Nothing But Skin and Bones, English Teacher Severely Persecuted in Changchun Women's Prison

Name: Song Yanqun
Gender: Female
Age: 41
Address: Shulan City
Occupation: English Teacher at the Harbin Dade Japanese School
Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 27th, 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Changchun Women's Prison
City: Changchun City
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, interrogation

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Song Yanqun from Shulan City, Jilin Province, has been severely persecuted in Changchun Women's Prison. She now appears to be disoriented with dull eyes and dishevelled hair, nothing but skin and bones.

Even though Ms. Song's wrongful prison term has recently ended, the guards in the Education Division have attempted to force her to write the “Five Statements” to renounce practising Falun Gong. They threatened to not release her if she refuses and also placed her in the disciplinary unit. Ms. Song went on a hunger strike in an effort to resist the persecution. Sha, the female disciplinary instructor, tried to give her an injection. Ms. Song refused to cooperate and pulled out the needle. The guards tortured and force-fed her with food and salt water.

Ms. Song's younger sister, Song Bing, was also persecuted and suffered tremendously both mentally and physically. She became homeless to avoid further persecution and passed away on July 30th, 2009. Ms. Song and her younger sister were arrested at the same time. When Song Bing was on the verge of death at the Shulan City Detention Centre, her parents went to appeal to the Shulan City Political and Judiciary Committee. The committee secretary, Zhao Wei, told them not to talk about the law with him and that he doesn't need to abide by the law. The director of the Police Department, Xin He, said that if Song Bing was released, then he would be fired.

Ms. Song Yanqun, 41, graduated from Changchun College of Commerce, Department of International Trade, and was an English teacher at the Harbin Dade Japanese School. On November 27th, 2003, officers from the Shulan City Police Department, led by officer Guo Wei, broke into her home and arrested Ms. Song and her younger sister, Song Bing. The director of the Shulan City Police Department, Xin He, and guards including Li Zhuo, Li Yaochen, Li Jiazhe, and Wang Tingbai, interrogated and tortured Ms. Song and her sister at the Shulan Nanshan Detention Centre. They tied them onto a Tiger Bench¹; used slender sharp-pointed objects to stab their ears and eyes; and force-fed them with horseradish extract. Ms. Song was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

At the Jilin Province Changchun Women's Prison, Ms. Song remained steadfast, continued to practise Falun Gong and refused to write the “Five Statements.” She was tortured with the “Big Hang Up” and held in solitary confinement for long periods of time. As a result, Ms. Song coughed up blood from her lungs. The disciplinary instructor assigned four “Baojia's” (inmates assigned to monitor and torture practitioners) to closely monitor her 24 hours a day. She was not allowed to sleep and was often beaten and verbally abused. Ms. Song was confined to a small, dark room on the fifth floor and tied to a bed with her limbs suspended in the air about 20 centimetres (approximately 8 inches) above the bed. She had to relieve herself in the bed. Guard Liu Chunyang even put a blanket on top of Ms. Song's stomach.

In Jilin Changchun Women's Prison, the most vicious method used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners is called the “Stretching Bed.” The victim is first stripped, and then tied up on a bed with thin cords. The guards stretch the victim's limbs until her body is suspended above the bed with her weight carried on her limbs. This is extremely painful. Left in this position for a long time, a person could be maimed permanently. In May 2005, Changchun Women's Prison began to implement another round of “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] on the detained practitioners. Ms. Song was transferred from the hospital to the Education Division, where she was subjected to violent attempts to force her to “transform.” Because she refused to cooperate, the guards tied her tightly to a Death Bed² with a rope, and her limbs were stretched like “Five Horses Splitting a Body.”

As a result of being tortured with the Stretching Bed, Ms. Song lost all sensation in her legs, and they are now always cold. The bones in her right arm ache. Her hand shakes uncontrollably and she cannot write. She has become very mentally unresponsive. Her ribs on both sides and lungs ache and her tuberculosis has worsened rapidly. Even now, the scars near her ankles are still visible. Among the guards that participated in torturing Ms. Song are Cao Hong, disciplinary instructor Hu (who has since been transferred), and Liu Chunyang.

On April 12th, 2012, Ms. Song told her mother during a visit that the night before four “Baojia's” instigated by the disciplinary instructor stripped off her clothes and brutally beat her. They also stomped on her torso, legs, and feet. She was left covered in wounds and bruises. A “Baojia” also slaps her face every day.

Ms. Song is currently in a very difficult situation. We call on human rights organisations to support and pay close attention to Ms. Song's case.

Changchun (Heizuizi) Women's Prison, Education Division: +86-431-85375089

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

2. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.