(Minghui.org) The Hebei Province Women’s Prison is still holding at least seven locals for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

These Falun Gong practitioners are serving prison terms ranging from two to eight years.

Ms. Geng Fuxia was arrested on June 18, 2020 and sentenced to eight years with a 10,000-yuan fine on October 15, 2021.

Ms. Zhang Zhilan was arrested on August 12, 2020 and later sentenced to 7.5 years with a 20,000-yuan fine. She was admitted to prison on April 18, 2023.

Ms. Zhang Xia, Ms. Zhang Xiuling, and Ms. Xing Guohua were sentenced to 5, 4, and 3 years, respectively, on May 6, 2022. Ms. Zhang Xia was also fined 30,000 yuan and the other two women 20,000 yuan each. They were admitted to prison on May 7, 2022.

Ms. Sun Shujie was sentenced to four years and admitted to prison in July 2023.

Ms. Qian Shujuan was sentenced to two years with a 10,000-yuan fine and admitted to prison on February 18, 2022.

While the current status of the seven women is unclear, they are likely facing abuse like many other practitioners held at the same prison before them.

In an earlier case, one practitioner died four years after completing her second prison term. While serving a five-year term at the prison, Ms. Zhang Yueqin was shocked with electric batons, pricked with needles, and forced to stand on a hot board at night so that she could not sleep. She was released in July 2013 but was later arrested two more times, with the arrest in April 2017 leading to a 3.5-year prison term.

Ms. Zhang served her second term at the same prison. She was abused so badly that she developed a mental disorder. She was released in October 2020. When she recounted what she had endured to her family, her legs shook uncontrollably and she had a hard time organizing her speech. She told her family that the guards put unknown drugs into her food. In the next few years, she struggled with declining mental health. She also had difficulty eating and often vomited, as well as having loose bowels, resulting in significant weight loss. She died on April 10, 2024, at the age of 78.

Besides Ms. Zhang, there were numerous other reports on the various torture methods used on jailed practitioners, including savage beatings, long-term sleep deprivation, slapping in the face, standing on one leg for long periods of time, stuffing her mouth with toilet brushes or dirty rags, pouring cold water, wearing clothes and shoes soaking wet and mopping the hallway, and not having enough food to eat or a mattress to sleep on.

Additionally, the prison guards forced the practitioners to watch anti-Falun Gong materials and write thought reports every day. They also instigated the inmates to put anti-Falun Gong slogans in the practitioners’ shoes stealthily.

Related Reports:

Hebei Woman Imprisoned to Serve Eight Years for Her Faith

Targeted in a Group Arrest, Hebei Woman Imprisoned for Practicing Falun Gong

Ms. Ju Yuxia Loses Appeal Against Lengthly Prison Sentence, Physician-Husband Awaits Indictment

Hebei Woman Suffers Declining Health and Mental Disorder after Serving Second Prison Term, Dies at 78 Less Than Four Years Later