(Minghui.org) A woman in Shifang City, Sichuan Province has been held at a psychiatric hospital for six years for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Wan Gufen, 55, was arrested in 2020 by local government officials. She has been held at the Shifang City Psychiatric Hospital since. Her family are kept in the dark of her status.
Ms. Wan, who ran a hair salon, took up Falun Gong in June 1998, at the age of 27. When the persecution started a year later, she remained firm in her faith and has thus been repeatedly targeted. She served two labor camp terms totaling nearly three years, and held at brainwashing centers five times.
Two Labor Camp Terms
Ms. Wan went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in December 2001 and was arrested at the Tiananmen Square. She was taken back to Shifang the next day. She was first held at a detention center for a month and then at a lockup for one week. After that, she was taken to the Nanmusi Women’s Forced Labor Camp to serve a 1.5-year term. She endured brutal torture during the term.
Ms. Wan was arrested again on October 23, 2006, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. After one month at the Shifang City Detention Center, she was given another 15-month term at the Nanmusi Women’s Forced Labor Camp. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, the guards extended her term by one month and she was released in April 2008.
Five Brainwashing Center Detentions
Ms. Wan was arrested on June 18, 2000, and taken to a brainwashing center organized by the Shifang City 610 Office. She was released one month later.
She was arrested again in January 2001 and taken to a one-month brainwashing session at the Matsu Woolen Mill. Only days after she was released, she was taken back into custody in February 2001 for another one-month brainwashing session at the Dabei Temple in Majing Town.
Her next arrest was in the summer of 2001 and she was held at the Deyang City Brainwashing Center. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, she was transferred to the Deyang City Lockup. She held a hunger strike in protest. The guards didn’t release her until she was on the verge of death.
Ms. Wan was arrested again in 2004 and taken to another one-month brainwashing session. She developed a severe medical condition and was then released.
Six Other Arrests
In addition to the above-mentioned arrests and brainwashing center detentions, Ms. Wan was arrested six other times that were followed by brief detentions.
For doing Falun Gong exercises at the Shifang City Stadium in April 2000, she was taken to the Shifang City Detention Center for a 15-day administrative detention.
She was arrested again in August 2000, while she was on her way to her mother’s home. The police and village officials tied her up to a utility pole and whipped her with metal wires until midnight. The same officers arrested her again a month later, also on her way to her mother’s home. They beat her this time, too.
Ms. Wan was arrested another time in October 2006 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was detained for a month.
Her next arrest was on January 15, 2014. Her home was ransacked and she was released on the same day.
She was arrested one more time on October 19, 2015. She held a hunger strike during the two-week detention. The guards tied her to a tree to torture her.
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