(Minghui.org) According to Ms. Wang Yihong’s family who visited her in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison in 2019, the 47-year-old woman serving 10 years for practicing Falun Gong was having chest pain and dealing with a herniated lumbar disc as a result of being tortured. It’s not clear if she is still in that condition three years later.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Arrest and Sentencing

Ms. Wang of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested with over 50 other Falun Gong practitioners on October 9, 2017. The police accused them of filing criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution. They monitored the practitioners’ cellphone use and lives for months before making the arrests.

Because Ms. Wang is a single mother, her arrest left her two children in a dire situation. Her daughter had just started high school and her son, then 15, was mentally disabled and non-verbal.

Ms. Wang initially refused to open the door for the police. They damaged the peephole on her door and attempted to break in. After hours of standoff, Ms. Wang was forced to open the door. The officers rushed in and turned her home upside down. Her Falun Gong books, one computer, and two printers were confiscated.

Ms. Wang and four other practitioners—Ms. Wang Xiaohui, Ms. Wen Shuangling, Mr. Han Entong and Mr. Ran Lingjun—were tried in the Daoli District Court on August 3, 2018. All of them were forced to wear black hoods on their heads and were handcuffed and shackled as they were brought into the courtroom.

The judge sentenced Ms. Wang to ten years in September 2018. Mr. Ran was given three years and the other three practitioners were sentenced to two years each.

Tortured in Prison

On October 9, 2018, Ms. Wang was taken to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, which is notorious for torturing Falun Gong practitioners. After three months in the “intensive training” ward, she was transferred to the 11th ward, where she was forced to work without pay, sometimes until midnight. She was later moved to the 8th ward.

When her family visited her in early 2019, Ms. Wang asked them to deposit 3,000 yuan for her daily necessities. She told them that she had chest pain and a herniated lumbar disc, which was caused by being forced to sit on a small stool without moving for long hours every day for months. She also suspected she had some abnormal growth in her chest that caused the pain. It’s not clear if she was ever allowed to see a doctor.

Torture reenactment: Sitting on a small stool

The prison initially didn’t set limits on Ms. Wang’s monthly spending, but later capped it at 120 yuan, which effectively prevented her from buying anything except the most essential items.

The prison has now prohibited Ms. Wang’s family from visiting her, citing the pandemic as an excuse, and only allows her to call home once a month. Details about her current situation aren’t available.

Related reports:

20 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

Arrested: Ms. Wang Yihong and Mr. Han Entong from Harbin City