Former Engineer Abused and Blocked from Seeking Justice During Wrongful Term for Her Faith
(Minghui.org) A former engineer in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province was subjected to constant torture while serving a 20-month term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Guo Lirong
This is not the first time that Ms. Guo Lirong has been targeted for her faith. Prior to her latest arrest, she has been detained multiple times and served two forced labor terms since the persecution began 22 years ago.
Below is Ms. Guo Lirong’s suffering during her latest prison term between July 10, 2019 and March 10, 2021.
Abused and Pressured
Ms. Guo, 60, was arrested in a group arrest of more than 40 practitioners on July 10, 2019. While at the Chengdu City Detention Center, she insisted that she is innocent and refused to recite the detention center rules. The guards retaliated by forcing her to sleep on the concrete floor, which eventually caused long-term pain in her legs. She wasn’t allowed to use a toothbrush, and had to brush her teeth with her finger.
After her arrest was approved, Ms. Guo was transferred to the “arrested ward” on August 20, 2019. Guard Dai Zuojun threatened her that Yi Wenjun, a Falun Gong practitioner arrested earlier, was sentenced to eight years for not pleading guilty. Dai also claimed that Ms. Guo’s son may also have trouble landing a job because of her.
Ms. Guo refused to give in and said to Dai that no law has criminalized Falun Gong in China and it’s her constitutional rights to practice her faith.
In October 2019, the guards ordered all detained Falun Gong practitioners to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. As Ms. Guo refused to comply, she wasn’t allowed to use the daily necessities she bought herself, which were given to and managed by the inmates assigned to monitor her. She had to borrow toilet paper (which in fact were hers) when she needed to use the restroom—one sheet for urination and two sheets for defecation. Meanwhile, the guards also provided less food to the practitioners.
Legal Rights Violated
After she was indicted, Ms. Guo wrote to her family several times and asked them to mail law books to her, as she didn’t have a lawyer and was preparing to defend herself. The guards, however, blocked her family from mailing the books to her and refused to look for information online for Ms. Guo when she requested it.
When Ms. Guo was transferred from cell 922 to cell 107 on January 2, 2020, she again asked the new guard in charge of the cell, Hu Wenjuan, to inform her family to mail law books to her, but the guards wouldn’t allow them either.
Ms. Guo also applied to meet with the head of the detention center and report on the abuse she suffered, but was rejected again.
Ms. Guo was tried by the Chenghua District Court on October 20, 2020 and sentenced to one year and eight months. When the guards asked her to sign the court proceedings and verdict on October 24, Ms. Guo raised objections. The guards then took away the documents without letting her sign it. They never provided copies of the documents to Ms. Guo.
Ms. Guo later appealed with the Chengdu City Intermediate Court. Because she refused to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong, the guards deprived her of the right to meet with the prosecutor staffed at the detention center.
More Restrictions in Her Daily Life
For doing Falun Gong meditation during her break time, Ms. Guo was scolded by guard Hu on February 9, 2020 and accused of disrupting cell discipline. Hu handcuffed and shackled Ms. Guo during the day every day. Other inmates in her cell were also punished.
The guards imposed nine prohibitions against Ms. Guo, including not allowing her to brush her teeth, wash her face, wash her hair, take showers, write to her family, buy daily necessities, eat extra food given to detainees as a reward, manage her own daily necessities, or use her own toilet paper.
By the time the nine prohibitions were removed, Ms. Guo’s hair had become totally tangled and it took her a long time to comb through all the knots.
Prior to the 2021 Chinese New Year, guard Mou Liuhong confiscated the food Ms. Guo bought and didn’t allow her to buy more food because she refused to write a statement to renounce her faith.
Forced Donations
Every detainee was asked to donate around 50 yuan to purchase daily necessities (such as utensils and detergent) every time they were moved to a new cell. Ms. Guo was forced to pay more than 60 yuan when she was moved to her cell.
On March 9, 2021, the day before Ms. Guo was released, guard Mou ordered her to donate the over 80 yuan left on her commissary account to the detention center. When she refused to comply, Mou summoned all the inmates in her cell and threatened to forbid them from buying daily necessities or snacks in the future. Some of the inmates begged Ms. Guo and said they were already living a miserable life, and they couldn’t imagine the suffering they were facing if Ms. Guo didn’t donate the money. Under the pressure, Ms. Guo was forced to sign the donation form.
Related reports:After Surviving Multiple Detentions and Two Labor Camp Terms, Sichuan Engineer Is Jailed Again for Her Faith
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Dozens of Falun Gong Practitioners in Sichuan Province Arrested Within a Period of Two Weeks
Falun Dafa Practitioner Ms. Guo Lirong in Critical Condition Resulting from Long-term Persecution
Chengdu City Engineer Ms. Guo Lirong Illegally Arrested a Second Time