(Clearwisdom.net) The Shanghai Women's Prison is located near Sheshan. Conditions there are like in a concentration camp. The prison holds many Falun Gong practitioners. The prison's eastern wall, where the offices are located, is decorated with beautiful rose-patterned bricks, and flowerpots can be seen inside the office windows. Electric wires make up the western wall.
Shanghai Women's Prison started detaining Falun Gong practitioners in March 2001. It established a group specializing in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Special Division 5 was established on July 20, 2002.
The guards from the Shanghai Women's Prison often go to Shanghai Women's Labor Camp, located at Qingdong Farm in the Qingpu District, to study methods of persecution. The persecution of Dafa practitioners therefore has grown more devious and cruel. The frequently used means of abuse and torture are as follows:
The perpetrators deceive the practitioners with faked kindness in order to have them "reform." If the practitioners see through their pretense and refuse to renounce their belief in Falun Dafa, the perpetrators resort to violence. As for determined practitioners, they extend the practitioners' sentences, detain them in solitary confinement, shock them with electric batons and force them to do slave labor so as to aggravate the mental and physical persecution.
Each practitioner is "sandwiched" by a few inmates. The guards handpick these inmates, choosing those who are capable of the basest cruelties. They are rewarded with points or sentence reductions if they force the practitioners to "reform." They verbally abuse the practitioners with venomous words, force the practitioners to hand copy prison policies until late at night, and to sit and stand still for long periods of time. They forbid the practitioners to talk to each other or leave the cell. They limit restroom and water use. They beat the practitioners until their faces are swollen. They torture some so severely, that even their legs were broken from the abuse they endured.
Practitioners are treated worse than prisoners on death row. The guards tell the inmates to do things to the practitioners that they themselves are not allowed to do. They award the inmates with points if they succeed. If they fail, the inmates themselves are held responsible for the consequences. The only purpose for all of these gross mistreatments is to force the practitioners to give up their belief.
Below are a few specific cases of persecution:
Dafa practitioner Ms. Xi Jiao, around 25 years of age, lived in the New Pudong District and was illegally sentenced to three years in prison. Her husband was illegally held at Tilanqiao Prison. She was mentally traumatized in early 2003 due to savage torture. It was heard she was being forced to take anti-psychotic drugs against her will. She later disappeared.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Yang Manyu, around 36 years of age, lived at Xincun Road, the Putuo District. She was arrested in late 2000 and was illegally sentenced to four years in prison. She was first held at Division 4 of the Shanghai Women's Prison and was detained in solitary confinement many times, but she held firm in her belief in Teacher and Dafa. The windowless, solitary confinement cell is three sq. meters (about 32 square feet) in size, with a toilet. The detainee is not allowed to take a shower, even in the heat of summer. The inmates often beat and kick the practitioners. Ms. Yang held two hunger strikes in protest and it was learned that her legs were fractured. She was released on medical parole and was treated at the No. 6 People's Hospital in Shanghai. In early 2004, Ms. Yang was transferred to Special Division 5. Her family visited her once and saw that her face was black and blue and severely swollen. Because she wrote a Dafa article on paper, a "collaborator" reported her. The guards fabricated charges against Ms. Yang and extended her sentence by eight months.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Lou Xiashu is in her 60s. She lives in suburban Shanghai and was awarded the title of "March 8th Red Flag Holder" for her outstanding work performance. Ms. Lou was sentenced to three years in prison and was deceived into giving up Dafa in late 2002. In early 2003 she realized her mistake and published an announcement to annul the "reform." She said she was framed and persecuted for practicing Dafa. Lou Xiashu was issued a warning for collecting persecution evidence. Ms. Lou was not allowed to sleep at night and was instead forced to copy the prison code of conduct. The inmates forced her to clean the restroom daily and the prison authorities threatened her family with sentence extensions. Lou Xiashu did not give in this time. She left the prison in an open and dignified manner.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Ling Xiaoyun, around 46 years of age, lived on West Yanan Road. She was sentenced to three years in prison and was directly sent to a solitary confinement cell. Ms. Ling and was deprived of all personal freedom and was held there for several months. Group head Zhang Jiamei secretly ordered the inmates to give her a dirty bucket that served as the toilet. They put caustic soap in her underwear, then forced her to wear it. They forced her to stand, sit and copy self-criticizing statements and tortured her this way daily until past 3:00 a.m. They didn't allow Ms. Ling to drink water or take a shower in the 36 degrees C (97 degrees F) heat. She suffered several heat strokes and was treated at a clinic. The torture escalated every time Ms. Ling returned from treatment. Once, she collapsed at 3:00 a.m. and her head fell back. An inmate falsely claimed that Lou Xiashu had hit her. The guard returned Lou Xiashu to solitary confinement.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Li Feng, in her 30s, has a Master's degree. She was a teacher at Shanghai Industry & Commerce Foreign Language College and was illegally sentenced to three years in prison for practicing Falun Gong. In 2001, Ms. Li was sent to the Shanghai Women's Prison. She persisted in her belief and told the guards that the government-produced videotapes about Falun Gong were "full of lies." Li Feng refused to cooperate with the guards and as a result, group head Qiu Minying didn't let her sit down. She forced other detainees in the same cell to stand with her in order to turn them against Ms. Li. The perpetrators also refused to let Li Feng take a shower or use the restroom. The inmates who are supposed to empty the metal toilet bucket purposely left it full, and as a result Dafa practitioners couldn't relieve themselves and had to eat less to reduce the number of toilet visits. The perpetrators often beat and cursed the practitioners. Li Feng opposed the persecution and refused to cooperate with the perpetrators. Division head Hou Ruiqin said at a division meeting that Li Feng is against reform, and he threatened Li Feng with a sentence extension. Despite physical torture and mental torment, Li Feng left the prison in an open and dignified manner, which shocked the perpetrators and won the admiration of many.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Song Weijue, around 46 years of age, lived in the Putuo District. She was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and was sent to Shanghai Women's Prison in 2001. Because she refused to cooperate with the perpetrators, they held her in solitary confinement for over one month and deprived her of all personal freedom. She was later sent to Special Division 5, where the head of the division forced her to stand and sit for long periods of time and had her copy the prison code of conduct. Ms. Song went on several hunger strikes to protest the persecution. In 2002 she was deceived into admitting her "mistakes" but in 2003 realized it was a trap and wrote an announcement restating her belief in Falun Dafa. The perpetrators were furious and retaliated against her. They didn't allow Song Weijue to sleep and threatened her with a sentence extension. She was very weak from long-term torture, yet the perpetrators still forced her to clean out the toilets with large metal buckets.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Song Jinhua, in her 20s, is a senior at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. She was illegally sentenced to four years in prison and was sent to the Shanghai Women's Prison in late 2002. Because Ms. Song refused to "reform," for a while the inmates dragged her to the fifth floor every morning. Group heads Zhang Jiamei and Qiu Minying shocked her with electric batons and injured her arms, head and neck. Zhang Jiamei wrote Teacher's name on the floor and ordered Song Jinhua to walk over it. She refused, and the inmates dragged her over Teacher's name while the guards shouted, "Come and look at what kind of a Dafa practitioner she is!"
Dafa practitioner Ms. Shen Zuying, around 60 years of age, lived in Shanghai. She was sentenced to four years in prison. In late 2001, Ms. Shen was sent to the Shanghai Women's Prison. After she was sent to Special Division 5 in 2002, Ms. Shen remained determined in her belief, no matter what methods the perpetrators used to "reform" her. Shen Zuying stopped the perpetrators when they cursed Dafa. Because she persisted in following "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," she was deprived of all personal freedom. They forced Ms. Shen to sit, stand, and to make hand-copies of the code of conduct. They forbade her to leave the room and forced her to do slave labor. The inmates who monitored Ms. Shen kept talking to her constantly so she couldn't sleep. They gave her less than 1/3 of a basin of water for her to bathe with, and after a while she developed a skin disease. The perpetrators often verbally abused Ms. Shen from morning to night. Shen Zuying left the prison in 2004 in an open and dignified manner.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Li Weiling, around 45 years of age, lived on Wuyi Road, Changning. She was sentenced to eight years in prison and was sent to Shanghai Women's Prison in 2001. She was detained in a solitary confinement cell many times because she persisted in her belief in Dafa and refused to do slave labor. Her mother, Yu Peiying, in her late 60s, was sentenced to three years in prison and was held at Division 1. Yu Peiying had been detained in a labor camp for two years prior to receiving the prison sentence. She was brutally tortured in detention.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Dai Zhiying, around 47 years of age, lived on Xincun Road, the Putuo District, and was sentenced to eight years in prison. In 2001, Ms. Dai was sent to Shanghai Women's Prison. Because she had received Teacher's personal instruction, she had a certain degree of influence among Dafa practitioners. The perpetrators used various methods to brainwash her. She was deceived by the persecutors in 2002 but quickly realized the trap and wrote a solemn announcement reaffirming her determination to practice Falun Dafa. The perpetrators detained Ms. Dai in solitary confinement and didn't allow her to take a shower in the summer heat. They didn't allow her to sleep and forced her to sit for long periods of time. Seeing that they couldn't destroy her belief in Dafa, the perpetrators transferred Dai Zhiying to Division 3, where she was forced to do heavy manual labor.
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