Shaanxi Province Women's Prison: A Pleasant Exterior Hides Sinister Crimes Inside

Looking at it from the outside, Shaanxi Women's Prison looks beautifully landscaped, but the smell of blood clings to its walls. The Ninth Ward of Shaanxi Women Prison, which houses the "Strictly Monitored Team," is dedicated to "transforming¹" Falun Gong practitioners by force. A basement area below the visitor's room is used as a secret torture room. Guards of the Ninth Ward have surreptitiously been taking Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to abandon their beliefs or to write the required three statements², to the basement to be brutally tortured.

Ms. Wang Hong, a Falun Gong practitioner who was detained in the Ninth Ward because she refused to be "transformed" or sign the three statements, was physically and mentally tortured long-term by a group of guards led by Shi Jianrong (female) and Wei Chen (female) who ordered inmates Wang Yin, Xue Dongbo, and Zhang Gaiping (all female) to participate in the torture. The methods they used included beating, sleep deprivation, and prolonged handcuffing. Recently, they tortured Ms. Wang mentally during the day by having three people constantly monitoring and harassing her. During the night, they took Ms. Wang to the basement to torture her physically.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Li, who is detained in the Seventh Ward, refused to give up her belief and therefore was taken to the Ninth Ward to be "transformed." She was brutally beaten until her whole face was black and blue.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Lin, who was detained in the First Ward, has not been seen for half a year; she never appears during regular daily outdoor breaks.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Yinqin, who was detained in the Third Ward, was closely monitored and tortured.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Ma Yuhua, who has been in the Sixth Ward since July 2006, is still being brainwashed, and sleep deprived.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu Mingxia, who is detained in the Seventh Ward, is being strictly monitored. She was often heard shouting, "Falun Dafa is good" while she was being brutally beaten.

Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Xun Yufang, who was released on October 18th, 2007, was again seized by officials from the 610 Office^s immediately after her release.

Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Sha Yulian, Ms. Zhou Fengqin and others finally signed the three statements because they were unable to bear the brutal torture. They are nonetheless exposed to a continued barrage of mental pressure every day.

In addition, since February 2007, all sentenced female Falun Gong practitioners have been taken to the basement of the Ninth Ward to be tortured as soon as they arrive at the prison. Only by acknowledging oneself as a "criminal" and writing the three statements, can one be brought to the Ninth Ward and given the same rights as regular inmates. The prison regulations state: "Sentenced prisoners have the right to appeal." There is a stipulated time-frame during which practitioners can appeal. However, actual prison practice effectively deprives Falun Gong practitioners of their right to appeal because their appeal time will be long over once this intensive torture period ends.

Shaanxi Women's Prison, which calls itself a "Modern, Civilized, Ministry-Level Prison," has broken the prison law, which states, "Sentenced prisoners should work a maximum of eight hours daily, and not at all on Sunday, for a total of forty-eight hours weekly." Their daily work-log recorded, "Daily work hours: eight; Sunday off," but in reality, work starts at 7:30 a.m., with at most one hour for lunch, and does not end until 11:00 p.m or midnight. Motivated by financial incentives, the guards torture Falun Gong practitioners ruthlessly in order to achieve the required seventy per cent "transformation" rate.

Note

1. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

2. "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the statement, the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

3. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/1/5/169649.html