Woman in Her 60s Tortured and Denied Purchase of Daily Necessities While Serving Four Years for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) The latest arrest of Ms. Liu Yuzhuo took place in her own home in Yingkou City, Liaoning Province in 2016, resulting in a four-year sentence and a fine of 10,000-yuan for her faith in Falun Dafa, a meditation practice persecuted in China since July 1999.

In Liaoning Province Women’s Prison, Ms. Liu suffered physical torture and brainwashing. She was also forbidden to purchase daily necessities. After she was released in 2020, Ms. Liu could not find a job and she was denied her pension, leaving her in financial straits. 

Latest Arrest

Someone banged on Ms. Liu’s door at 6 a.m. on June 28, 2016. As soon as she opened the door, a group of police officers rushed in and arrested her. The police ransacked her place and confiscated personal belongings, including her computers, printer, storage boxes, and printing paper, which the police claimed were all “contraband.” Ms. Liu was taken to the Yingkou City Detention Center in her pajamas. 

Four-year Prison Sentence

After eight months of detention, Ms. Liu’s case was heard by the Zhanqian District Court on February 15, 2017. The judge sentenced her to four years on April 26, accusing her of handing out Falun Dafa flyers. The judge also declared that her cell phone, computers, and printers were contraband and should remain confiscated. 

Ms. Liu appealed with the Yingkou City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict. She was transferred to Liaoning Province Women’s Prison in Shenyang on August 22, 2017.

Tortured in Prison 

After Ms. Liu was admitted to the prison, the authorities did not allow her to purchase daily necessities such as toilet paper, food, or even underwear. Her family could deposit cash into her prison account but she was denied access to it. 

Ms. Liu’s family told her that they deposited 600 yuan in her account in 2017 but she never got it. She wrote to the ward director that she needed the money to make necessary purchases. The director and other guards claimed that they couldn’t find her money because some information was missing on her card. With no access to her money, she had to borrow clothes, tissues, and laundry detergent from her cellmates while the guards were not looking.

Guard Sun Shuang often instigated inmate Wang Na to target Falun Dafa practitioners who refused to “transform.” Wang would jab the practitioners’ private parts with a broom handle, beat them, force them to stand still for a long time, or try to make them sign the statements to renounce their faith. Sometimes Wang prohibited the entire team from watching television because the practitioners in the team refused to “transform,” as a way to incite hatred against them.

To make extra income, the authorities in the prison forced the inmates and Falun Dafa practitioners to work extremely long hours every day without pay. Those who did not finish the assigned workload would be punished. Besides the forced labor, Dafa practitioners were also subjected to brainwashing. They were not allowed to talk to each other, as they were always followed by inmates assigned to monitor them. Their use of  the restroom was also restricted.

Deprived of Pension

Ms. Liu was an employee at a private company when she was arrested in 2016. By the time she was released in June 27, 2020, she had lost four years of salary because of the incarceration. Because she continued to practice Falun Dafa, no one dared to hire her. She was also denied pension insurance. Now she depends on her family financially. 

Previous Two Arrests

Prior to her latest ordeal, Ms. Liu was arrested two more times for practicing Falun Dafa. The first arrest took place in 2003. She was held in the Yingkou City Detention Center and later sentenced to six months in prison. She was arrested again in 2012, when she went to visit practitioner Ms. Jiao Guizhen, not suspecting that the police were ransacking Ms. Jiao’s home. After 15 days in the Yingkou City Detention Center, Ms. Liu was transferred to the Fushun City Brainwashing Center for a week. She suffered a heart attack due to the physical and mental abuse, and was subsequently released.