Sentenced Three Times for a Total of 20 Years, Yunnan Woman Brutally Tortured in Prison
(Minghui.org) Ms. He Lianchun of Mengzi County, Yunnan Province, was sentenced twice to a total of 15 years between 2001 and 2009 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Seven months after finishing her second prison term, she was arrested again in September 2019 when she moved to Kunming City in the same province to look for work. She was sentenced to four more years in prison on August 24, 2020. This report provides additional details of the brutal torture that she suffered while serving her second term at Yunnan Province No. 2 Women’s Prison.
Ms. He Lianchun
Sentenced Three Times for a Total of 20 Years
Ms. He was 26 years old when she started practicing Falun Gong in June 1996. All her ailments soon disappeared. After regaining her health, she got married and gave birth to a daughter. She led a happy life.
However, after the Chinese communist regime started persecuting Falun Gong, Ms. He was arrested in October 2001 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to seven years in prison on July 9, 2002, and was released 1.5 years ahead of time.
In 2009, Ms. He was arrested and taken to the local brainwashing center. As she refused to renounce her faith, she was given a 10-year term. Her happy family was destroyed––the authorities forced her husband to divorce her and then arranged for him to quickly re-marry. Her mother was deeply worried about her and passed away in 2017.
After Ms. He was released in February 2019, she moved to Kunming City to find a job. On September 27, 2019, she was arrested while visiting another practitioner, Ms. Wang Huizhen, who had been arrested the day before for reading Falun Gong books with several others. Ms. Wang had been released due to a medical condition, but was still being monitored by the police.
The authorities approved Ms. He’s arrest on November 2, 2019, and she was sentenced to four years in prison on August 24, 2020.
Brutally Tortured While Serving Second Term in Prison
Ms. He was subjected to brutal torture while she was imprisoned at the Yunnan No. 2 Women’s Prison from 2009 to February 2019.
As Ms. He refused to renounce her faith, she was forced to sit on a small plastic tool that had 72 raised spikes for 14-15 hours a day with her hands placed on both legs without moving. Her buttocks developed sores that became infected. She was also force-fed many times.
Torture re-enactment: Sitting on a small stool
After being transferred to the No. 6 Division, Ms. He was forced to sit on the small stool on Sundays. If her hands moved even slightly, she would be beaten by the inmates assigned to monitor her. The beatings wouldn’t stop until she placed her hands correctly.
As she refused to call herself a criminal when asking for permission to use the restroom, she was not allowed to go to the restroom. Thus, she wet her pants many times. Despite this, the authorities didn’t allow her to wash her clothes.
To avoid wetting her pants, Ms. He seldom drank water. Everyone was allowed to have a kettle of water a day but Ms. He didn’t even finish one kettle of water in a week. Many inmates were concerned for her.
The inmates used spoons and other tools to pry open Ms. He’s mouth and pinched her nose during force-feedings. They also swore at her, hit her, and mixed unknown drugs into her food. Sometimes they directly force-fed her with unknown drugs.
Later, the authorities in the No. 6 Division began to allow the practitioners to use the restroom thrice a day and get up to walk about without getting permission from the inmates, but they still arranged for Ms. He to work in the workshop from morning to night. Ms. He went to the workshop but refused to work. After returning to the cell, she was forced to sit on the small stool again.
Torture re-enactment: Force-feeding
In February 2015, Ms. He started a long-term hunger strike and demanded her unconditional release. She persisted for a year and was emaciated.
When the inmates force-fed her, they violently dragged her on the ground, causing her underwear to be torn apart and her socks to fall off; her buttocks, thighs and feet bled.
During the force-feeding, six to seven inmates held her down and used a large spoon to pry open her mouth and press her tongue down. Next, they used a small spoon to pour food in. Ms. He’s teeth became loose and fell out as a result. Later on, the prison began to force-feed her via a tube.
The prison also forced Ms. He to go to the workshop and force-fed her in front of over 300 inmates. Ms. He was force-fed three times a day with soaked buns in the morning, and soaked rice in the afternoon and night. The food was made into a paste.
When Ms. He didn’t have much strength to resist, two to three people would force-feed her; if Ms. He has a lot of strength on a given day, six to seven additional inmates would be called over to help with the forced-feeding. Some inmates hit her head and body; some pulled her hair; while others used a spoon to pry open her mouth and hold her tongue, before pouring the food in with a small spoon. She often had bruises all over her body after the forced-feeding. Even some inmates whispered that the force-feeding was too cruel.
Once, Ms. He was in so much pain that she screamed for help. Only a Falun Gong practitioner shouted for the inmates to stop and was dragged away. And the guards continued to turn a blind eye to how brutally the inmates force-fed Ms. He.
The prison restricted Ms. He from acquiring daily necessities. She only had a small pack of laundry powder to use for more than a year and had to repeatedly use the same sanitary napkin for months. The prison guards often openly made fun of her about it in front of other inmates.
On June 5, 2017, Ms. He was transferred to the No. 8 Division where the elderly, ill, and disabled inmates were held. She was sent to the prison hospital and forced to take unknown medicines for nine days. After returning to the division, she was forced to do unpaid work. Despite this, Ms. He continued her hunger strike and demanded her unconditional release.
The prison extended her 10-year term by 9 more days before releasing her.
Related reports:
Woman Recounts 10 Years of Torture in Prison, Including Hundreds of Force Feedings
Ms. He Lianchun Secretly Given Ten More Years of Imprisonment after Serving Five-Year Sentence
A Father's Cry: Can Our Daughter Come Out of Prison Alive
Imprisoned Woman Tortured for Her Faith, Denied Family Visits and Medical Parole