(Minghui.org) Beijing Women’s Prison has a total of 12 wards with three wards designated for Falun Gong practitioners, and one of them is the third ward. The current warden is Li Qian, in her 40s, and has been involved in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners for many years.
The Third Ward has 11 cells. Originally each cell can accommodate six to eight people but it now holds nine to twelve people, exceeding its original capacity. The cell is small and every cell has one to two practitioners. The remaining are inmates in charge of monitoring the practitioners.
Extensive Monitoring of Falun Gong Practitioners
The warden stipulates that practitioners are not allowed to talk to each other, go to the restroom, wash up or wash their clothes at the same time. Practitioners are monitored by inmates who have been sentenced to life imprisonment or more than ten years.
Each cell has five surveillance cameras that cover all corners of the room, with the guards monitoring 24 hours a day. There is also a special monitoring department called the “Command Center.” High-resolution technology is used to monitor every ward, cell, and workshop. It not only captures images but also has sensitive sound detectors. Even if someone farts in the cell, the equipment can detect who it was. The monitoring systems were set up under a comprehensive network by the prison administration, which allowed it to randomly check the situation in each prison.
With the extensive surveillance, if any practitioner did not meet the guard’s requirements, and their actions were captured on camera or discovered by someone in the cell, they would be criticized, verbally abused, not allowed to buy daily necessities, and deprived of visitation rights and rights to contact their family. This brought tremendous mental distress and anxiety to the practitioners.
The prison also works with the justice bureau, 610 Office, and neighborhood committee to put pressure on practitioners. While being imprisoned, the practitioners also have their pension suspended and some were even ordered to return the pension they received earlier.
Torture Methods
There are three stages in the persecution. First of all, the prison would use all means to force the practitioners to give up on their faith and write guarantee statements. The second step is to check if the practitioners have indeed changed their mind and the transformation rate is directly related to the guards’ bonuses. The last is for the prison administration bureau to confirm if the practitioners have transformed. Only after the practitioner has passed all three stages will they be allowed to do labor work. However, even if they work, what they earn will only be used as points to reduce their sentence.
The Third Ward ordered all practitioners to write guarantee statements to renounce their faith. The guards are usually those in their 30s and college graduates. The guards don’t abuse the practitioners themselves directly but instigate the inmates to do so. Some inmates used violent methods such as depriving practitioners of sleep, food, and water, or not allowing them to use the restroom or wash up. The inmates also spit into the practitioners’ food or pour filthy things into it.
If the practitioners refused to transform, the guards also targeted other inmates to incite hatred against the practitioners, such as depriving them of sleep or forcing them to stand. When the inmates began to slander Falun Gong, it would put the practitioners under tremendous pressure.
If practitioners still refuse to transform, the guards will put Falun Gong’s founder’s image in the restroom, causing some practitioners to rather not eat or drink so that they would not need to use the restroom. Some practitioners, such as Ms. Gong Ruiping, developed urinary incontinence as a result. Some inmates also ordered Ms. Gong to accompany them to the restroom five to six times each night, causing her not to have enough rest. She is now emaciated.
Practitioners who remain steadfast in their faith would be pinched or beaten by inmates. Some inmates hit practitioners’ heads with hard objects or stomp on their feet.
Practitioners are also subjected to brainwashing. They are forced to listen to the news propaganda and also Buddhist scriptures, in an attempt to confuse them.
What to Do to Alleviate the Persecution
Many of the prison guards are quite young and did not have a chance to understand the facts about Falun Gong. To give them a chance to understand more about the persecution, I suggest that all practitioners mail letters to those detained in the prison. As the guards are the ones sorting out the letters, they will decide if the letter should be given to the inmates. Hence, we can use this chance to tell them about Falun Gong by writing it to the practitioners.
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Category: Torture of Women
