(Minghui.org) Over 10 years ago, the Shandong Province Women’s Prison established the 11th Division to detain Falun Gong practitioners and other religious believers. Most practitioners spend their entire term in that division.
The 11th Division operates as a prison within a prison. The building is surrounded by a five-meter-high electrified metal fence. Regular inmates are selected by the guards to assist in abusing practitioners. Although every cell door in the 11th Division is tightly secured, shouts and cries can often be heard coming from within.
Brainwashing
Even before a practitioner is transferred from the detention center to the prison, the inmates in the 11th Division meet to review each practitioner’s information and establish a detailed plan.
New arrivals are put in one of the many small rooms located on the west side of the first or second floor for brainwashing. All practitioners must strip naked to be searched while the guards peer in from outside. Typically, two to three inmates are assigned to “work on” each practitioner.
Some inmates who practiced Falun Gong were “transformed” in prison and became collaborators. They were aware that certain practitioners had written guarantee statements under duress. In an effort to make these practitioners truly give up their faith, the collaborator devised some new techniques to torment them.
The inmates and collaborators would begin by slandering Falun Gong and then pressure the practitioners to write guarantee statements and thought reports on a regular basis. Collaborator Fu Guiying gave orders that the thought reports had to begin with “Dear guard,” followed by sections slandering Falun Gong with “evidence” and reasoning. At the end of the report, one had to denounce Falun Gong and thank the guard.
Inmate Fu refused to let those in her cell sleep if they couldn’t finish their thought report. Practitioners who didn’t “betray” other practitioners in their reports were also not allowed to sleep and were forced to stand and continue writing in the restroom under very dim light.
Those who refused to “transform” were forced to sit motionless on a small stool, compelled to watch videos slandering Falun Gong, beaten, made to endure long hours of standing over days or even months, and/or denied access to the restroom.
Some practitioners had their fingers or arms broken when inmates twisted their limbs. Ms. Zhou Dongdong and Ms. Liu Suqin were severely tortured, and inmates thenthreatened to force them to take drugs that damage the nervous system. Several practitioners were hospitalized to be force-fed after refusing to eat food that had been laced with drugs.
Many drug addicts were transferred to the 11th Division to beat practitioners. In an attempt to please the guards and get their sentences reduced, they resorted to all kinds of tactics to persecute the practitioners. One inmate wrote slander about Falun Gong on a small stool and ordered the practitioners sit on it. If they refused to comply, they would be forced to stand for a great length of time.
Practitioners were often restricted from using the restroom, especially after waking up or before and after breakfast and lunch. The practitioners were given only a very short amount of time in the afternoon to use the restroom. If they missed that window of opportunity, they were refused use of the restroom at night. Many of them ended up with constipation, abdominal pain, and intestinal obstruction. One practitioner developed high blood pressure and headaches and had to be hospitalized.
Every morning at 8 a.m., all 200 inmates in the division were required to attend lessons and watch videos that slander Falun Gong. Every day, a captain delivered a speech, and inmates monitored the practitioners closely to make certain no one lowered their head when the videos were played.
After the inmates were sent back to their cells at 11:30 a.m., the captain of each cell would host a discussion, and everyone had to stand up and contribute. Only the captains and inmates who had “done well” were allowed to take a nap. The practitioners had to write thoughts reports, while other inmates watched closely to prevent them from looking out of the window or dozing off. Those who were illiterate were taught how to write and then forced to practice their writing during free time. Copying from others was not allowed. Everyone had to submit their reports for review and make changes if certain parts “didn’t pass.”
New inmates were required to write thought reports every day for two to three months before the requirement was reduced to twice a week and later once a week. However, the standard was raised—it had to be “in depth” and at least five pages long. This went on for about a year before being reduced to once every two weeks, and eventually to once a month, but the required length grew to over 10 pages with repeated revisions.
The afternoon was spent watching “educational” videos that slandered Falun Gong, and reading thought reports. If the inmates thought that someone’s thought report was unsatisfactory, they would force the practitioner to stand or drag them to the restroom and beat them. One young practitioner was drugged and often beaten. Another young practitioner was humiliated in front of others when showering.
Everyone in the division was forced to learn how to show her “gratitude” to the prison and “regret” at practicing Falun Gong by shedding tears. Those who were unable to cry were criticized for lacking feelings.
Ms. Sui Ying from Qingdao City was sentenced to three and a half years in May 2019. After she refused to “transform,” guards ordered inmates to beat her. When she shouted “Falun Dafa is good” in protest, the inmates pinned her to the ground and stuffed her mouth with a rag used to clean the restroom. Her lips cracked and bled. The inmates also pressed a stool against her legs, resulting in severe swelling. Although she was perfectly healthy, guards and inmates accused her of being mentally ill and forced her to take psychiatric drugs that made her delirious.
Several practitioners refused to write thought reports despite being tortured. Among them was Ms. Lu Guiling from Weihai City who was sentenced to 17 years. Because she refused to write any thought report, she was barred from speaking with others or leaving the cell. Even though her hair turned gray and her teeth fell out, Ms. Lu refused to give in.
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Category: Torture of Women
