(Minghui.org) Since Ms. Xu Guixian, a resident of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to four years for practicing Falun Gong, she has been subjected to brutal torture at Liaoning Women's Prison. The torture methods include beatings with electric batons, denial of restroom use, and sleep deprivation. On June 4, 2020, the inmates, under the instigation of guards, pinned Ms. Xu on the ground and poured boiling water down her back.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.
The Chinese Supreme People's Court announced on May 1, 2015, that “all cases must be docketed and all complaints must be processed.” Based on that guidance, Ms. Xu, in her 60s, filed a criminal complaint against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong. The local police often came to harass her at home after her paperwork was submitted to the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.
On the evening of July 19, 2018, officers from Tiexin Police Station came to her home and took her to Jinzhou Women’s Detention Center. When her family went to request her release, one officer replied, “We are only responsible for her arrest, nothing else.”
Ms. Xu was sentenced to four years in early March 2019 by Linghe District Court. She was taken to Liaoning Women's Prison on March 19 and kept in the Fifth Division, where she was subjected to various forms of torture.
Under the instruction of deputy section head Li Ze, officer Gao Xiaohang ordered inmates to abuse Ms. Xu. She was forced to stand for 24 hours a day without sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, inmates would come up and pull them open. In addition, they deprived her of restroom use, and she even avoided eating to avoid soiling herself.
It was still very cold in April in northeastern China, but several inmates removed Ms. Xu's warmer outerwear, leaving her in just a thin layer of the inmate uniform. They next dragged her to one end of the bed that was not covered by surveillance cameras. They forced her to stand with both feet immersed in a basin of cold water while pouring cold water on her. After her clothes were soaked, they covered her with a winter coat. This continued for six days, and Ms. Xu eventually lost consciousness. She was taken to the hospital, where a doctor said she could have died.
After taking Ms. Xu back to her prison cell, the guards poured cold water on her bed sheet and then ordered her to lie down without giving her a bed cover. Every day, inmates constantly beat, pinched, and swore at her. Officer Gao announced in front of other detainees that no one was allowed to give anything to Ms. Xu, be it food or daily necessities.
During the first six months of Ms. Xu's imprisonment, the guards tortured her with various methods. For instance, guards instigated inmates to remove Ms. Xu's thermal pants, leaving her with only thin clothes, and pushed her into the cloakroom. They opened the window to let the freezing wind blow on her all night.
Ms. Xu was made to sleep on the bedboard and not given a blanket. However, guards arranged inmates to disturb her so as to prevent her from falling asleep. She was not allowed to wash up and was prohibited from touching water for more than a month. As she was not given any toilet paper, there were many times when she had to use the toilet water to wash. During the cold days, the inmates dragged her to the water room and splashed freezing water on her. They also splashed the water on her box of clothes and bed, surrounded her, swore at her, and beat her.
Torture illustration: pouring cold water
On June 1, 2020, the guards started another round of forced “transformation” on Ms. Xu. For three days, she was forced to stand without leaning against anything or closing her eyes. She was also not allowed to use the restroom. During the day, two inmates, Lou Shuang and Li Jingchun, took her to a storage room where there were no surveillance cameras and beat her when she closed her eyes or did not stand properly. At night, inmates from another team were put on duty to prevent Ms. Xu from closing her eyes or leaning against anything. They also pulled open her eyes and pinched, kicked, hit, and swore at her.
Torture illustration: beatings
The two inmates, Luo and Li, and Ms. Xu, were put together to form a team. During the day when everyone was working, the three of them would be in the warehouse. Whenever there was no one in the warehouse, Luo would hit Ms. Xu with an electric baton that was covered with a towel. Someone saw Ms. Xu step out of the warehouse on June 1 to use the restroom, but she was not seen again for the next three days.
At night, from June 1 to 3, Ms. Xu was locked in a pantry, where she was beaten and verbally abused. The two inmates, together with another inmate, Wang Yang, were arranged to stay with Ms. Xu in room 404. They tortured Ms. Xu the whole night, making her stay put in a fixed position and beating her if she fell asleep or moved slightly. She was still not allowed to use the restroom.
Ms. Xu was not allowed to sleep or use the restroom from June 2 to 4, causing her to wet her pants. Someone saw that Ms. Xu couldn't recognize anyone after being tortured for four days.
Torture illustration: pouring boiling water
Ms. Xu refused to write “guarantee statements” to renounce her belief in Falun Gong. On the night of June 4, inmate Li Feifei pinned Ms. Xu on the ground while two inmates, Xiao Miao and Song Lanjie, poured boiling water on her back. Many people who were in the room at the time witnessed the torture.
For the next few days, blood soaked Ms. Xu's clothes. To cover up their act, the guards told the inmates to bring Ms. Xu to wash up separately from other inmates.
Afterwards, a patch of Ms. Xu's skin, measuring 10 cm wide and 20 cm long, separated from her back. Although the guards took Ms. Xu to the prison hospital for treatment, they also forced her to promise not to hold anyone responsible and videotaped her promise.
Ms. Xu went on a two-month hunger strike in August 2020.
Related report:Woman in Her 60s Tortured in Liaoning Prison: Soaked in Cold Water and Beaten
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