(Minghui.org) Xinjiang Province Women’s Prison, which used to be called Xinjiang Second Prison, has been a place to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in the past two decades.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Various tortures were used in this prison, including forced-feeding practitioners with spicy chili water, hanging them up, forcing them to stand straight without moving, and starving them. Ms. Zhao Shuyuan, an engineer from Karamay, Xinjiang, died 83 days after she was admitted to the prison.
After the crimes were exposed to the outside world, some perpetrators involved in the persecution have restrained their actions. However, since Chen Quanguo became the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang in 2016, the prison has stepped up its efforts to persecute Falun Gong practitioners and the Uyghur minority.
Strict Control
All imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners were forced to attend “study” to learn about the propaganda against Falun Gong. They were then ordered to write various statements to renounce their faith and report their thoughts.
If any practitioner refused to renounce her faith or protested her illegal imprisonment by refusing to follow orders, she'd be placed under strict control.
Under the strict control, practitioners were punished with solitary confinement, long-time standing, denial of visitors, phone calls or writing letters, reduction of meal time to just several minutes, and deprivation of washing, brushing teeth, bathing and washing clothes.
The strict control lasted one to two months, but it could go on for a couple of years for some steadfast practitioners. They were disfigured and emaciated afterward. Some practitioners' prison terms were extended after the term expiration.
Special Inspection Leaves No Privacy
Prison guards frequently conducted abrupt inspection, sometimes two to three times a week. All the cellmates in the inspected cell were cleared out. Then the guards pulled out all the sheets, bedding, washbasins, and storage boxes and turned them upside down.
When the cellmates went back inside, they were ordered to take off their clothes, one layer at a time, until they were naked. Then they were asked to squat with their hands behind their heads and jump three times. The guards checked their armpit hair and pubic hair to make sure they were not plucked, since 90 percent of the detainees were Uyghurs who followed the Islam custom of removing armpit and pubic hair, which they were not allowed to do in prison. Sometimes the guards even used flashlights to exam the prisoners, and they also forced the inmates who were having their period to open their menstrual pads, which was extremely humiliating for the detainees.
The high-definition surveillance cameras were installed at the bathhouses with the excuse to monitor whether the detainees had injuries. The male guards could freely watch the surveillance cameras. One male guard was once heard bragging, “I can watch whichever woman inmate takes a shower in the prison as I wish.”
Harsh Living Conditions
Many Uyghurs were arrested around August 2017 when Chen Quanguo carried out the movement of maintaining social stability in Xinjiang. The prison was suddenly full.
A crowded cell of less than 40 square meters, which had a capacity of 18 people, was filled up to 32 people. The original two-level bunk beds were remodeled to become three levels. Two bed frames were joined with the lower bunk sleeping four people, sometimes five. People sleeping on the floor covered every inch of the floor leaving no space to walk if someone had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The air in the cell was terrible. Later, there was a large outbreak of tuberculosis.
During the day, everyone was forced to sit on the floor for 16 hours, with no walking. One person fetched the meals for everyone in the cell. One must be very careful when eating because the food could be easily spilled onto the back of the person in the front.
One guard once had a slip of the tongue and revealed that the prison cafeteria with a capacity of 5,000 people had to cook food for more than 10,000 inmates.
Various Torture Methods and Instruments
Falun Gong practitioners were tortured in prison: they were forced to stand in military posture or squat for a long period of time, not given enough food, deprived of right to buy things, forced-fed with spicy chili water, or tied on a tiger bench (see illustration below). Some practitioners had one hand cuffed to the top bunk bed and another to the bottom bunk bed, rendering them unable to stand up or squat down. Some had their limbs tied up to the bed in a spread-eagle position for a long time and were only let loose when they needed to use the restroom. Some were electrically shocked during the tying torture as well.
Torture illustration: tiger bench
The Uyghurs who persisted on their religious traditions like cleaning up their bodies or praying, were forced to wear an electric anklet. When the guards remotely turned the anklet on, the Uyghurs would be under electric shock and roll around on the floor. Many were forced to wear them for a few months. The ones who followed their religious traditions sometimes were put on electric gloves to shock their hands.
Electric vests were also used as torture instruments.
Only Mandarin Chinese Allowed to Be Spoken
All detainees were required to speak only Chinese and it was mandatory for Uyghurs to learn mandarin Chinese. Any Uyghur who accidentally spoke a word of Uyghur was subjected to punishments. Uyghurs' families and relatives were not allowed to speak Uyghur during visiting hours. The meeting would be terminated if a word of Uyghur was heard. Some visitors traveling thousands of miles to meet their families could only look at each other in tears if one side could not speak Chinese.
Many Uyghur families had multiple household members imprisoned, leaving the elderly and children unattended. With harsh conditions and inhumane treatment, many Uyghurs suffered from mental disorders.
