(Minghui.org) Ms. Guo Caiping, 72, served a three-year term at Gansu Province Women’s Prison between 2016 and 2018 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She was tortured and forced to take unknown drugs while in prison.
Free of Illness and Becoming Literate
Ms. Guo, a resident of Zhenyuan County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province, has never attended school but is a kind-hearted and honest person. She became very ill in August 2005 but recovered after she started to practice Falun Gong.
Though Ms. Guo is illiterate, she was able to read almost all the words in the main text, Zhuan Falun, within a year. She could also read other Falun Gong books and almost all the Falun Gong materials and experience sharing articles by other practitioners.
Having benefitted from practicing Falun Gong, she wanted others to know about it and went out to distribute Falun Gong materials.
On December 28, 2015, Ms. Guo was distributing calendars with Falun Gong information in Mengba Town, Zhenyuan County when she was arrested. She was taken to the police station the next day and her home was ransacked. The police confiscated all materials related to Falun Gong, the new cell phone bought by her son, 5,000 yuan in cash, and a watch.
Ms. Guo was taken to the detention center on the third day. The guard claimed that she would be released and not sentenced if she signed the guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong. She refused to comply and was sentenced to three years. Her appeal was also rejected. She was taken to Gansu Province Women’s Prison in November 2016. She was 65 years old at that time.
Forced to Take Unknown Drugs
Ms. Guo was given a small tablet every day by the guards a few days after arriving at the prison. She felt drowsy, sleepy, and had no appetite. When she saw someone hitting another person or if someone hit her, she would shake uncontrollably and have to lean on the wall as she walked. She stammered when talking and could not speak clearly. She felt strange about why she behaved like that and suspected that the drug was altering her cognition. She stopped taking them and threw them away without being seen by the guards. The symptoms soon went away.
Abused and Beaten by Inmate Wang Lei
Inmate Wang Lei was assigned to monitor Ms. Guo when she arrived at the prison. Wang made her memorize the prison rules but she couldn’t. Wang pinched her everywhere, pulled her hair, and punched her. A few days later, Ms. Guo started shaking uncontrollably until she couldn’t even eat. She saw bruises on her body when she took a shower.
Initially when the prison distributed fried cake, Ms. Guo ate her portion and was scolded by Wang. Afterward, someone told Ms. Guo that she has to keep good food for Wang. Wang often bought food under Ms. Guo’s name and with her money, but she rarely saw what was bought. If the guards asked about it, she would need to lie that she has bought them, not Wang. Once, Ms. Guo ordered some noodles but she only saw a very small portion of it. Someone else took away the rest of her order.
Wang has constipation. However, she lied to the doctor that Ms. Guo had the condition and instructed Ms. Guo to get the pills for her.
Once, Wang punched hard at Ms. Guo’s right eye. It was so painful that Ms. Guo couldn’t speak. Her eye became red and painful for half a month. Wang instructed Ms. Guo to lie that she has accidentally hurt her eye. Though a few years have passed, Ms. Guo’s eye still hurts at times.
Abused and Beaten by Inmate Gao Jingjing
Another inmate, Gao Jingjing, was later assigned to monitor Ms. Guo. One night, Ms. Guo was standing in the cell. When the captain asked Ms. Guo why is she standing, Ms. Guo said she didn’t know. Gao then started hitting her until they reached a corner where there is no surveillance before punching her body and head. Gao told Ms. Guo not to say that she had hit her if the captain were to ask. Gao also uses Ms. Guo’s account and money when buying things from the prison mart.
Beaten by Inmate Zhang Yu
Inmate Zhang Yu was later assigned to monitor Ms. Guo. Zhang had many times lean on Ms. Guo’s body and squeezed her neck with both hands, causing Ms. Guo to feel out of breath. Her neck often hurts from the pinch. Sometimes, Zhang would pinch Ms. Guo’s neck several times a day and also pinched her body. She even threatened to strangle her to death one day.
Once, Zhang grabbed Ms. Guo’s collar from the back and dragged her to the cell. Ms. Guo almost suffocated. Upon reaching the cell, Zhang rode on Ms. Guo’s body and grabbed her hair before banging her head against the floor.
Situation Improves After Son Protested
When Ms. Guo’s son came to visit her, she made a gesture of pinching her neck with both hands when no one was looking, signaling she was tortured that way. She kept crying when her son asked her what happened. Before she could explain, the call was cut off by Zhang.
Ms. Guo’s son slammed the phone on the ground, picked up the stool, and smashed the glass. As he smashed the glass, he said, “Who did this to my mother? I’ll not let them go. Prison is a place to educate people yet you made a good person like this. She’s such an honest person. She just practices Falun Gong to be a good person. What bad things had she done?”
The prison changed the inmate to monitor Ms. Guo after she returned to the cell. The prison chief, captain, and many other people had several talks with her and told her to be honest as there is CCTV around. She responded that she hoped the CCTV would record how the guards tortured her and that she spoke nothing but the truth.
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