(Minghui.org) When Ms. Yang Zhaoxia was released on April 26, 2021 after serving 3.5 years for practicing Falun Gong, the Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province resident in her 60s weighed only 45 kg (99 lbs), barely half her weight when she was admitted to the prison.

Skin and bones, Ms. Yang has constant pain in her back, hip and knees. She couldn’t stand steadily on her own, squat or bend over.

More than two years after Ms. Yang was released, she recounted the persecution she suffered during the 3.5-year prison term.

***

“I was arrested on August 31, 2016 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. Officers from the Suining County Police Department gave me 15 days of administrative detention. After I was released, officers from the Suining Domestic Security Office, Lingcheng Town Police Station, and Wanglin Town Police Station continued to harass me. They attempted to later arrest me again, and to avoid the persecution, I fled home and hid in a relative’s place.

“When I returned home in September 2017 to help harvest crops, the police arrested me and took me to the Xuzhou City Detention Center. I was sentenced to 3.5 years on September 6, 2018 and transferred to Changzhou City Women’s Prison on December 25 that year.

“The afternoon after I arrived at the prison, the guards destroyed my clothes and forced me to sign a statement that I agreed to it. Then they forced me to put on the inmate’s uniform. In the evening, when the guards gave out toiletries to the newly admitted inmates, they skipped me. When the inmates took showers, I was forced to stand in the lobby.

“A month later, I was transferred to the 29th ward. An inmate surnamed Wang was assigned to monitor me around the clock.

“One day, a guard forced me to squat in front her and began to reprimand me for practicing Falun Gong. I told her that I didn’t violate any laws by practicing Falun Gong and the practice only benefits society. She became infuriated. She slapped me in the face with a book, shouting “You dare to claim you are innocent. Aren’t you implying the government made a mistake [in sentencing you]?” She was so emotional that her face was distorted.

“One morning, I was taken to the sweatshop to study the prison rules. I was ordered to sit upright during the study session. The slightest movement would result in my being verbally abused by the guards. After returning to the cell after dinner, I was forced to stand barefoot on a wedged board (similar to a laundry board). After over one hour, my legs were so numb that I couldn’t stand anymore and my feet were in enormous pain. At night, I had to sleep in the narrow hallway. As the bed took up most of the space in the hallway, I was often woken up by inmates who got up to use the restroom, as they had to squeeze past my bed.

“As I refused to renounce Falun Gong, I was often forced to stand motionless for hours, while holding the prison rules. If I was assigned to be on guard at night, I had to stand for two hours, when the regular night shift was only one hour. Severely sleep-deprived, I soon became haggard and emaciated. My feet were so swollen that they couldn’t fit into the shoes anymore. My legs were also very swollen. The flesh on my calves looked as if they were severely burnt. Large areas were bruised as a result of broken capillaries made them even more terrifying to look at.

“When I was admitted to the prison, I weighed 85 kg (187 lbs). In addition to the sleep deprivation, the guards only gave me an egg-sized rice ball for each meal. After a few months, I began to have severe stomachaches and my weight quickly dropped to 45 kg.

“I was only allowed one restroom break during the day and had to ask permission from the guards first. When I was denied restroom use, sometimes my legs kept shaking and sometimes I felt like my bladder was about to explode. After holding it for a long time, my urine usually was dark brown, cloudy, and sticky.

“As long as we still held firm to our faith, we were subjected to arbitrary beatings and verbal abuse by the inmates assigned to monitor us. We were constantly given materials to study (as part of the prison’s efforts to brainwash us). If we couldn’t memorize the content, the inmates would bar us from having meals, taking showers, or using the restroom. I was once forbidden from taking a shower for over 50 days between June and July. My hair became severely tangled and stuck together and I smelled terrible.

“When some practitioners held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the prison force fed them. Usually the guards would fasten the practitioner’s hands and feet to a chair. Several strong male inmates held her head and shoulder. Then another one used a metal stick to pry open her mouth for the force-feeding. Most practitioners struggled to breathe and were in excruciating pain.

“Ms. Jing Peixia, in her 70s, was once force-fed in the morning. The guards left the feeding tube in her stomach and didn’t take it out until 4 in the afternoon. Blood was dripping off the tube when it was taken out. The guards also kept Ms. Jing handcuffed behind her back all day long. When others were having lunch, the guards hung her up by the wrists by pulling her arms up from behind. The physical and mental torture was indescribable.

“While reprimanding me, the ward director, Zhang Yun, threatened to strip off my clothes. She also claimed that no matter how hard they tortured me, it wouldn’t be considered being excessive, as long as they didn’t torture me to death.

“During my entire prison term, I was denied all forms of communication with my family, including in-person visits, phone calls or writing letters. My children traveled all the way to the prison to visit me, but were driven away by the guards.”