Ms. Li Qiaolian Tortured in Gansu Women's Prison

(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Qiaolian, who is retired from the Silver Company in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, was arrested in April 2009 for practicing Falun Gong. She was detained in the Jingtai Detention Center, sentenced, and then incarcerated in Gansu Women's Prison, where she was brutally tortured. After Ms. Li was released in August 2013, her pension was illegally suspended.

Illegally Arrested and Sentenced for Practicing Falun Dafa

Ms. Li was arrested by police officers Fan Fengtao and Zhang Wangguo from the Baiyin City Domestic Security Team and others from the Silonglu Police Station on April 24, 2009. They ransacked her home and confiscated her Dafa books, DVDs, and other personal belongings, then handcuffed her hands to chairs for 24 hours to interrogate her.

During the interrogation, the police grabbed her by the hair and hit her head, making her pass out. Police also kicked her hands, tightly tied to the chairs, causing immense pain. The police fabricated charges and detained Ms. Li in the Jingtai Detention Center.

Other practitioners including Mr. Hou Xingzhong, Mr. Zhang Tao, Ms. Cui Peizhen, Mr. Cui Youlin, Mr. Wang Hui, Ms. Wang Qingfang, and Mr. Wang Xiaocai were also arrested at the same time.

The Baiyin District Court illegally sentenced Ms. Li to six years in prison in February 2010. She appealed to the Baiyin City Intermediate Court. The corrupt judges disregarded the facts and upheld the verdict.

Ms. Li was admitted to Gansu Women's Prison on June 9, 2010, and other inmates were ordered to “transform” her.

Because she refused to be "transformed," she was tortured mentally and physically and subjected to brainwashing. She was only allowed to sleep three to four hours a night and was forced to stand for a long time. Her legs got so swollen it was difficult for her to walk or even stand.

Below are details of Ms. Li's ordeal.

Brainwashing and Pressured to Write a Repentance Statement

A section in the prison has been set up to facilitate the torture of Falun Gong practitioners so that they will "transform." Videos and TV programs slander Falun Gong and its founder 24 hours a day. Currently there are nearly 40 practitioners detained in this special section. The guards only pretend to be nice even as they incite the murderers, arsonists, drug dealers, and drug addicts to brutally beat practitioners and actively participate in trying to "transform" them.

Guards Zhu Hong, Sun Liwei, Ding Lili, and Ding Haiyan directed prisoners Chen Xiaoling, Yan Feng, Meng Haihong, Xian Deying, and Yuan Xueying to monitor Ms. Li. They made her recite and follow the prison rules. They made her stand straight and greet the guards when she saw them, say “report” when she wanted to talk, and squat to report her prison number before she was sent out to do forced labor. If she did not follow the rules, the prisoners beat and verbally abused her.

Usually when practitioners were first brought in, the guards incited the prisoners to torture them in order to scare them. The practitioners had to stand facing the wall for a long time and had their faces slapped. They had to learn all the prison rules within a day or two and were not allowed to smile, walk with their heads up, or communicate with others. The prisoners monitored the practitioners' every action and reported to the guards frequently.

The practitioners were also forced to read books and newspapers and watch TV programs that slandered Dafa. They wanted the practitioners to write a guarantee statement and report their thoughts to the guards. The guards also used promised term reductions to try to lure the practitioners into giving up Falun Dafa, and brutally persecuted the practitioners who refused.

Tortured and Drugged

When practitioners don't meet the guards' requirements, the guards and prisoners punish the practitioners and beat them. Practitioners are often made to stand in one position for a long time and do the worst jobs. Some practitioners were forced to stand for 36 hours at a time or longer.

In June 2010 when Ms. Li had just arrived, she was publicly beaten by the head of the prisoners since her thought report to the guards did not satisfy them. Ms. Li got a big bump on her head and two black eyes.

Prisoner Chen Xiaoling, who was sent to watch Ms. Li, often spit on her and grabbed and stretched her ears, making them bleed. Once, Chen did not allow Ms. Li to go to the restroom for 24 hours. Ms. Li really could not hold it anymore and asked to go to the restroom. Chen grabbed her by her hair and smashed her head into the restroom door. Ms. Li almost fainted. All the other prisoners nearby were scared and came over to persuade Chen to stop. Chen pointed to Ms. Li and said, “If you do not listen to me, you won't have any good days.”

In order to “transform” Ms. Li, guards incited prisoners Chen Xiaoling, Yan Feng, Meng Haihong, Xian Deying, and Yuan Xueying to falsely claim that Ms. Li had high blood pressure. Then they gave her unknown drugs. Ms. Li resisted, so they grabbed her hair and hit her head against the wall repeatedly and beat her. She suffered multiple injuries.

Once, prisoner Chen Xiaoling found an excuse to torture Ms. Li again. She kicked Ms. Li's legs and injured them, but Chen still did not stop. Ms. Li said it felt like her muscles were tearing. It hurt so much at night that she could not sleep. Even after a year, she had not recovered.

The other prisoners often beat her as soon as they saw the slightest infraction of the rules. They spit on her and slapped her face. Her head and face were often bruised. The prisoners also threatened that if she reported them, they would not let her have a single good day.

Chen Xiaoling also forced Ms. Li to buy stuff for her. If Ms. Li refused, she brutally beat Ms. Li. Ms. Li suffered miserably from the torture, insults, and pain.

Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners are frequently deprived of sleep, forced to stand for a long time, only allowed to use the restroom at certain times, have their heads hit against the wall, beaten, forced to wear torture instruments, not allowed to eat, stripped and exposed to the cold, and shocked with electric batons.

Threats and Enticements

Guards and other inmates often insult and brutally beat Falun Gong practitioners to try to force them to give up their practice. The guards often try to lure them into giving up their belief. When that doesn't work, they treat them even more brutally.

The police often incite the prisoners to beat the practitioners. A guard asked Ms. Li if she would "transform." She said, “I firmly believe in Falun Gong, as it teaches people to cultivate themselves to be a good person and do good things.” The prisoners beat her and hit her head against the wall. Her face quickly swelled up.

Although the practitioners were exhausted from doing slave labor all day, they were still forced to watch TV programs that slandered Dafa every night. Since Ms. Li refused to write the “study summary,” guards and prisoners beat her, and her face swelled, her nose bled, and she was bruised all over. Her head hurt terribly. Still, she was forced to do the slave labor and did not have any personal freedom.

Pension Illegally Suspended

Ms. Li Qiaolian finished her term and returned home on August 24, 2013. Her employer illegally suspended her pension, leaving her with no source of income. In addition, Party personnel from the community harassed her frequently.

What makes her most upset is that there are still nearly 40 Falun Gong practitioners still in Gansu Women's Prison being brutally tortured. To survive each day in the prison takes great courage and strength. All those practitioners' lives are in great danger.

This is just one example of countless Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted by the CCP.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts: Name: Li Qiaolian (李巧莲) Gender: Female Age: 60s Address: Baiyin City, Gansu Province Occupation: Retired worker Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 24, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Gansu Women's Prison (甘肃省女子监狱) City: Lanzhou
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Detention, home ransacked, interrogation with torture, brutal beatings, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, brainwashing, long-term standing, sleep deprivation, forced labor, denial of restroom use, drug administration, violent kicking, hair pulled to bash head into wall, pension suspended

Translated on Jan 13, 2013, Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/1/5/甘肃省女子监狱对李巧莲的毒打折磨-285281.html