(Clearwisdom.net) Since July 20, 1999, when the persecution began, many Dafa practitioners have been detained at the Beijing Daxin Women's Prison, formerly called Tiantanghe Prison. Included among the detainees are Doctor Li Aijun of Xiyan Hospital, Zhou Zi, a model teacher in the Fangshan District, government employees He Xinping, Xu Jing, Liu Xi, Chen Shulan, and others. Their illegal prison sentences are from five to nine years in length. I have witnessed a practitioner who was crippled due to torture pass out in front of me. (I could not determine her name.) Practitioner Chen Shulan and her three siblings are all practitioners. Her twin younger brothers Chen Aizhong and Chen Aili, along with her younger sister Chen Hongping, all died one after another from being persecuted. She is the only survivor and continues suffering inhuman persecution in the women's prison.

Practitioners are forced to work long hours every day -- 16 hours per day, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sometimes they are required to work even longer if the assigned work is not finished. There are no breaks. Restroom visits are monitored, and restricted to certain times. If practitioners are injured during work and inform others about their injury, they are punished by having scores deducted or family visits stopped for the so-called violation of work rules. For example, practitioner Liu Xi was severely injured in August 2004 and was found to have discussed it with another person. Both she and the person assigned to monitor her were punished with a deduction of 50 points (one receives only three points for working a whole day), and no family visits were allowed for three months.

Practitioner Zhou Zi did not cooperate with the authorities all along and was transferred from the No. 3 Prison Ward to the No. 10 Prison Ward, which is known for its violence. This ward is equipped with all kinds of torture tools and has a vicious staff. Practitioners there may encounter violent treatment at any time. The treatment there is much worse than in the other wards. After Zhou Zi was transferred there, she was not allowed to have family visits or to communicate in any way with her family. She was also not allowed to accept money from her family to buy food or personal items. The food consists of a very small corn steamed bun. The personal monitors often take turns in not allowing her to sleep for long hours.

The practitioners in the women's prison are monitored more closely than the common detainees. Every practitioner is assigned personal monitors who are in charge of watching them. They do not allow the practitioner to have contact or talk with anyone. If the practitioner is found to even make eye contact with anyone, she is scolded or has points deducted. Practitioners are accompanied by at least three persons when using the restroom.

There is an internal store in the prison that is very expensive. All prisoners must set up an account and their family members are required to deposit money in advance into this account. The prison officials determine what items should be purchased and deduct the money directly from this account. The prices in the store are set two or three times higher than normal. For example, a phone card worth 20 yuan outside is sold for 40 yuan in the prison. The prison officials pocket the difference. The prison also has other ways to collect money. Every two months, visitors and detainees can have a meal together. A very expensive meal is provided for the visitor and the visited, and the number of people per family is limited to two.

According to the prison rules, a detainee is allowed to call home up to three times per month. However, most times only one call is allowed to inform family members about permission for visits. In prison, even visiting family members are often treated badly. They are ordered around or scolded with hostile looks, or they may not even be allowed to visit a practitioner. On December 16, 2004, not knowing the prison rules, an elderly person came to visit carrying keys. The prison guards took away the keys and ordered the elderly person to stand behind the line as punishment, and the visit was denied. That day it was windy, snowing, and cold. The elderly person kept begging in distress. Even others tried to persuade the guards to grant a favor. The guards just kept scolding the visitor.

The Tiantanghe Prison is a hell on earth for Dafa practitioners, as they are overloaded with heavy work for extended periods, and forced to give up their belief. They are tortured, injured, and disabled, and many have even lost their lives. The crimes that the wicked perpetrators commit towards practitioners are intolerable.