(Minghui.org)
Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Han Guiqin (韩桂芹)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Gebu Community, Shuncheng District, Fushun City, Liaoning Province (抚顺市顺城区葛布社区)
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 1, 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Women's Prison (辽宁省女子监狱)
City: Shenyang
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: Detention, arms handcuffed behind back, extortion, home ransacked, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, sleep deprivation, torture, brainwashing, denied visitation
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Han Guiqin was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on March 3, 2003. She was sentenced to an eight-year prison term by the Shuncheng District Court, and jailed in Liaoning Province Women's Prison. Her husband was also sentenced, to nine years. The following is an account of the persecution that Ms. Han suffered.
Arrest, Robbery and Extortion—Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison
Ms. Han was arrested at her rented house by three officers from the Gebu Police Branch Station on the afternoon of March 1, 2003. Her home was ransacked. The police pocketed 130 yuan during the house search.
Ms. Han was handcuffed with her arms behind her back while in police custody. When she protested the mistreatment, her arms were handcuffed in front. She was handcuffed to a radiator during the night. Three persons from the Gebu neighborhood committee were ordered to watch her.
Ms. Han was sent to the Fushun City Detention Center the next day. Jiao Cheng and another officer from the Gebu Police Branch Station went to the detention center to interrogate her. Several officers returned to her home, stole her bank deposit book, and used it to withdraw 6,000 yuan from her account. They also demanded and received another 4,000 yuan from her family. This money has not been returned.
Eight Years of Abuse in Prison
The Fushun City Shuncheng District Court sentenced Ms. Han to an eight-year prison term on August 7, 2003. The court refused to inform her of the verdict, yet sent her to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison. Five other Falun Gong practitioners from Fushun were also sent to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison. The detention center in Fushun pocketed 400 yuan left over from money to pay for Ms. Han's expenses while detained.
Ms. Han was assigned to the Fourth Ward in the prison. Ward director Xu Zhonghua tried to force the practitioners to “transform” in January and February 2004. He used more than a dozen people in Ms. Han's cell block, including criminal inmates, to persecute the practitioners. Every two hours these inmates changed shifts, and subjected the practitioners to long-term sleep deprivation. At one point, Ms. Han was taken to the first floor and forced to stand in the middle of the room wearing only her underwear.
When Ms. Han's daughter visited her in prison in 2004, she brought recent Falun Gong articles to her mother. Ward director Xu noticed this as he passed her cell. He roughly grabbed the daughter's hair and tried to get the articles from her. To prevent them from being taken, she swallowed the articles. Xu ordered inmate Wang Yin to strip off Ms. Han's clothes and search her. She was also tortured by being forced to sit on a small bench for a long time. For the next 15 months, Ms. Han was not allowed any family visits.
The Liaoning Province Women's Prison began using violent methods on Ms. Han and other practitioners in July and August 2005, in an intensified attempt to "transform" them. Ward director Ma Xiuyan removed the TV from Ms. Han's cell because she refused to give up her belief, which also prevented criminal inmates in her cell from watching TV. The inmates shouted profanities at her when they were deprived of watching TV.
Ward director Ma also used former practitioners who had given up their beliefs to try to brainwash the steadfast practitioners. Among these former practitioners was Liu Xiufen from Fuxin City.
Inmate Li Qiu (from Huludao, serving a three-year sentence) often slapped Ms. Han on the face to force her to "transform." They made practitioners watch videos and books that slandered Falun Gong. Ward director Ma would seek out Ms. Han at night and personally pressure her. Ma also transferred a murderer to Ms. Han's cell to threaten her.
A prison worker once reported on practitioners who were secretly reading Falun Gong articles. A guard surnamed Li went with the worker to Ms. Han's cell to search it. When they tore up her comforter they found the articles. As punishment, all the inmates in Ms. Han’s room were forced to sit on the small bench. Ms. Han protested by holding a hunger strike, and was later sent to the prison hospital. She was then transferred to another cell.
Han Guiqin was released from Liaoning Province Women's Prison on March 1, 2011.
Earlier Persecution
On three previous occasions, Ms. Han was sent to the Fushun City Forced Labor Camp. The first time was in October 1999. She was arrested at the railway station on her way to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and detained for two weeks. She protested the detention by holding a hunger strike. She was later sent to Fushun Forced Labor Camp for fifty-six days.
The second detention was between June and July 2000. Officers from the Gebu Police Branch Station arrested Ms. Han and sent her to the Fushun Forced Labor Camp, where she was detained for two months. The third arrest was on February 10, 2002 when she was sent to Fushun Labor Camp again. She was released fifty days later.
Ms. Han's Husband Sentenced
Ms. Han's husband, Mr. Liu Xiaoming, has also been arrested and sent to prison. Mr. Liu was sentenced to nine years in the Shenyang First Prison. Their married daughter has been deprived of her parents' companionship.
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