(Minghui.org) One month after Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Fu Guihua was taken to Jilin Women's Prison on September 12, she developed a severe stoop and appeared a generation older than she was.
Ms. Fu, 48, was forced to sit on an inches-tall stool for 19 hours a day. She was subjected to brainwashing every day at the prison, according to her daughter who visited her on October 20.
“My mom is only 48, but her gray hair makes her look like someone in her 70s. She can't stand up straight after sitting on a stool for so long. She used to be 5'5'' but now is less than 5'1''. Her hands and feet are badly swollen, and she's emaciated,” her daughter said.
What her daughter observed was drastically different from what she saw on September 15, when the family was allowed to see Ms. Fu for the first time after her arrest. She was still healthy and stood at her normal height. However, this changed just one month later.
First Family Visit in 15 Months Closely Monitored and Censored
It wasn't easy for Ms. Fu's family to secure a first visit in 15 months since her arrest. Before the meeting on September 15, they were questioned by prison guards on whether they practiced Falun Gong and their attitude toward the persecution. Her family stated that they supported Ms. Fu in her practice of Falun Gong because she gained tremendous health benefits. The guards appeared very upset when the family mentioned that they planned to appeal.
Their meeting with Ms. Fu was closely monitored. They spoke by phone behind a barrier. When Ms. Fu mentioned she was forced to recite the prison rules, guard Zhang Ying (张莹), who stood next to Ms. Fu, snatched the phone away and ordered her to stop talking.
Ms. Fu hinted to her family not to talk about things related to Falun Gong. Her family reported that she seemed to be under a lot of pressure.
The police arrested Ms. Fu and ransacked her home on June 3, 2013. She was tortured and interrogated for two days and transferred to Changchun No.3 Detention Center. There, she was refused food for doing Falun Gong exercises.
After a year of detention, Ms. Fu was tried on June 6 and sentenced to three years in mid-July. She appealed, but the intermediate court upheld the sentence in early September.
Family's Appeal Efforts Met with Obstacles
Her family had been trying hard to rescue her following her arrest. A group of friends and relatives attempted to visit her on June 5, 2013. For this, they were arrested, interrogated, tortured, and detained for 15 days.
Her sister and two daughters went to the Domestic Security Division to demand Ms. Fu's release on April 8, 2014, but they were also arrested and detained for 10 days.
After Ms. Fu was sentenced, her family made preparations for her appeal. The Changchun Intermediate Court refused to provide written documentation of the verdict from the second trial, which was necessary for the appeal, and told them to obtain the verdict from the prison.
During their second visit to the prison on September 22, the prison staff agreed to give them the document after asking many questions about the appeal. They were told to come back after October 11 to get a copy.
When her family returned to the prison on October 12, however, the prison staff gave them only a document from the first trial, which the family already had.
Ms. Fu's family was well aware that the prison had a history of depriving practitioners of sleep as a way to try to get them to give up practicing Falun Gong, so while they were there, they asked prison guard Zhang Ying whether they had tortured her. Zhang denied the allegation and claimed that “she was doing well and goes to bed at around 9 pm.”
Her family went to the prison for the fourth time with their lawyer on October 16. The guards made many excuses to prevent the lawyer from meeting with Ms. Fu. After hours of trying to reason with the guards, the lawyer was finally allowed to meet with her.
The meeting lasted less than ten minutes. Four guards shadowed Ms. Fu and did not allow her to tell the lawyer about the persecution she suffered in the prison. According to the lawyer, she looked very weak.
Having serious concerns for Ms. Fu, her family went back to the prison for a fifth time to visit her on October 20. Only her daughter was allowed to meet with her. This time, Ms. Fu told her daughter about the persecution that she had suffered in the prison.
Perpetrators' Contact Information:
Wu Zeyun (武泽云), head of the prison: +86-501-85375001Wei Lihui (魏丽慧), deputy head: +86-502-85375006, +86-15312692195Sun Jisheng (孙季生), instructor: +86-15152136789Zhang Shuzhen (张淑珍), head of the prison guards: 18248757172
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