75-Year-Old Retired Teacher Dies in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison

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Aug. 17, 2023 | By a Minghui correspondent in Heilongjiang Province, China

(Minghui.org)

Name: Mou YongxiaChinese Name: 牟永霞Gender: FemaleAge: 75City: HarbinProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: TeacherDate of Death: July 13, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 2019Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Women’s Prison

Ms. Mou Yongxia, a retired teacher from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, died of torture and severe abuse at 2:42 p.m. on July 13, 2023, while serving time for her faith in Falun Gong in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. She was 75.

The prison authorities cremated Ms. Mou’s body shortly after her death. It’s not clear whether an agreement was obtained from her family.

Ms. Mou Yongxia

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.

Severe Prison Abuse

Ms. Mou’s prison sentence stemmed from an earlier arrest on March 16, 2018. She developed illness symptoms while in the Daqing City Detention Center and was released on bail on July 10, 2018. She was arrested again in Harbin (capital city of Heilongjiang Province) on September 11, 2019. She appeared in the Ranghulu District Court in Daqing City in May 2020 and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Ms. Mou was in serious condition due to torture at Daqing City Detention Center in 2018.

At the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, guards often instructed inmates to torture and humiliate Ms. Mou. Whenever that happened, Ms. Mou would call out in protest, “Falun Dafa is good!” She wrote numerous letters to the prison head and section leader. Because of the ongoing abuse, Ms. Mou's health deteriorated and she walked very slowly.

After Ms. Mou had fecal incontinence in August 2022, inmate Zhao Chao beat her badly and poured cold tap water over her in the bathroom. She suffered a mental disorder after that. Nonetheless, inmate head Pang Shoumei beat her badly and instructed other inmates to do the same. Among them Wang Xin was particularly cruel in abusing Ms. Mou.

Torture illustration: beating

Two days before the 2023 Chinese New Year (January 22, 2023), inmate Yang Haiyan (who has since been released) grew impatient that Ms. Mou walked too slowly and pushed her roughly from behind. Ms. Mou fell to the ground, resulting in bruises to the face. That night she developed frequent urination and had to get up over ten times every night. The inmates assigned to watch her often verbally abused her and beat her because of this.

Because of the ongoing abuse, Ms. Mou often woke up in the middle of night screaming. It was so loud that inmates in other cells could hear her. She was disoriented and could not even recognize other Falun Gong practitioners who stayed in the same cell with her.

To force practitioners to give up their belief in Falun Gong, officials often ordered cruel inmates to torture them. Shi Genghui, deputy warden of the prison, was in charge of the “ideological reformation” of detainees. He personally worked on “transforming” several Falun Gong practitioners.

For example, when it was about time for everyone to brush their teeth, guards would deny all inmates from doing so, with the excuse that the Falun Gong practitioner in the cell did not renounce her faith. This way, guards stirred up hatred towards practitioners. One practitioner, Wu Xi (probably an English teacher), was beaten every day for more than two months. Inmates also scratched her face, neck, and hands with their fingernails.

Denied Family Visits

After Ms. Mou was arrested, officials forbade her family members from visiting her. It was not until April 2023 that her two sons found out that she was imprisoned at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. After many requests, her younger son was finally allowed to visit her in the prison hospital in June 2023. Emaciated and pale, Ms. Mou was unable to eat, speak, or move around. When her son spoke to her, Ms. Mou only shook her head feebly.

When Ms. Mou was in the prison hospital, officials did not allow her family to take care of her, and only allowed them to see her once each day. One nurse said that Ms. Mou did not think she was ill and refused any medications. Ms. Mou had white lung followed by tuberculosis. She went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and often called out, “Falun Dafa is good.”

Ms. Mou’s younger son demanded medical parole for his mother, but prison officials did not approve parole despite the family’s repeated requests. After Ms. Mou died on July 13, six guards immediately took her body for cremation.

Previous Persecution

Before Ms. Mou took up Falun Gong, she suffered from blood diseases and severe muscle weakness. She could not walk for over a year. Later on she developed nephritis, heart disease, gastric ulcer, and extreme neurasthenia. After she gave birth to twin boys at an advanced age, her health deteriorated and she was often in a coma. On several occasions, she was in a life-threatening condition. During one episode of delirium, she fell from a building and suffered disability as a result.

Ms. Mou was introduced to Falun Gong on October 7, 1998. After one month of practicing, she was able to take care of herself and all her illnesses were gone. Impressed by this miracle, some of her friends, relatives, and neighbors also began to practice Falun Gong.

After the Chinese Communist Party began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, Ms. Mou was sent to a mental hospital where she was persecuted for her belief. She was arrested on the night of July 9, 2008, and sentenced to a four-year term. Because of torture and abuse in detention, she became extremely weak. She also had dizziness and numbness in her hands and feet.

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