(Minghui.org) A Falun Gong practitioner awaiting an appeals decision on her prison sentence was force-fed and physically abused for doing the Falun Gong exercises in detention.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Sentenced to Prison
Ms. Yu Zhi and Ms. Dong Jinping, both residents of Wangjiang County, Anhui Province, were arrested on July 19, 2019, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong in a residential subdivision.
They were tried by the Wangjiang County Court on January 14, 2020. Their lawyer entered not-guilty pleas for them but was repeatedly interrupted by court president Huang Feng, who attended the hearing.
Ms. Yu and Ms. Dong were sentenced to 2 and 2.5 years, respectively, on April 27, 2020. Both were also fined 10,000 yuan. They have appealed their verdicts to Anqing City Intermediate Court and are currently awaiting the result at Anqing City No.1 Detention Center, where they have been held since their arrests.
Tortured for Doing Falun Gong Exercises
Because Ms. Yu did the Falun Gong exercises in her cell, the guards cuffed her hands and shackled her feet, rendering her unable to move. The guards also force-fed her after she went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
Meanwhile, the inmate in charge of Ms. Yu’s cell forced her to clean their restroom, beds, and floor. She also forbade Ms. Yu from taking a shower or using the restroom. In addition to beating and verbally abusing Ms. Yu herself, the inmate also instigated other inmates to attack her. Sometimes she forced Ms. Yu to walk back and forth in the cell with heavy shackles.
Upon hearing about the abuses Ms. Yu had suffered, her family filed a complaint to Anqing City Procuratorate and the detention center. The guards quickly transferred Ms. Yu to another cell.
The prosecutor, surnamed Yang, reached out to Ms. Yu’s family after two weeks of investigation and said they didn’t find evidence that Ms. Yu had been physically abused. When asked about the force-feeding and shackles, Yang replied, “It’s necessary.”
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