The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Shizuishan Prison

(Minghui.org) Most Falun Gong practitioners who are sentenced to prison in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region are held at the 16th division of the Shizuishan Prison.

In order to force the practitioners to renounce Falun Gong, the prison used various torture methods on them, including strict management, beating, sleep deprivation, pricking with needles, sitting on small stools or standing for long hours, starvation, electric shocks, denied restroom use, and solitary confinement.

In most cases, the guards instigated the inmates to torture the practitioners with the incentive of term reduction, while they stayed behind the scene themselves.

In 2007, the Ningxia Prison Administration Bureau issued a letter, barring all practitioners who remain firm in their faith from being visited by their family members or lawyers, or buying daily necessities. The practitioners were also denied correspondence with their families, unless they mailed out letters with contents prepared by the guards. In some cases, the guards videotaped the practitioners reading scripts prepared by them and then shared the videos with their families. When the families raised questions about the videos, the guards often said to them, “This is the best we can offer!”

Even after a practitioner was forced to renounce Falun Gong as he or she could no longer endure the torture, the prison still wouldn’t grant them with family visits right away, but would continue to observe them for a period of time in order to reinforce the result of transformation.

Select Persecution Cases

75-Year-Old Retired Engineer Dies a Year and a Half after Completing Third Prison Term

Mr. Ma Xiongde, a retired watch factory engineer in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Autonomous Region, was arrested on February 22, 2021 and later sentenced to 1.5 years. When he was released from the Shizuishan Prison on August 29, 2022, he had difficulty walking, struggled with incontinence, and was slow to react. He was also devastated to discover that the Wuzhong City Social Security Bureau had suspended his pension while he was still serving time. Despite his appeal to get his pension reinstated, the authorities never issued him a penny of his benefits before he died on February 25, 2024. He was 75.

Prior to his last prison sentence, Mr. Ma was given two years of forced labor in 2001 and had his term extended by ten months. After another arrest in 2004, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was arrested again in 2012 and sentenced to seven and a half years.

One Transferred to a Different Prison

Mr. Chu Jidong, around 50 and a Tianjin native, moved to Ningxia to avoid being persecuted for his faith. He was arrested around January 2022 and sentenced to 13 years in April 2022. While serving time at the Shizuishan Prison, he was subjected to strict management, deprived of sleep and forced to sit on a small stool for long hours every day. One kind of stool had slanted surface and another kind had nearly 60 nails on it.

Mr. Chu protested by shouting “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good.” The authorities later transferred him to another prison, but refused to tell his family where he was.

Eight Still Detained in Shizuishan Prison

At present, at least 8 practitioners are still detained at the Shizuishan Prison.

Mr. Sun Jianfeng, 51, of Zhongning County, was arrested on December 31, 2018, and sentenced to six years and four months by the Shapotou District Court on January 15, 2020. He was scheduled to be released in April 2025.

Mr. Li Xuejun of Lingwu City was arrested in April 2021 and sentenced to six years in prison around June 2021. His sentence will end in April 2026.

Mr. You Haijun was arrested on May 16, 2021, and sentenced to five years with a fine of 10,000 yuan on April 13, 2023. His term will end in May 2026.

Mr. Zheng Yongxin, 67, was arrested on October 24, 2020. He was sentenced to five years and ten months with a fine of 15,000 yuan on May 6, 2023. His prison term will end in August 2026.

Mr. Luan Ning, 64, of Yinchuan City was arrested on August 27, 2017, and sentenced to 10 years with a 100,000-yuan fine by Yinchuan City Intermediate Court on April 16, 2019. Since his prison admission, his wife and brother frequented the prison, but were always denied visits with him. A guard told them that Mr. Luan had severe tuberculosis and the infection had spread to his bones. They applied for medical parole for him, but were rejected. He is scheduled to be released in August 2027.

Mr. Wang Desheng of Shizuishan City was arrested at home on November 20, 2015, and sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Dawukou District Court of Shizuishan City in November 2016. His term is set to expire in November 2028.

Mr. Ma Zhiwu, a 50-year-old resident of Yinchuna City, was arrested on June 5, 2020, and sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Guyuan City Intermediate Court on December 25, 2020. His prison term runs through June 2034. According to an insider, Mr. Ma is struggling, with very weak physical condition, due to the frequent torture in prison.

Mr. Zhang Xingzeng of Yinchuan City, in his 60s, was sentenced around June 2021. His exact prison term remains under investigation.