Shen Hongyan Persecuted in Wuhan Women's Prison

Ms. Shen Hongyan is a Falun Gong practitioner from Wuhan City. Agents from the police department in Wuchang District arrested Ms. Shen on June 22nd, 2010, and took her to the First Women's Prison in Wuhan City. The prison officials refused to accept her due to her poor health and high blood pressure. However, officials from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) ordered the police to continually detain Ms. Shen, who fainted many times during detention because of her weak body. Ms. Shen was sentenced to four years in prison on December 5th, 2007, and is currently being held in Division 1 of the Wuhan Women's Prison.

Ms. Shen is steadfast in her practice of Falun Gong. Before this arrest, she had been sent to a labour camp twice and detained at the Jianghan District Brainwashing Centre twice.

Officials from the Wuhan Women's Prison require practitioners to acknowledge their identity as inmates immediately after their arrival. Ms. Shen didn't yield to any maltreatment at all. She refused to wear an inmate uniform or inmate badge, so prison officials forcibly printed her name on her clothes. Ms. Shen also refused to recite the prison rules and do slave labour. Numerous roll calls are being conducted every day in the prison, and inmates always answer with "yes." When it was Ms. Shen's turn, she called out, "Falun Gong is good," instead of required response. After that, the guards no longer allowed her to attend the roll call.

Ms. Shen once saw another practitioner, Nan Min, who was also kept in Division 1, walking. Nan Min's back was bent, as if she would fall down at any minute, and Ms. Shen went over and gave her a hand. The inmate, who was assigned to watch her, was stunned and didn't know what to do. Guard Liu Jianying saw this and put Ms. Shen in chains for a week.

Ms. Shen has been put in solitary confinement cell year-round. When inmates are in their cells, she is held in a small library. When inmates do forced labour, she is held in a small room at the workplace and detained there. On several occasions, Ms. Shen was handcuffed, because she refused to do the forced labour. Inmates found a net, wrapped her inside it, and carried her to the place where they had to perform slave labour.

Inmates in the same division are not allowed to interact with Ms. Shen. Every day after 9:00 p.m., the inmates watched her prepare for sleep and get some rest. Ms. Shen's relatives sent her money and she already has several thousand yuan¹ in her account. However, the guards strictly limit what she is allowed to buy at the prison store, even everyday necessities. Others are not allowed to buy anything for her, either.

Ms. Shen has been handcuffed many times, because she was doing the Falun Gong exercises.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/8/14/228304.html