(Minghui.org) The 12th ward in Liaoning Province Women’s Prison is reserved for all incoming Falun Gong practitioners incarcerated for their faith. They are subjected to unimaginable torture aimed at forcing them to renounce their faith, which has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
They are often beaten, deprived of sleep, verbally abused, denied access to showers, and given no toilet paper.
Ms. Zhao Hongmei and Ms. Zhou Yuzhen were forced to stand for several days. The inmates pulled the hair on their heads and their pubic hair. Their screams of pain at night were horrible to hear. To protest the abuse, Ms. Zhao held a hunger strike for four days. Her weight dropped from 70 kilograms (154 pounds) to less than 40 kilograms (88 pounds).
Ms. Lin Mengfen was once forced to stand for four days without moving. She was forced to soil her pants.
Guards in other wards also torture Falun Gong practitioners.
In the 1st ward, Ms. Jiang Wei was sprayed with pepper water and dragged by her feet downstairs, her head hitting the ground.
In the 7th ward, Ms. Zhang Wei was forced to wear handcuffs and beaten and kicked in her back for doing the Falun Gong exercises. One inmate said she’d rather lose her opportunity to have her term reduced if she could beat Ms. Zhang. Ms. Zhang wrote two letters of complaint on March 22, 2020: one about Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong, and the other about the prison guards for their violence. It’s not clear if the guards mailed her letters.
In the 10th ward, Ms. Ye Zhongqiu was beaten and verbally abused by the inmates. She later suffered a stroke because of the torture.
Ms. Zhou Haiyan was forced to do unpaid labor and forced to stand and squat when she refused to comply.
Ms. Bai Ling and Ms. Zhao Hong’e were locked in a room and forced to stand for long hours for not renouncing Falun Gong.
It has been confirmed that 25 Falun Gong practitioners were held in the 12th ward between 2019 and January 2020. They are:
Ms. Jiang Wei of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, serving a 12-year termMs. Lin Mengfen of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, serving a 9-year termMs. Zhong Shujuan of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, serving a 7-year termMs. Zhou Yuzhen of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, serving a 4-year termMs. Yang Yurong of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, serving a 4-year termMs. Yang Yuhua of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, serving a 4-year termMs. Zhang Xiuying of Benxi City, Liaoning Province, serving a 4-year termMs. Yan Wenqin, residence unknown, serving a 4-year termMs. Han Aizhen of Chaoyang City, serving a 4-year termMs. Wang Yufen, residence unknown, serving a 3-year termMs. Ren Wenman of Beijing, serving a 3-year termMs. Wang Shumian of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, serving a 3-year termMs. Wang Haichao, residence unknown, serving a 3-year termMs. Kuang Hong of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, serving a 3-year termMs. Shen Zhongqin of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, serving a 3-year termMs. Yu Haiping of Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, serving a 2.5-year termMs. Wang Hongtao of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, serving a 2.5-year termMs. Zhao Hongmei of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, serving a 2.5-year termMs. He Keqing of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, serving a 2-year termMs. Wang Xiuzhen of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, serving a 1-year term (has been released)Ms. Yin Shen of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, serving a 1-year term (has been released)
Details of four other practitioners remain to be investigated.
