(Clearwisdom.net) Zou Xiaoyan, chief of the 8th Division of the Liaoning Province Women's Prison in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, would often shock practitioners and inmates with electric batons while shouting "I will skin you alive". Torture victims would often end up with blisters all over their bodies. The inmates competed and fought with each other to participate in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in order to please the lead guards, who might then reduce their prison terms.
1. Practitioners Persecuted Brutally
In attempts to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong, the guards of the 8th Division would first threaten them, and if that didn't work, they used violence. The lead guards shocked practitioners with electric batons or the inmates would be ordered to torture practitioners.
Under orders from the lead guards, the inmates handcuffed the practitioners, taped their mouths shut and stuffed them under the floor boards in a workshop. The windows were covered with curtains making it impossible for anyone to see in. After work hours, several inmates would pull practitioners into the wash rooms, strip off their clothes, excluding their underwear, and hose them down with water or they would be pushed into big plastic buckets full of water. During the winter, the windows and doors were kept open. Sometimes the practitioners were hanged, beaten, and deprived of sleep.
Ms. Wang Jinping was tortured this way for a long time. Her legs became swollen and she developed a high fever. Her face was beaten so badly that it was distorted. Ms. Wang Hong and Ms. Liu Junlu were confined in isolated cells. Ms. Wang was tortured to the point that she was not able to walk properly. Ms. Liu's lower back suffered a dislocated disc after weeks of heavy labor. The guards poured water over practitioners while they were being shocked with electrical batons to increase their pain.
The guards who participated in the persecution were Zou Haiyan, Li Fei, Liu Yili, Jiao Lingling, Zhang Lei and Gao Nan. The participating inmates were Wang Jian, Qiao Wei, Sun Liping, Zheng Qiu, Bi Bo and Han Lili.
2. Practitioners Persecuted by Performing Long Hours of Heavy Labor
Inmates in the 8th Division were forced to work in clothing and sweater production lines. This division is known as "Shenyang Ningda Knitting Factory". Each person's daily quota was very high. Inmates worked continuously in order to finish all the work. Both, the inmates and practitioners had to run to use the restrooms or hurriedly have their lunch. If they did not hurry they went without going to restrooms or having lunch. Under this great amount of pressure and such trying circumstances, their bodies and minds were severely damaged.
Division chief Zou Xiaoyan and his lead guards often shocked those who could not finish their daily quota with electrical batons. They fined the practitioners 50 to a few hundred yuan, or confiscated their food and daily supplies. Although prison rules prohibited work being taken back to the cells, the guards in the 8th Division would often stuff the unfinished materials into practitioners' pockets and bags so that they would need to work after hours. Often, they worked until midnight and sometimes later. In February, 2007, one inmate was electrically shocked and slapped because her productivity was too low. That evening she was punished and tortured. She was forced to bend over with her hands touching her toes for a long period time and she was not allowed to sleep. She was unable to bear this torture and hanged herself in the middle of night while others were asleep. Zou Xiaoyan showed no compassion and commented, "She is a psychotic" Many suicide attempts occurred in the 8th Division due to the extreme pressure that inmates were placed under.
The persecution that Falun Gong practitioners received was worse than that dished out to criminal inmates. Practitioners were routinely deprived of their rights. In October 2007, practitioner Ms. Li Hongshu, refused to recite the prison rules and the lead guard, Liu Yili, ordered inmates Zheng Qiu, Liu Liping and Wang Jiang, to watch Ms. Li through the night and keep her from sleeping. She was also hung up and beaten. During the day, Ms. Li's work load was increased. Her family was no longer allowed to visit. The inmates in the 8th Division were ordered to monitor practitioners closely to prevent practitioners from talking to each other.
The following practitioners are currently being detained in the 8th Division: Ms. Qi Xiangru, Ms. Gao Manli, Ms. Gao Yanxia, Ms. Wang Jinping, Ms. Liu Junlu, Ms. Li Hongshu, Ms. Hou Yuhua, Ms. Zeng Duo, Ms. Wang Huimin and Ms. Jin Shunnu.
Prison officers in the 8th Division:
Division chief: Zou Xiaoyan 86-24-89296898(Office)
Instructor: Li Fei
Education Section chief: Zhang Lei
Education clerk: Jiao Lingling
Lead guards: Liu Yili, Zhang Kai, Li Dan, Gao Nan, Wang Ling, Lu(given name unknown),
Guo (given name unknown) and Sun (given name unknown)
