(Minghui.org) Ms. Chen Bihui from Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, returned home on December 15, 2018, after spending 19 months in prison for her belief in Falun Gong.
Ms. Chen, in her 50s, was subjected to intensive brainwashing sessions and was tortured in Chengdu Women's Prison in an attempt to make her renounce the spiritual practice.
Ms. Chen was forced to work in the prison workshop for ten hours a day and made to watch propaganda videos slandering Falun Gong. She was not allowed to close her eyes at any time when the videos were on.
Ms. Chen was also made to stand still in her cell for more than ten hours a day, sometimes until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. She slept on the floor for the few hours that she was allowed to sleep. Her feet and legs became so swollen that she had difficulty walking.
She once fell and injured her foot but had to continue standing until mealtime. When she was allowed brief meal breaks, she sat on a stack of books or newspapers on the floor.
Ms. Chen was not allowed to buy any toiletries or take a shower. She cleaned herself and her clothes in the sink in the bathroom and put her wet clothes back on.
The prison authorities tried to force her to take medication for her high blood pressure. When Ms. Chen refused, guard Yang Yonghong put her in a straitjacket, stuffed a dirty rag in her mouth, and had four inmates carry her to the clinic.
Because she refused to write the guarantee statement renouncing Falun Gong, the guards cursed and beat her, leaving bruises on her chest.
Ms. Chen and her sister Ms. Chen Xiulian were followed and arrested on June 16, 2016, near a local market in the Shunqing District. Officers from the district police station and Domestic Security Division made the arrests and took the two sisters to the Huafeng Detention Center.
The police did not notify their families, but their relatives learned about the arrests the following day. The arrest warrants were issued on July 21.
The two sisters went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution while in detention.
Ms. Chen Bihui's family hired attorney Guo Haiyao to represent her in court. However, Mr. Guo's visit to his client in the detention center was cut short when the guard on duty recognized him as a well-known human rights lawyer from Beijing. Ms. Chen was taken away immediately.
Mr. Guo protested and pointed out that the guard was violating due process. Ms. Chen's family later hired another attorney, Tang Tianhao, who was able to visit her on August 3.
Ms. Chen Bihui and Ms. Chen Xiulian were each sentenced to two and a half years in prison by the Shunqing District Court in January 2017. They appealed, but the verdicts were upheld in April. Both women were transferred to Chengdu Women's Prison on May 3, 2017, after being held in the detention center for ten months.
Ms. Chen Bihui was arrested once before for her faith in Falun Gong. She and seven other practitioners were taken from her father's home on November 26, 2006, by officers from the district police station. Her home was ransacked, and she was detained and later taken to a forced labor camp.