gong practitioners. Li often verbally abused Ms. Sun and directed the other inmates in the cell to target her.
When Ms. Sun needed to use the restroom, they forced her to say, “I’m inmate Sun Mingjie and I was convicted for undermining law enforcement with a cult organization. Please allow me to use the restroom.”
Sometimes Ms. Sun refused to say the words and was forced to relieve herself in her wash basin or in her pants. The inmates verbally abused her and insulted her, calling her uneducated, ignorant of etiquette, and shameless. The inmates also forced her to clean herself with the towel she used to wash her face. Sometimes the guards forced her to write self-criticism reports and read them at prison-wide meetings.
Once, the inmates drew on her face and wrote words slandering Falun Gong on her clothes.
Another time, the guards questioned Ms. Sun about her repentance in front of all the inmates. She remained silent. The guards then had the inmates verbally abuse her. One inmate kicked her shin, causing her to collapse from the pain.
Related Reports:
Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in the Third Ward of Beijing Women’s Prison
Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in Beijing Women’s Prison and Liulin Prison
Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured in Beijing Women’s Prison, Ms. Xu Na’s Whereabouts Unknown
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