More Than Thirty Female Falun Gong Practitioners Have Been Persecuted to the Point of Mental Collapse at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

According to incomplete statistics compiled by Minghui.net (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net), more than thirty female Falun Gong practitioners suffered a mental collapse during their imprisonment at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp in Liaoning Province. This number does not include the practitioners who died at the labour camp as a result of their mental conditions. Among the practitioners who experienced serious mental trauma, some have seen no improvement even several years after their release. Others have improved with the help of fellow practitioners, but have not completely recovered. We have also learned that some practitioners died not long after they were released.

The following is a partial account of the persecution at Masanjia that led to practitioners' mental collapse.

Case 1: Ms. Su Juzhen

Ms. Su Juzhen was a Falun Gong practitioner from Suizhong County, Huludao City. Her family life became harmonious after she started Falun Gong cultivation practice and her family was once voted one of Huludao City's "Ten Model Families."

Ms. Su was sent to Masanjia Labour Camp on October 31st, 1999. Guard Wang Yanping once summoned her to a confinement cell, stripped her naked and shocked her with an electric baton for an entire night. The torture left her covered with blisters and bruises. Her eyes and face were severely swollen. Guards Qiu Ping and others later took Ms. Su to the psychiatric department of a certain hospital where they ordered doctors to prescribe medications intended for psychotic patients. At the labour camp, Ms. Su was forced to take the medications every day, resulting in damage to her central nervous system. She developed a mental disorder. In order to evade their responsibility, camp officials released Ms. Su. She couldn't eat anything until 22 days after she returned home. Her family discovered unhealed wounds on her genitalia and needle pricks on her body. A once beautiful and competent woman was reduced to a catatonic state, with bruises covering her body. She had a dull expression and couldn't think, talk or walk, and had lost her memory. She had to rely on others to feed her and help her use the toilet. Ms. Su died on April 8th, 2006.

Case 2: Ms. Li Chunlan

Ms. Li Chunlan is a 37-year-old practitioner from Qinghe District, Tieling City, Liaoning Province. After being sent to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp three times, she became mentally disoriented. Her father is unemployed, and her younger sister Li Chunhong, once the only income earner in her family, is currently held in the Masanjia Labour Camp.

Case 3: Ms. Dong Xiuqin

Ms. Dong Xiuqin was a teacher at the Chaoyangjie Elementary School in Lingyuan City. Due to the torments she endured at Masanjia, she became mentally traumatized. On October 13th, 2009 the guards claimed that she faked her mental injury and ordered her to do hard labour. When Ms. Dong refused, she was severely beaten. During the beating, several of her teeth were knocked out and some of her hair was pulled out. The guards also handcuffed Ms. Dong and hung her by her handcuffed wrists.

Case 4: Zhang Haiyan

Ms. Zhang Haiyan went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong in September 2001 and was arrested. Police from her local area picked her up from Beijing and took her back to the local police station where they beat her. She was held in the Heishan Detention Centre for two months before being transferred to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. Ms. Zhang was detained in Masanjia for two years and suffered a mental collapse. She was clearly mentally disoriented when her family picked her up from the camp in March 2003. Ms. Zhang died on January 18th, 2004.

Case 5: Li Jinghua

Ms. Li Jinghua, 34, is from Zhaoduba Township, Longcheng District, Chaoyang City. She was sent to Masanjia on October 30th, 1999, and began showing signs of mental disability in 2001. Guard Zhang Yan once held Ms. Li in a confinement cell and tortured her there for nine days straight. On another occasion, the guards deprived Ms. Li of sleep for 24 hours and shocked her with electric batons. Ms. Li was sent to a psychiatric hospital for further abuse and mistreatment, and she eventually suffered a mental collapse. The guards responsible for torturing Ms. Li included Division Three heads Yang Yu and Zhang Yan, and Dvision One head Wang Yanping.

Case 6: Zhang Xiaomin

Ms. Zhang Xiaomin was sent to Masanjia around August 2002 and suffered mental trauma soon after. To evade responsibility for her condition, labour camp authorities ordered her family to pick her up. On November 28th, 2002, after Ms. Zhang had returned home, she fell to her death from the sixth floor when no one else was around.

Case 7: Huang Yanjun

Ms. Huang Yanjun is from Lingyuan City. Masanjia Labour Camp division heads Lu Yueqin and Wang Xueqiu ordered inmates to take turns beating her at least three times every day, with at least three people involved each time. When the perpetrators tired, they used a wooden plank to hold her to the ground. They also humiliated her by hanging a cardboard sign around her neck and putting a tall hat on her head. To increase her torment, they also hung a sand-filled bag around her neck. In addition, they knocked Ms. Huang down and stomped on her, forced her to stand for long periods of time without sleeping, hung her up by handcuffs, and shocked her with electric batons. Even though she lost all of her hair and was severely bruised, Ms. Huang was still determined to practise cultivation. The labour camp hired 30-40 police officers and stationed them on the first floor, where they brutally tortured determined practitioners, including Ms. Huang Yanjun. It is not clear what measures they used against the practitioners, but Ms. Huang suffered a mental collapse during this round of persecution.

Case 8: Liu Dianqin

Ms. Liu Dianqin was confined in a camp storage room where a group of people took turns bombarding her with fabricated theories in an attempt to brainwash her. She remained steadfast in her resolve to practise Falun Gong. The guards handcuffed Ms. Liu and beat her. They also ordered her to curse Falun Gong. The division head called in four male guards and ordered them to take Ms. Liu to a confinement cell where they handcuffed her to a small bench for 15 days. Her hands and legs became extremely swollen. Ms. Liu was later taken back to the storage room where more people attempted to brainwash her. One morning, two people twisted her arms behind her back and handcuffed them to a heating pipe. They then slapped her face until it became severely swollen. They also stuffed filthy things into her mouth. Since she refused to do the physical exercises required of her, guard Ren Hongzan ordered two people to twist her arms behind her back and then drag her around by her hands. When those two people became exhausted, another group of people took over to continue the torture. They also grabbed her hair during the process. By the time this torture stopped, her arms were in so much pain that she couldn't move them. One day in December 2003, division heads Wang Xiaofeng and Zhang Chunguang summoned Ms. Liu to the office for a talk. She eventually suffered a mental collapse from the overwhelming pressure.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/4/7/221122.html