(Minghui.org) A 64-year-old woman in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province has been subjected to various forms of abuse since her prison admission in March 2023 to serve four years for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
In the past 3 or 4 months, the prison guards have also been intentionally limiting Ms. Wang Jinfeng’s food intake every day. She has become emaciated and is in a precarious condition.
Her family has also been denied all forms of communication with her in the past nine-plus months because she held firm to her faith in Falun Gong. Most recently when they tried to visit her again on December 26, 2023, a prison guard burst into laughter when hearing of her torture because he did not believe she was ever abused.
Ms. Wang Jinfeng
Tortured in Prison
Ms. Wang was arrested on February 19, 2022, and sentenced to four years on September 19, 2022. Her appeal was rejected on November 24, 2022, and she was transferred to the Liaoning Province No. 2 Women’s Prison on March 30, 2023. Her family didn’t find out about her prison transfer from an insider until April 28, 2023.
Before her latest sentencing, Ms. Wang was given one year of forced labor in 1999 and sentenced to seven years on February 10, 2010. She was brutally tortured during her previous detentions and her loved ones learned from an insider that she was again subjected to various forms of abuse after she was admitted to prison in March 2023.
Ms. Wang was initially held at Ward Two for the newly admitted inmates. Because she refused to renounce her faith, she was once denied restroom use for a whole day in April 2023.
After she was assigned to Team Four of Ward Ten, the guards there directed inmates to torture her in an attempt to make her give up her belief. The inmates once taped her mouth shut and she was almost suffocated to death.
In September 2023, Ms. Wang refused to comply with an unreasonable demand at the end of a work day and two inmates held her arms tight while a third inmate grabbed her hair and yanked her head upwards. A fourth inmate condemned the first three inmates for abusing Ms. Wang. Lu Wei, head of Ward Ten, saw what happened but she verbally abused Ms. Wang instead of disciplining those three inmates.
As Ms. Wang remained firm in her faith, the guards did not allow her to have any form of communication with her family or purchase daily necessities. To further punish her, they started limiting her food intake about three or four months ago. They sometimes did not even give her anything to eat. She is emaciated and in a precarious condition.
Her family was extremely worried about her wellbeing but was repeatedly denied phone calls or in-person visits with her. Their most recent request to visit her on December 26, 2023, was again denied.
Guard at Prison Affairs Center Burst Into Laughter When Hearing of Ms. Wang’s Torture
Ms. Wang’s family arrived at the prison’s visitors’ center at 9:30 a.m. on December 26, 2023, but was again turned away. They then went to the prison affairs center to file a complaint. A male guard in his 50s with badge number 2117297 received them. He asked them if they had received a call from Ms. Wang notifying them of family visits. They replied no as they had been denied all forms of communication with her since her prison admission more than nine months ago. The guard said, “No wonder the visitors’ center turned you guys away without a phone confirmation of family visits.”
Ms. Wang’s family implored the guard to intervene and helped them get a visit with their loved one. They said she was being tortured in prison with her mouth taped, hair yanked, and given little food to eat.
To their shock, the guard burst into laughter upon hearing that. He questioned who told them that and dared them to present evidence and file complaints with the local procuratorate. He said he did not believe Ms. Wang was being tortured, which was why he laughed at her family’s “lie.”
When Ms. Wang’s family pressed for an answer to no visits with her, the guard said they could report the situation to the appeals center of the Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau.
The family replied that they’d of course keep seeking justice for Ms. Wang but was also infuriated that the prison was breaking the law in depriving them of their right to see her. The guard again said they could file a complaint with the local procuratorate or the Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau.
The family said the prison affairs center should be able to resolve the visitation issue, and the guard claimed that Ms. Wang did not meet the requirements for family visits. He again said he initially laughed because he was 100% sure that Ms. Wang had never had her mouth taped, hair grabbed or been given little food to eat. He chastised the family for believing in hearsay instead of his authoritative statement.
He then dialed Ward Ten and asked the guards there to come out and talk to Ms. Wang’s family.
Ward Ten Guards Threaten to Call Police on Ms. Wang’s Family
Two female guards from Ward Ten came out more than half an hour later. One of them was the lead of Team Four (with badge number 2117189) and another guard’s badge number was 2117490. The team lead checked proof of the family’s relationship with Ms. Wang and asked them, “What do you think of Wang Jinfeng’s prison sentence? Do you acknowledge the crime she was sentenced for? What’s your opinion about Falun Gong? Do you agree it is a cult [no enacted law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult]?”
Ms. Wang’s family said she was wrongfully sentenced for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief. The team lead replied they could file a motion to appeal her conviction. She added that the Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau has a policy in place that Falun Gong practitioners on strict management are not allowed any family visits.
Ms. Wang’s family argued that such a policy is not an enacted law. By law, all inmates are entitled to family visits.
The team lead again said they could appeal to a court. The family responded that they were at the prison not to appeal her conviction, but to see her in person. The prison was breaking the law by denying her family visits.
The team lead kept saying no one on strict management would be allowed any form of communication with their family. Another guard suddenly chimed in and asked the family, “Do you know why Wang Jinfeng is being jailed?”
Her loved ones said, “Because she practiced Falun Gong.” The other guard asked, “Then what’s your attitude towards Falun Gong?” She threatened to call the police if the family also practiced Falun Gong.
Ms. Wang’s family countered that they could call the police too to report the guard’s threats of them.
The guard then softened her attitude and said she understood the family’s eagerness to see Ms. Wang. The team lead reiterated that no family visits would be allowed and asked Ms. Wang’s family to Google online for the policy regarding family visits and file complaints with relevant agencies if they were not happy about the policy.
When the family brought up Ms. Wang’s torture, both guards immediately denied it and kept saying, “That’s impossible!” They claimed that Ms. Wang was doing really well in prison because they always followed all the regulations to manage inmates.
The family warned the guards that they would face consequences for wrongful imprisonment and brutal torture of their loved one. The guards stopped them and again threatened to call police on them.
Related reports:
Ailing Woman Secretly Transferred to Prison to Serve Time for Her Faith, Denied Family Visitation
Two Liaoning Residents Sentenced to Prison, Suffer Severe Medical Conditions in Custody
Two Liaoning Women Stand Trial for Their Faith in Falun Gong
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